This is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you’ve understood your whole life, but in a new way.
—Doris Lessing
The next few sections are the meat of the primer: we have spent a fair bit of time distilling our collective experiences working with clients large and small into a process that can be applied to virtually any digital media project. Regardless of the scope of the undertaking or the level of experience of the producer, following these steps will invariably take you in the right direction.
Now, on first read, some parts of this process may seem like glorified common sense… but as the saying goes, there is nothing common about common sense. In our experience, it is sometimes this seeming simplicity that can get producers into the most trouble: given all of the other pressures related to production, there can be an overwhelming temptation to take short cuts in hopes of getting results sooner or with less expense. Let us assure you that, without a great deal of luck, this approach will absolutely result in project delays and unnecessary costs.
Now you might say: “Well, I’m a smart guy/gal – that wouldn’t happen to me.” And you would be 100% right… but only concerning the first 50% of that statement.
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We understand that driving a successful television or film production has taken your natural decisiveness and put it on steroids: this process has been designed to guide that energy into the most productive channels when it comes to digital media. With the right advice, you can move through these stages with surprising speed: the end result will invariably be stronger for your taking the time to be diligent and do far more to benefit your entertainment property.
With all that cautionary language out of the way, our process breaks down as follows:
a. Goals
How to set expectations and develop concrete, realistic and valuable objectives for your properties… without worrying about the tech side just yet!
b. Strategy
How to begin to translate these objectives into a digital media game plan that will ensure you reach your goals. Do you really need a $300,000 website or would a Twitter feed work far better?
c. User Experience and Content
What are the best ways to understand your audience’s expectations, aptitudes, motivations (and de-motivations)? These underpin the design that will align your audience with the new digital property.
d. Technology and Platforms
Don’t get drawn into a game of buzzword bingo! Even if you can’t program the clock on your VCR, you can make intelligent decisions that dovetail with your goals, not just with what is currently hip.
e. Funding and Proposals
Even if we were to restrict ourselves to the purely digital, there are too many funding bodies in Canada for us to detail in this primer. What’s more, the financing landscape for these agencies is shifting rapidly. But we’ll try to help you understand how best to understand their objectives.
f. Fulfillment and Partnering
Even with all the planning and good intentions in the world, this is where the rubber hits the road. Knowing how to blend your in-house expertise with the skills of outside partners can be a decisive factor in achieving a winning outcome.
g. Postmortems
These can range from patting yourselves on the back at an awards show to sitting in the back of your local pub asking “what the hell happened?” Regardless of the outcome, there are lessons to be learned and applied to the next digital project… after all, this is part of your business now.
But above all, one thing is absolutely indisputable: the more time and energy put in up front, the less will be required down the road… and the better the chance of ending up with an executed digital strategy that meets all of your goals.
Good choices made early will result in easy wins later. But just as certainly, mistakes made early will tend to cascade as the project moves towards full speed. In those crucial early days of project inception, producers need to carve out the time and mindshare needed to make the right calls for the digital dimension of their production.