Canadian digital media growth fueled by popularity of mobile, social media

Canada’s rapidly growing digital media sector is being fueled by companies seeking to jump on the mobile and social media bandwagon—even if they don't fully understand how it can help their businesses, insiders say. According to a report released May 25 by the Pixel to Product research project, 73.4 per cent of the country’s digital media agencies will increase the size of their labour force in 2011. The project's lead researcher, Justin Kozuch, said in an interview that the total 48.1 per cent growth of Canada’s digital agencies is due to a realization of the importance of mobile and Internet connectivity. “It could be a sign that there’s a growing confidence in the Canadian economy as a whole and that digital media is not just some secondary consideration,” Kozuch said. “It’s becoming more and more important and a lot of companies are looking to invest a lot more money into not just social media or mobile, but the web generally speaking.” Most companies are also looking to hire experts in app development, the report said. “Mobile is the big thing right now, obviously, with a large number of companies looking to hire somebody with those talents,” he said. “Social media and community management are obviously buzz words .” The report said that the average salary of a Canadian digital media professional is now between $40,000 and $59,999 and the average age is 28.2 years old. Francis Fernandes, president of Exclaim Media, a company that develops applications, said in an interview that social media is changing the face of the Canadian digital media industry. “A lot of companies don’t really understand how it can help them, but everybody is trying to jump on that bandwagon and I think it’s definitely something that is changing the industry,” Fernandes said. “More and more of our clients want to do social media campaigns, contests, a whole bunch of other things all around social media.” Fernandes also suggested that a Facebook craze seems to be emerging in which clients want to put their businesses on the social network because everyone else is doing it. Sometimes clients will want to put their businesses on Facebook without knowing how to use the site or how it might benefit them. “I think because it’s so new and it’s almost like the latest buzz word. People just want to do it because it’s the latest thing,” Fernandes said. “They feel they have to do it and don’t actually put thought and proper planning in to see how it could help their businesses.” Fernandes said part of Exclaim's business is to explain to companies how social media works and how it can help. Exclaim has developed applications for Parmalat Canada, Ford Motor Company of Canada and Bell Canada, to name a few. “There was a retail management application that we did, and it is being picked up by a couple of other companies as well,” Fernandes said. Fernandes added that smaller digital media companies have an edge over some of their bigger competitors. "Definitely I think we have the ability to be more agile in terms of what we can and can’t do. Some of the bigger companies have a lot more red tape, obviously.” Kozuch agreed that a rise in digital media employment is due to an increased awareness about social media. Kozuch said companies are realizing that their workforce may not be able to provide the type of services that their clients are looking for, causing them to seek out new, digital skills. “They’re looking to become a little more full service by adding on those that have expertise in social media,” he said. The gaming industry is also experiencing a boost, attributing some of its growth to the popularity of tablets and increasing smartphone penetration. Danielle Parr, executive director of the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC), told The Wire Report that tablets and smartphones have enabled the emergence of popular “social games” on Facebook. “The computer isn’t a new device, but Facebook’s a new interface for playing games,” Parr said. “It definitely serves to open up a new audience and to make games more accessible to people. It certainly gives you more choice.” The ESAC released a report by Secor Consulting on May 30 that showed the Canadian gaming industry grew by 11 per cent over the past two years. The sector is also projected to grow at a faster rate of 17 per cent per year over the next two years. The Secor report said that “when it comes to business conditions, companies operating within Canada believe Internet and communications structure followed by availability of qualified personnel are the two most important factors.” The consulting firm said the video gaming industry requires specialized knowledge with skill sets ranging from technology to creative arts to management. The report said that the hiring of new graduates is expected to pick up significantly over the next two years. “Across Canada the percentage of video game companies hiring (or intending to hire) new graduates is currently 60 per cent, a proportion that is expected to increase to 77 per cent by 2013," the report said. The average number of graduates hired per company is also expected to increase from three to eight employees by 2013. The report said that, on average, a typical mid-sized or large video game company can expect to hire 24 to 26 new graduates in 2013. The amount of new hires will rise to 16 in two years, up 10 positions from 2011, the report added. Kozuch said the industry’s growth is due to many factors, but he deemed the most important one to be connectivity. “I think from the companies’ perspective on workforce and location, it reflects that confidence and that brands are starting to understand the importance of being on the web,” he said. news@thewirereport.ca

Canadian digital media growth fueled by popularity of mobile, social media

Broadcast | June 3, 2011

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