Frederik Wiedemann
Partner
Frederik is an economist with a special focus on digital development, media and technology. He has also worked with innovation in the public sector. Before going into consulting he worked in the Danish Ministry of Finance and as special advisor in The Prime Minister's Office.
Keywords: technology, telecom, media, public sector
Keywords: technology, telecom, media, public sector
On strategic development
In creative, content and design driven industries, the development process is often very individualistic and trial-and-error based rather than being guided by strategic direction and structured insights in customer needs. This is particularly a problem for media and digital businesses who are undergoing huge changes in technology and consumer behaviour. They risk wasting a lot of precious time working in wrong directions or developing in circles while competition wins the battle for convergence.
On B2B issues
It is interesting to compare the study of B2B issues with that of consumer oriented companies. Business anthropology has mostly focused on the consumer or end user through the study of everyday situations: What really goes on in the home? During the commute? While shopping? There is also a relatively strong professional tradition for doing workplace ethnography - interviewing and studying employees to understand internal culture and organizational issues in order to make process improvements.
But few attempts have been made to apply business anthropology to solve complex B2B problems, even though it makes perfect sense to study sales relationships, logistics, decision making processes and cross-company collaborations through the people lens. Maybe it is because it can be difficult to gain privileged access to corporate clients and conduct such studies. Or is it simply because we regard B2B relations as purely rational and operational entities, forgetting that even here it is ultimately about people?
On media and kids
The media behaviour of pre-teens provides the perfect example of how individuals balance opposing emotional forces: on the one hand, the safety of feeling part of a community, of something bigger than yourself ("Inspiration"); on the other, the dynamic of setting yourself apart from everyone else and striving towards something you are not ("Aspiration").
These driving forces come together beautifully in sub-cultures, where one experiences a strong group feeling - of being special. But it is also very evident among pre-teens who are clinging on to the safe elements of childhood while simultaneously exploring the mysteries of adult life. Pre-teens engage in a schizophrenic combination of media products aimed at their much younger siblings and grown-ups that are twice their age. In one of our studies a boy had a bedroom strewn with teddy bears and old toys, and another room for home work and computer play complete with pin-up girls on the walls. This is a huge challenge for media (and most other consumer) companies, for how do you engage a target group with such complex emotions and preferences?
In creative, content and design driven industries, the development process is often very individualistic and trial-and-error based rather than being guided by strategic direction and structured insights in customer needs. This is particularly a problem for media and digital businesses who are undergoing huge changes in technology and consumer behaviour. They risk wasting a lot of precious time working in wrong directions or developing in circles while competition wins the battle for convergence.
On B2B issues
It is interesting to compare the study of B2B issues with that of consumer oriented companies. Business anthropology has mostly focused on the consumer or end user through the study of everyday situations: What really goes on in the home? During the commute? While shopping? There is also a relatively strong professional tradition for doing workplace ethnography - interviewing and studying employees to understand internal culture and organizational issues in order to make process improvements.
But few attempts have been made to apply business anthropology to solve complex B2B problems, even though it makes perfect sense to study sales relationships, logistics, decision making processes and cross-company collaborations through the people lens. Maybe it is because it can be difficult to gain privileged access to corporate clients and conduct such studies. Or is it simply because we regard B2B relations as purely rational and operational entities, forgetting that even here it is ultimately about people?
On media and kids
The media behaviour of pre-teens provides the perfect example of how individuals balance opposing emotional forces: on the one hand, the safety of feeling part of a community, of something bigger than yourself ("Inspiration"); on the other, the dynamic of setting yourself apart from everyone else and striving towards something you are not ("Aspiration").
These driving forces come together beautifully in sub-cultures, where one experiences a strong group feeling - of being special. But it is also very evident among pre-teens who are clinging on to the safe elements of childhood while simultaneously exploring the mysteries of adult life. Pre-teens engage in a schizophrenic combination of media products aimed at their much younger siblings and grown-ups that are twice their age. In one of our studies a boy had a bedroom strewn with teddy bears and old toys, and another room for home work and computer play complete with pin-up girls on the walls. This is a huge challenge for media (and most other consumer) companies, for how do you engage a target group with such complex emotions and preferences?
