Versatile Amphibian

One of the techniques we've been playing with this year is The Digital Nightmare Competitor, a framework for stretching the thinking of executives in a business by showing them how their industry could look strategically, operationally and economically in a digital world. I recently did such an exercise for a studio client and thought I'd share a nightmare I particularly like. Think of it as a Grinch-like Christmas present :)... November 5th  2026, London In late trading, shares in Wintermute , the apex media business of the 2020's hit a record high, valuing the business at more than $400Bn. This success marks a remarkable rise to prominence for an organisation barely a decade old. Classical disruption started with the customer From its launch in late 2016, Project Wintermute targeted people turned off by the complex media distribution and rights landscape of the mid-2010’s. By offering a single monthly subscription to unlimited premium digital conten...

If you listen to Jimmy Wales, then traditional media is dead . Consumers in 2012 want their media to be more interactive, more social. They want to choose what they consume and when they consume it. The safe, constrained world of the schedule and page layout is just so 20th Century. So long traditional media and thanks for the memories. If I get sentimental, I’ll access them anytime, anywhere I want them. Yet traditional media endures. TV viewing hours are up 4% YoY in the UK. Print advertising not only has more impact on consumers than online, but its advantage is actually increasing . Why? Because media is a social experience, something best enjoyed together. It gives us something to discuss, to debate and when things get too much, to escape with. Nearly two-thirds of us discuss TV shows with friends or colleagues at least once a week, nearly half of us will discuss what we’ve read in the news and a third chat about books. On-demand services are uncompromising, individual exper...