New ways of thinking about and unlocking value could lead to surprising new ways of reaching and connecting with audiences. But we have to think differently.
Interesting perspective Ash - I think Podcasting is a very clear and now well defined "channel" for unbundling, for instance the plethora of podcasts that have emerged from newspapers, to then be monetised either directly (subscription) or indirectly (through live events/conferences - incidentally I'm going to 3 of such before Christmas, so they have me).
Interestingly, it's the precise opposite of what we see in the tech sector, where the focus is on developing an "unbundled" product that can latterly be baked into a bigger product, ostensibly to provide more value to the bigger product.
I had a whole section about re-bundling and 'rundles'! But I think it probably merits a separate article.
I think there's obvious validity to that approach if you're selling subscriptions to technology (and something Amazone Prime is another example of this that isn't just about 'functionality' per se), but the cultural sector has a challenge around being able to achieve a clear articulation of value as a starting point.
So I think that bundling/rebundling/subscriptions is a future consideration when/if they manage to work out which bits of what they do are valuable (and to who) in and of themselves.
I still don't understand how all these brands (or platforms or whatever we're calling them) feel like their offerings are actually "buyable." The choices and options are overwhelming and even if you find the one thing you want, the extra friction of all the other options surely loses more people than a neat bundle would provide.
I think the problem is that all too often the bundle isn't neat, and the constituent parts aren't well articulated in terms of their individual (or even collective) value.
The "tyranny of choice" that you reference seems to be pushing people to find their own niches (which are often singular in focus or, unbundled), or to a reliance on 3rd party curation (which, in turn, are always going to recommend individual formats/products/services rather than a recommend a bundle).
Interesting perspective Ash - I think Podcasting is a very clear and now well defined "channel" for unbundling, for instance the plethora of podcasts that have emerged from newspapers, to then be monetised either directly (subscription) or indirectly (through live events/conferences - incidentally I'm going to 3 of such before Christmas, so they have me).
Interestingly, it's the precise opposite of what we see in the tech sector, where the focus is on developing an "unbundled" product that can latterly be baked into a bigger product, ostensibly to provide more value to the bigger product.
I had a whole section about re-bundling and 'rundles'! But I think it probably merits a separate article.
I think there's obvious validity to that approach if you're selling subscriptions to technology (and something Amazone Prime is another example of this that isn't just about 'functionality' per se), but the cultural sector has a challenge around being able to achieve a clear articulation of value as a starting point.
So I think that bundling/rebundling/subscriptions is a future consideration when/if they manage to work out which bits of what they do are valuable (and to who) in and of themselves.
I still don't understand how all these brands (or platforms or whatever we're calling them) feel like their offerings are actually "buyable." The choices and options are overwhelming and even if you find the one thing you want, the extra friction of all the other options surely loses more people than a neat bundle would provide.
I think the problem is that all too often the bundle isn't neat, and the constituent parts aren't well articulated in terms of their individual (or even collective) value.
The "tyranny of choice" that you reference seems to be pushing people to find their own niches (which are often singular in focus or, unbundled), or to a reliance on 3rd party curation (which, in turn, are always going to recommend individual formats/products/services rather than a recommend a bundle).