The Future of Business Content is Here
About 16 months ago, I reflected on the disparities between the experiences of good entertainment content (inspiring/entertaining and story-based) and what passes for good business content (relevant/compelling, yet staid). The takeaway:
There is an opportunity – nay, an obligation – to rethink not just events and experiences, but the entire way in which content is created, delivered, consumed, monetized, renewed. Those who can create ways to pull this off in ways that delight customers and disrupt competitors will be the ones that we can’t imagine living – or working – without.
In that essay, I postulated a thought experiment wherein Netflix diversified beyond its consumer-entertainment core to become a leading creator and producer of business content. The point was not that Netflix would do it, but that in a vacuum, it could. Perhaps it should have; Netflix has lost 70% of its value in recent weeks and ignited a reckoning about the future of the streaming business. But we are entering a recessionary time, and there’s a great deal that’s outside the control of Netflix or anyone else given the drop in purchasing power caused by recent inflation (increasing over 8.5% as of the time of this writing).
What’s not outside companies’ control is the ability to create, produce, and distribute business content that’s both deeply inspiring and incredibly relevant. And, if they have a healthy core business, they can offer the content for free as a way of inviting new audiences to understand and build a connection to the brand.
I won’t claim to fill the entire vacuum posited in my prior piece, but I am proud to be part of a team that is taking the first steps toward creating the new future of business content. We’re putting something that’s both brainy and beautiful into the world as we take the next step forward with the Qualtrics brand.
That something is XM+, an all-new streaming service with compelling on-demand content that tells stories of how the best brands and businesses win on Experience. Featuring original series, documentary films, events, and other programming that spotlights brand, customer, and employee experiences that move the world forward, XM+ content is created for people in every role in every industry, and is produced to Hollywood standards by our team at Qualtrics Studios to be entertaining, relevant, thought-provoking, and inspiring to leaders at every level of every organization.
Because our signature X4 event was digital this year, we chose to launch it on XM+. X4 2022 gave attendees a chance to check out the latest product innovations from Qualtrics and hear from incredible creators like Reese Witherspoon and Michelle Obama. We also launched a mini-series called “Irreverent” that explores how brands like Fenty, Impossible, and Patagonia are pushing the status quo to win on Experience. And we are in the midst of creating a documentary on the future of work that will demonstrate why deep empathy and listening to employees are the key to unlocking “what’s next” for every organization’s unique employee experience.
When I left Prophet to be able to build and grow a brand from the “inside,” this is precisely the kind of experience I had in mind. Working with tremendously talented, wildly imaginative people across creative, digital, content, and growth teams to create stories that inspire, influence, and compel people around new possibilities. So grateful for the opportunity to lead and serve the Brand Team here at Qualtrics and to learn from the dozens of incredible minds around me every single day.
Namaste to everyone who is leading along the XM+ journey. Can’t wait to show the world what’s next.