Most media creators wait until launch to know what audiences think: Lamont

Interview with 'Lean Media' author Ian Lamont

Traditional players have been unable to maintain old business models. They are forced to become lean or die, Ian Lamont tells Sangeeta Tanwar

What are the key disruptions paving the way for a lean media structure?

Digital technologies. A lot of people think the invention of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s was the starting point for lean media. But it actually began in the 1970s and early 1980s with the creation of relatively low-priced computer hardware and software to make media (such as the word processor, chip-based musical instruments and samplers, video cameras, and PCs) and programming languages for things like video games and special effects. These tools have only gotten cheaper and smaller and more sophisticated over time. Digital technologies make it possible for all kinds of media creators to produce great, engaging content for far less money than before, and to leverage new platforms to distribute their works. Meanwhile, traditional players have been unable to maintain old business models. They are forced to become lean, or die.

What is the framework around which lean media can be built?

The lean media framework operates on three principles. First, eliminate waste. Reduce wasteful practices and bureaucratic overhead in the organisation, such as unnecessary approvals and delays. People in the creative team should have little overlap in terms of skills and responsibilities — the team should be just big enough to make something great.

Second, understand audiences. Most media creators and media ventures wait until the launch to know what audiences think. Why not show test audiences prototypes of the media work while it’s still being developed? Early feedback can help the team understand audiences’ intangible needs and shape the development of the work.

Third, focus on creativity. By reducing waste and understanding audiences, the core creative team can really focus on their creative magic and make media that audiences love. Many famous media creators have done this, including the people behind Minecraft, Led Zeppelin, and The Simpsons.

Can you give us a few examples of lean media?

One of my favourite examples is Minecraft, which was created by Swedish video game developer Markus “Notch” Persson. It was a totally lean operation — at first just him working part time, and later a very small team. No giant business operation got in the way. Notch paid very close attention to how early testers used the game, not just looking at quantitative metrics but also qualitative feedback such as online comments left on YouTube or live focus groups that let him watch testers play the game. He iterated based on these feedback loops, and by the time the game was officially released it was a fantastic experience. Hundreds of millions of people have played it all over the world. Notch sold Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion in 2014.

In what ways does a lean media structure differ from medium to medium such as print, TV and digital?

What we may see is that the formats may limit or encourage certain behaviours. For instance, when it comes to understanding audiences, it is cheaper and easier to get early audience feedback for an entertainment website or video game compared to the producers of a TV show or a newspaper publisher. This means the digital teams can iterate faster.

What is the trade-off for media owners looking beyond audience metrics as they pursue quality content and a lean organisational structure?

For a large media company that decides to adopt the Lean Media framework, certain internal and external stakeholders will have far less of an impact. This gets back to reducing waste. Why should a sales executive approve the rough cut of a film or sign off on a new magazine design? His or her input may even harm the product. But taking this person out of the process may be difficult from a corporate culture or management perspective, even if doing so makes for a better media product in the end.

What are the opportunities and challenges before media owners as they establish and grow their products?

A product development for something like a light bulb or a business application focuses on features — what the product does. Media, on the other hand, focuses on intangibles — how the experience makes you feel. A media work may elicit laughter, concern, joy and excitement to such a degree that audiences spend hours binge-watching a TV programme or playing a video game. Owners and creators really have to focus on those intangibles, and not sacrifice them for some low-value business element that gets in the way of audiences connecting with the media. On broadcast TV and online media in particular, I see way too many advertisements interfering with the media experience, such as the website that takes 10 seconds to load and is plastered with ads that almost no one clicks on. This has been demonstrated to reduce audience engagement.