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Analysis Project

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Syllabus

Individual term project. Over the course of the semester, each student will pursue a term project built around their own individual career interests:

  • In the first few classes of the semester, students will identify a media-related career path or topic that they are personally interested in exploring. For example:
    • Someone further interested in academia might identify a specific topic they may want to explore more.
    • Someone interested in the business side of media may identify a role, company or industry they want to learn more about.
    • An aspiring entrepreneur or creative may identify a business they may want to start or pursue.
  • From there, each student, in ongoing dialogue with me, will identify a specific central question to explore which will require a more in-depth analysis.
  • In our 6th class, each student will present their term project proposals.
  • As the semester continues and we cover different topics in class every week, students will pursue their research and analysis, incorporating these class concepts. For example, after we cover market structures or financial analysis, students will tie those concepts into their own analysis.
  • Students will share their personal analysis updates and reflections to me in weekly email assignments. We will also have regular in-class roundtable updates. For example, the week after we cover tech disruption, we may go around and discuss how everyone’s topic is affected by tech disruption.
  • In the last two classes, each student will present the conclusion of their term project in an abbreviated deck.
  • By the last class, students will also submit a finished, comprehensive deck with their full analysis and conclusions. Ultimately their analysis will include their central question and why it was personally important to them, an industry overview, market analysis, a cross-industry comparison, financial analysis and conclusion.

Initial Proposal (9/10)

(A) an area/industry you’re considering focusing your term analysis project on and (B) why it seems personally relevant to you.

  • Across Hollywood, a new status quo has emerged: Advertising is entertainment, and major companies and brands are thinking hard about how they present themselves to potential customers, learning a thing or two from the major studios in the process. … So brands are responding by launching in-house studios, while many small- and midsize film and TV production companies are leaning into branded entertainment to keep business going — even as Hollywood writ large is in something of a lull.

Hi Paul, For my analysis project, I want to explore emerging areas of production and what the next generation of the industry might look like. One area I’m particularly interested in is advertising as entertainment. As the definition of “entertainment” continues to expand, there is an increasing precedent for capturing and sustaining attention across platforms and formats. Brands are responding to this shift by building in-house studios and developing their own entertainment capabilities, while midsize and smaller film and television production companies are increasingly moving into branded entertainment. This convergence between advertising, entertainment, and production raises interesting questions about where the boundaries between these industries are heading, and what new opportunities might emerge as those boundaries continue to blur.

A couple of examples:

I think there is a growing precedent that branded entertainment and brand-produced content could replace a significant share of traditional media consumption for younger generations. I’m interested not only in understanding how brands are building and structuring large-scale, in-house production capabilities, but also in examining the broader media diet of today’s audiences and where they are choosing to spend their attention.

This thesis brings together my interests in production, strategy, sociology and customer psychology. There is also a particular focus on how and why people engage with video and what that might mean for the future of media and entertainment.

Let me know what you think and apologies on the late reply.

Regards, Eric

Second Proposal (9/24)

Hi Paul,

I’ve been thinking more about the proposal above and our discussion. I’m still interested in the relationship between creators and the studios that ultimately produce their work, but after reading the Guggenheim case study, I’ve become particularly interested in the dynamic between cultural institutions and high-profile audiences or client bases.

We recently spoke with Kristen Cruzata about The Athletic’s coverage of the World Cup, which made me think about this in a slightly different way. Similar to what you mentioned about Dick’s new documentary division building a platform, The Athletic aimed to create a World Cup “control center” that audiences would return to throughout the tournament to track games, interact with reporters through the chat, and read post-match coverage around emerging storylines. The idea of platform creation also came up briefly in the Spotify case study, with TunedGlobal providing white-label streaming services to partners. I also found the Barbie case study interesting, particularly how Mattel used Mattel Films to evolve from a legacy toy company into a broad, IP-driven management company.

For my case study, I’m considering exploring the intersection between cultural institutions and media distribution. Museums like the Guggenheim develop large-scale global initiatives that allow them to create flexible relationships with artists and partners across different markets. I’m wondering whether the relationship between a museum and an artist could also extend into some form of FAST channel or other distributed media platform, and what that value chain might look like.

More broadly, I’m interested in how these massive streaming platforms might be supplemented (or are already being supplemented) by more localized forms of distribution outside the major platforms. So much of the conversation and investment around media distribution is concentrated around the major streamers, but I’m curious whether there are alternative revenue streams and distribution models that are being underrepresented in the larger picture. What does the future of the creator, studio and distribution chain look like? Is it more localized and outside the typical streamers? What are some examples?

I think there could be an interesting case study in examining what happens when cultural institutions, artists, and media distribution intersect, particularly around ownership, audience development, IP, and alternative forms of monetization.

Analysis Project

  • Blockbuster effect - High cost, less creative breadth/competition creates no competition
    • Once there are a lot, you must consolidate power to force visibility (money)

Linear TV more resilient than VOD the past three years Media that wins will be those who control both the phone and the tv

  • UBS partnership with Guggenheim and how high value partnerships continue to live on

    • Are there needs for new ways to interface with art? (AP Watch is very expensive, but how do you keep people engaged at different touch points?)

  • Sponsors (specifically Official/supplier partners and not standard) bring UEFA funding, technology, consumer experience, and retail/media

    • How are these new experiences built and the platforms leveraged from a UEFA partnership?
    • How do leagues choose their partners and how do the partners integrate?

  • Do I want my study to be concerning IP? - sports, film , toys and how legacy products are being updated/propagated

    • Toy company (Mattel) is creating a media studio to expand IP
    • Nintendo creating a media studio?

  • Interests:

    • REMINDER: Where is the money going and why?
    • Youtube and younger generation habits
    • Emergent media technology/platforms
    • Sports and their partnerships
    • Content licensing in other industries (library value of assets) based on proportions of total revenue. Where the money is going down and where it is going up.
      • Social structures with usage of licensed IP (Dance moms - TV to Streaming, to Youtube React to Social)
    • Developing a media asset (something that will generate value without anything being done directly) versus a marketing material (getting eyeballs on your material, but has no longevity) -> looking at NET CASH FLOW, LIBRARY VALUE AND IP VALUE
      • Reputational value to library value (Mr. Beast translating ‘influencer clout’ to real library value with Amazon)
      • Create a corporate strategy that is more strategy than vision (I want an increase in viewers age 16-25 VS I want to be more relevant for the kids)

  • IP 360 - how different services (music, movies, sports) value creation streams over time

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