Creativity is king: an exploration of the role of brand orientation in the collaborative strategies of UK broadcast media organisations.

Abstract

Although media brands possess distinct characteristics that differentiate them from commercial brands, their strategic management has only recently been recognised as important in the field of media management research. Organisations with a strategic orientation around the brand, known as a brand orientation, place the brand at the heart of the organisation’s activities, guiding its strategies through a common vision and set of behaviours. Collaborative strategies, where organisations cooperate to compete, have been a prevalent feature of UK broadcast media organisations’ strategies in the last decade. This study explores the role of brand orientation in the collaborative strategies of UK broadcast media organisations from 2010 to 2017. A mixed methods methodology is employed using an explanatory sequential research design. In the first phase, quantitative content analysis of reported instances of collaboration in the UK broadcast was carried out to identify and categorise the nature, form and motivations of collaboration. In a second exploratory phase, interviews with senior managers and qualitative content analysis of the reported statements of senior managers were conducted to explore the role of brand orientation and shared values in collaborations. The findings suggest that organisations in the UK broadcast media industry increasingly employed a form of collaboration that nurtured creative relationships and recognised the importance of creative individuals in developing collaborative strategies. The shared values espoused by these organisations around creativity and creative people suggest that a creative orientation played an important role alongside brand and market orientations in the collaborative strategies used. The findings point to a lack of focus on brands as a strategic resource and an absence of strategic brand management, which may be seen as evidence of a weak brand orientation. This study makes an original contribution to knowledge on strategic hybrid orientations by introducing the concept of 'creative orientation' alongside brand and market orientations; it adds to knowledge on media brands, their strategic management and the role of strategic orientations in collaborative strategies in the specific context of the UK broadcast media industry.