5 questions to...
Marco Antonielli
Interview with the Media & Communication Senior Account Manager of Engineering.
Marco Antonielli joined Engineering in 2023 as Director for the Media market. In this role, he is responsible for expanding the market by acquiring new clients and growing existing accounts. His strategy to achieve this goal is centered on innovation and the digitalization of companies that have technology at their core.
Starting with TV broadcasters, publishers, film production companies, and organizations specializing in audio/video content distribution and transmission, his next objective is to target the Entertainment sector, including sports clubs and leagues.
Marco has extensive professional experience in the Telco & Media markets, gained in multinational companies such as Gartner and Sun Microsystems, where he held various leadership roles in commercial operations.
The M&E sector is being negatively impacted by a series of factors, primarily geopolitical issues and cyber threats, which are leading to a general increase in publishing costs. The production and distribution phases are struggling to keep up with a demand that continues to grow.
It is important to note that the revenue composition of the M&E sector shows digital revenues as the largest share (representing more than half of total revenues), a growing trend that is expected to continue in the coming years.
Therefore, it is essential, even for the Media & Communication sector, to leverage innovation and adopt new digital technologies to respond to the challenges of an increasingly concentrated market.
From a technological perspective, AI plays an increasingly significant role in the media sector, not only in content creation and distribution but also in optimizing advertising strategies and personalizing the user experience. New horizons of interactive entertainment, such as augmented reality, are also being explored, promising to open up further business opportunities.
In recent years, the way viewers consume video content through TV has massively shifted from a broadcasting “one-to-many” model to an “on-demand” approach.
Advertising insertions, thanks to the segmentation of viewers obtained through data analysis mechanisms, have also become increasingly personalized.
The convergence between television programming and e-commerce is leading to the so-called “shoppable TV,” which is seeing the entry, or rather the consolidation, of e-commerce giants into the sector.
The goal is to allow viewers to actively purchase a product being advertised with a simple click on the remote control or by interacting with the company’s virtual assistant.
Some of the most interesting developments in the M&E sector in recent years have come from the digital audio market. Monetization models are well underway, and interest in the market is growing.
Within the broader audio landscape, podcasts represent a rapidly expanding segment, fostering strong personal connections between hosts and listeners. These relationships create an engaged audience that is more receptive to advertising.
In general, consumers expect podcasts to be free. However, when it comes to audiobooks, expectations are quite different consumers regularly pay for both downloads and subscriptions.
The challenge for industry players is to transform podcast content into premium offerings similar to audiobooks, thereby justifying a recurring revenue stream from consumers while complementing advertising-based monetization.
GenAI has the potential to be a strategic ally in tackling the challenge of recovering competitiveness in the M&E sector.
One of the main areas where GenAI can make a difference is in service personalization and improving the customer journey.
By analyzing large volumes of data, AI can deeply understand user behaviors and preferences, enabling the creation of personalized and targeted offers.
This results in increased customer loyalty and satisfaction, while the integration of advanced chatbots and virtual assistants enhances interaction in contact centers, reducing wait times and costs.
Moreover, GenAI, with its ability to automatically generate personalized texts, videos, and graphics, allows for a more precise response to the tastes of specific audience segments, improving engagement and increasing monetization opportunities.
It can also optimize recommendation and content indexing processes, supporting streaming platforms in retaining users.
The future of the M&E market is deeply shaped by the ongoing Digital Transformation within companies.
The Digital Transformation of Media will require a significant reduction in costs and, most importantly, in the time required to make content available and consumable.
In this context, a centralized view of activities and full integration with external providers can certainly accelerate processes.
The Engineering Group offers a diversified portfolio that includes proprietary solutions, best-of-breed market solutions, and managed services. It continues to expand its expertise through M&A activities and partnerships with major technology players.
Supporting sports, content production, emerging technologies, and new media industry trends, the proprietary EngGPT platform is proving to be a powerful and flexible tool. It plays a key role in analyzing current phenomena such as piracy, the rise of FAST channels, streaming, and market trends.
Innovating means embracing AI and digital transformation to unlock new opportunities. The key to growth? Technology and intelligent adaptation.
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