Session One: Setting your digital resolutions for 2009

Session One: Setting your digital resolutions for 2009

Welcome to the FanTrust guide to digital success – Setting Your Digital Resolutions for 2009. December is traditionally a time for reflection and goal-setting, both personal and professional. Though you know what it takes to reach your goals for, say, losing weight (less eggnog, more yoga) or having fun (more eggnog, less yoga) –what if you’re venturing into uncharted business terrain?

Every Thursday and Monday for the next two weeks,  we’ll walk you through short, simple exercises – complete with case studies and success stories – intended to spark transformation in your company or division with overall corporate and business goals; digital capacity; market niche and fan engagement strategies.

With more than two decades of experience in digital media, FanTrust can help you grow your digital lines of business. Our hope is to leave you inspired and invigorated for a happy, healthy digital business in 2009.

All the best!

Session One: Define Your Aspirations

What are your motivations for getting into the digital space? What do you hope to achieve?

Perhaps, as a television producer, you simply want to maintain a competitive edge when pitching or developing TV treatments for broadcasters. Others may have more ambitious goals – eyeing additional revenue streams (e.g. sales of video online) or new partnership models (e.g. production underwriting from online video destinations and/or brand sponsorships).

The men of Monty Python are blatantly, unabashedly aspiring to additional revenues with their just-launched YouTube channel. In their comic, absurdist style, the group admits the channel is a direct ploy to sell Monty Python DVDs and merchandise through YouTube’s new partnership with Amazon. And it appears to be working – the three-year-old best-of Monty Python DVD set went from being the ten thousandth most purchased item on Amazon.com to No. 5 one week after the comedy group started posting videos on YouTube with referral links to Amazon.

Please enter the url to a YouTube video.

Web studio NextNewNetworks signed a deal in July 2008 with Starburst. The characters of NNN’s animated series Nite Fite talk up its candy company sponsor – alongside “sell-out” quips – in return for sponsorship revenues. Though terms were undisclosed, this type of deal is helping studios create and seed their series to online audiences.

Many game companies are stepping into the digital space in pursuit of audiences, financing and new revenue streams. We’ve previously blogged about Nexon generating $1.2 million in sales of virtual MiniCooper cars within Maple Story. Talk about printing (or in this case, digitally rendering) your own money!

Former Capcom VP of Marketing Nique Fajors is now working with a new online games company. He explained in a recent GameDaily article that he believes online games will continue to lure funding from the traditional console space – why would investors put up big dollars to see two console game produced, when they can spread their dollars (and risk) across one hundred casual games, he asks?

While there will continue to be a market for console games, companies and producers including EA and Take-Two see microtransactions and downloadable content as untapped opportunities, and a necessary investment, even in tight economic times.

In short, you need to know where you want to go if you ever hope to get there – begin mapping your digital future today.

FanTrust runs strategy sessions that help you and your team ask the right questions and drill down on the right answers and decisions for your company’s digital business, with our Digital Brand Snapshot brainstorm process.