(Market) Size Doesn't Matter
Great careers take courage, not ego. Sometimes when you are trying to successfully navigate during difficult times, the best and maybe the only next step might be moving laterally, maybe even moving down market.
To put this in context, it's critical to know the differences between where the industry has been vs where the industry is headed ....
You started in places like Biloxi-Gulfport or Wheeling-Steubenville or Waco TX and have Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago or New York in your sights. It was a simple and effective strategy. Follow the people, but population shifts take decades and happen much slower than the turmoil comes in your career.
Couple that with unprecedented broadband access and you may find you're much better off at the market leader in a smaller operation with a bigger client or audience base than a perpetual No. 4 out of 4.
Not only will you get more reps and your industry skill sets will develop quicker, the streaming live and on demand viewers in a No 1 in DMA 25 can be 10x the live viewers of No 4 in DMA 10. The top 10 market can have ten times LESS online viewers than a market half the size. This is today's broadcast TV news reality.
People are unplugging and cutting the cord at a record pace. The traditional measure of the number of TVs in market is still a strong indicator of performance but change is on the horizon and channels (pun intended) are shifting. The strength and reach of a television signal will no longer be an indication of eyeballs on YOU!
The future will likely bring some interesting changes to the multimedia professional. A multi-channel multi-screen brand won’t be optional, it will be essential. Your content and image will need to be adaptable and responsive not only to technology, but responsive to audience channel shift.
The big takeaway here is that geography, the geo fences of zip codes, is likely to play a smaller and smaller role in determining your audience and the equity of your brand. Your march up market just got a little bit more complicated and the importance of building a digital brand much more critical to your future success.
Photo cred: follow TalentBlvd / Nielsen