With the unveiling of our Microsoft 30 Digital Champions coming along nicely, we delve into the content sector to see how the use of technology has enabled Media Legends Group to streamline its processes.
(1) Please give us a brief introduction to the business
Media Legends Group (MLG) is a sports content creator, conducting interviews with celebrated sport personalities in order to provide sports enthusiasts with unrivalled sports stars access through interviews and behind-the-scenes content.
MLG aims to connect with a vast audience of sports fans by giving consumers a peek into the world of sports in a whole new way, having traditional, digital and social bases covered and considered throughout the creative and delivery process.
Ambassadors include former England boss Terry Venables and ex-Manchester United striker Louis Saha.
(2) What have the significant growth milestones been in the last few years
Having recently launched, our most significant growth milestone to date was signing a deal with Yahoo! Sports for them to broadcast our first sports interview series. With Yahoo! Sport being one of the main sports broadcasters globally, we couldn’t have asked for a better start.
Were also in talks with broadcast outlets, both in Europe and in the US, which will hopefully come through at the beginning of 2016.
(3) What inspires you as an entrepreneur/business owner, and how does that come across with your company
We are inspired by creating something different, a concept thats easy to grasp yet is different to what weve seen to date. In this case, we want to bring quality sports interviews to the public providing fans with a real insight into the industry.
By always striving to be at the forefront of things and demanding the best from ourselves with what we deliver, we make sure to take that extra little time to get things right whilst listening and acting upon feedback, which really drives us on.
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(4) What kind of obstacles are you encountering as you grow your enterprise
As with most small businesses, finding the right people to work with can prove to be a challenge. At MLG, weve got a small core team meaning that we all wear plenty of different hats depending on whats on the agenda for that day; finding people that are willing to walk that extra special mile and take one for the team has proven quite difficult to find. Also, when you’re a small team, it’s even more important that you’re surrounded with likeminded people that are genuine team players.
(5) For a company that isn’t technology based, how has a digital approach helped you to carve out a bigger market and acquire a bigger audience
Traditionally, anything media/news related was either read in newspapers and magazines or watched on telly. However, thanks to the internet and the number of new media outlets that that has brought us, whilst also making it easier and cheaper for our audiences to access the material available, this has really allowed us to push the boundaries and expand much quicker than what would have been possible just ten years ago.
Also, with the vast number of people catching up on news and watching/streaming programmes on their phones, tablets and computers, I really believe were in a great position to scale fast globally.
(6) How is technology helping you to overcome hurdles, and what are the challenges of implementation
When launching a media company, one of the main hurdles can actually be that theres too much tech available. As weve learnt along the way, it’s all about keeping it simple; with all the amazing gadgets and programs available for this industry, it’s very easy to over complicate matters and blow the budget.
Also, needless to say, advances in tech also allow us to plan our social media content meaning that we don’t have to allocate time for this each and every day, which could quickly become a time consuming exercise.
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(7) Do you employ any kind of flexible working, and how does technology fit into this
As much as possible although for those on the film and production team, their hours and timetable are mainly dictated by interviews and shoots. For anyone office based, we apply a flexible approach where remote working is welcomed as long as the work is being executed to the same standards within the same timeframe.
Thanks to emails and other online communications tools, were happy to be more accommodating to our staffs needs.
(8) What kind of technology tools can you not work without
The studio where we record most podcasts and interviews is all about high-tech products and gadgets and we simply couldn’t do what we do without these. From microphones to bespoke programs that are used to record the interviews to different kind of sound equipment, weve got it all. Were also using an analytics program to measure the success and popularity of each show/programme that goes live. End of the day: if it’s not worth measuring, it’s not worth doing.
(9) What kind of technology would help you better compete with larger rivals
Some of the great technology used by the big players arent feasible for us simply because it’s too expensive. Instead, we stick to what we know and trust and that produce tangible and trackable results. Also, being a smaller player means that we actually don’t require the same in-depth programmes as were just fine relying upon the slightly simpler version of things.
Having said that, as the business grows and were expanding internationally, we will have to start exploring more, and new, technology solution to make sure we stay at the forefront of things.
(10) Where do you want to take your business in the future
As we continue to grow in the UK, because of the nature of the business and with sports being such a massive global industry, we’re also looking at other markets, initially in Europe and the US.
