IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MARKETING MEDIA TECHNOLOGY Executive Summary Modern broadcast and media technology buyers feel bombarded with marketing messages, digital content and cold calling from technology suppliers. Most of it is not relevant to them at that moment in time and gets ignored. But buyers do want to keep up with innovation and find out what industry vendors can do, specifically what business problems they can solve. Then, when the time is right, and a project is budgeted and underway, buyers know which vendors to approach. This report reveals the current state of the media technology sales and marketing landscape: ow buyers are finding out about the market, how they want to engage with technology h providers, the sort of marketing content they are consuming through which channels, and how their vendors can best respond. Independently researched and produced by Caretta Research in partnership with Bubble Agency, it is based on analysis of detailed focus group interviews and survey data, gathered from a broad range of global industry leaders, including technology buyers and sellers, in Q3 2021. Key Findings Despite cancellations in 2020-21, trade shows retain a Well before the pandemic, sales and marketing in media crucial role: still the most popular channel for buyers to technology was changing with the shift to SaaS and cloud keep up with industry trends and vendors, and the channel services, smaller projects, faster buying cycles, and informed that buyers trust most. buyers cherry picking the vendors they want to work with. Face-to-face events like trade shows should be increasing- Buyers want their suppliers to communicate clearly how ly seen as the mechanism to close deals by creating trusted products and services can address specific business issues relationships. Content-led lead generation to build pipeline and show where they’ve done it before. comes earlier in the process. Events and content supported by industry organisations In a market where trust is crucial, buyers hate vendors who like DPP, EBU, IABM, MESA, SMPTE and SVG, along with make over-inflated or vague claims. Buyers want honest buyers’ own personal networks, are the other most-trust- and transparent marketing communications. ed sources of industry information. Marketing needs to be two-way. Listening is as important Clear, concise bite-size content across a range of formats and channels, particularly LinkedIn and YouTube, is the as broadcasting the message. Buyers feel that many best route to reach buyers who want to keep up with the suppliers fail to understand their real business needs. market and research individual suppliers. Technology suppliers following these steps, and using marketing to clearly position their specific capabilities and Beyond the explosion of digital content, face-to-face experience of solving specific business challenges will be in interactions remain crucial for building a buyer’s trust in prime place when buyers are creating a shortlist. the supplier’s ability to deliver what they’re promising.