It’s a daunting time to be in the media space, particularly if you’re a small, independent company. Economic uncertainty, budget cuts, and changes in audience behaviour are just some of the challenges currently re-shaping the industry. Navigating them can be tricky but, in our experience, the best way to do so effectively is by diversifying your business.
Wild Thring Media works across multiple verticals: partnering with producers, raising production finance, and helping build brands for producers and digital creators. The result is a healthy ecosystem of content output that not only aligns with our core values but also resonates with our target audience.?
But what’s the best way to establish such an ecosystem, and successfully maintain it? And what steps can small, independent companies take to diversify their content and business? This is what has worked for us thus far:
- Small and nimble. Weathering the changing media landscape as a small independent company has been tough. But that doesn’t mean there are no benefits to being a smaller fish in such a big pond. Working for big corporations sometimes means being siloed into certain areas. Though the connections and experiences are invaluable, you can often be boxed in due to internal politics and red tape. Staying fluid and flexible can be challenging as a result. Being smaller means you can maximise your entrepreneurial spirit, and often respond quicker to the demands of your clients and audiences.
- Organic innovation. It’s important to keep things fresh. Build a strong foundation, and then identify where you can innovate organically. Leverage your existing knowledge, but also expand on it. This approach has allowed us to switch things up with our broadcast clients, successfully venture into new territory, and continue serving both our audience and our digital partners. This approach has allowed us to expand into merch with Lion Whisperer, distribution with WildBear Entertainment and, more recently, virtual reality with White Spark Pictures – all in a way that aligns with each partner’s values.
- Collaboration and partnerships.This one is key to our business’s success – and its innovation and expansion. Co-productions and partnerships are our specialty. We have built long-lasting relationships with global broadcasters, producers such as WildBear Entertainment, Spirit Studios and Obsessively Creative CC, and talent like Kevin Richardson/Lion Whisperer. We work collaboratively across strategy and editorial on each production, prioritising a flexible approach. We also make sure we listen to our target audience’s requirements and implement them. It sounds simple, but maintaining these working relationships is vital to survive in such a harsh environment.
- Community building. Growing your business and producing great content is all well and good, but building and supporting communities around them is even better. Lion Whisperer currently has 2.82M subscribers on its YouTube channel and counting. As we continue to grow membership to Lion Whisperer’s monthly paid subscription, we’ve made sure to engage with the community we’re building, not just manage it. It’s a two-way flow. We listen to their needs, value their feedback, and place connection is at the heart of the content.
- Circular model. Though we have invested plenty of time, effort and resources into diversifying our content, we have also done so in a way that allows us to support projects we are passionate about. The content we co-produce is often closely connected to the causes we actively support, including through our work on the
Kevin Richardson Foundation
board. Projects we have supported include the anti-poaching project supporting Dinokeng Big 5 Game reserve and the Big 5 Schools programme. We are also committed to sustainability and ensure it’s at the forefront of our partnerships with the likes of
Teemill Tech Ltd
and
Craghoppers
.
- Team work. Ultimately, however, the main reason we can expand and innovate when it comes to both our business and the content we help produce, is our wonderful team. Having a solid team is essential to drive sustainable growth. We’re firm believers in investing in people long-term. Working together well is key, and we’re lucky we have built such a strong foundation over the years. It’s all about getting on and getting stuck in.
This is what has worked for us in the face of the challenges the industry is facing, but we’re always interested to hear how colleagues are tackling things. Thoughts? Comment below.
