2014 is set to be a year of opportunity and promise for production houses, but if content is to be king it can’t be created on a pauper’s budget, says Shane Martin
Developments in the production industry, like the rest of economic life in the Middle East, are tricky to predict. Below are some ‘top line’ thoughts as to how I see the industry evolving over the coming year.
Digital and branded content: This is the area of production with the greatest growth potential, certainly in terms of volume, if not currently in terms of production spend. As everyone knows, the MENA region is one of the most digitally attuned regions on the planet. For example, Saudi Arabia has the greatest number of YouTube views per capita in the world, making it a real and viable communication platform in a state where television is highly censored and cinema does not exist. It has been firmly established that increasing numbers of viewers’ eyeballs are picking and choosing their entertainment online rather than watching television. It has also been asserted that in this digital space rather than traditional commercial style advertising, ‘Content is King’.
Hopefully during 2014, however, advertisers and marketers will realise that king-like content cannot be created on a pauper’s budget. It is time we saw more resources allocated to the creation of meaningful engaging content that is not only well written but well crafted. If advertisers want the ‘eyeballs’ then the content that attracts them will have to be not only well conceived but also well realised from a production standpoint, and this will mean allocating appropriate proportions of marketing budget to this part of the advertising story.
TV commercials: The 30- second commercial still has meaningful life in it in the region. While there is major movement of resources to digital – and this shift will only continue during 2014 – big advertisers know that the metrics associated with traditional TV commercial production and campaign distribution are the best guaranteed means of reaching the static target audiences. I believe what we will see is more advertisers using a combination of broadcast and digital content, where one will support the other ensuring that both the large static audiences and smaller targeted online groups will be reached.
Technology: Digital cinematography becomes better every day, cameras become smaller and more sophisticated, edit systems become more powerful and more affordable. As the tools become better and more accessible, production companies and agency ideas will have to evolve to keep up and ensure that their expertise will continue to offer added value to the client at each step of the advertising process.
As increasingly accessible technologies demystify the advertising process, I also think that you will see the lines between clients, agencies and production houses blur. Additionally, due to the rise of digital content, the relative importance of media as part of the advertising mechanism will diminish in certain spheres, further consolidating the advertising operation.
The Region: With the current upsurge in economic growth and activity in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, production of content in all of its forms is going to grow. As production destinations for international work and a centre of production services, both Dubai and Abu Dhabi are laying foundations to develop exponentially. The Dubai Film Commission and Abu Dhabi Film Commission are actively promoting the area around the world by simplifying location permit processes and ensuring the industry meets international standards in terms of production facilitation – cash incentives for international producers being the most marked example of this pro-production drive. Long may this continue.
The Economy: Increased regional economic activity as a result of the upturn and the 2020 Expo win will attract more production talent to the region, which can only be a good thing. Moreover, the somewhat depressed production environment in Europe and the political situation in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt will also result in more drift of talent to Dubai. There will be more production companies setting up and so competition will increase. There will be cowboys and fly-by-nights and cost cutting to win work but, as always, only the strong and talented will survive.
2014 looks likely to be an interesting year for the production industry in the region. We can expect to see an increase in the use of combined advertising strategies – prompting a growth in the production of well-financed digital content and ensuring longevity in the production of the 30-second TV commercial. Combined with the ever more sophisticated technologies available and the significant economic growth expected within the region, it seems as though 2014 is set to be a year of opportunity and promise for the industry.
Shane Martin is executive producer/director at Boomtown Productions
