Post-academy exercise: Organisational structures for digital media vs classic media
When it comes to planning the set up and structure for a digital media business the economies of scale are different to those in classic media. In magazines and newspapers, centralising the buying of paper or the operations of accounts and HR functions is the norm, and the bulk of decision making and innovation moved to the editors and publishers of individual titles. However the economics work differently in digital media and there is a much broader economy of scale that means groups benefit from not only centralising the ‘plumbing’ (bandwidth, servers and IT management), but also in standardising the systems and platforms (content tools, analytics packages, advertising servers). This leaves the publishing and editorial teams free to be creative within the content, but without having to build and constantly refine the structures and templates around the business.
Discussion points: Consider your strategy in digital media. Is your firm creating the right structure for harnessing web media effectively? Review these two extremes and consider your own structure. Look for areas where economies of scale can be exploited and areas where content and marketing teams need the freedom to create unique offerings. Consider whether there are any tensions in your organisation that come from the structures that are in place. Make a list of services that could benefit from working across the network rather than in one isolated pocket of the business.
