The future of SaaS in the media industry: Interview with Anders Lithner, CEO, Brand Metrics

1. Welcome, Anders. What factors do you consider most critical when developing business models for tech and SaaS solutions in the media industry?

First and foremost, the unit you’re being paid for (e.g. CPM), and weighing it up against the risks involved. The alternative model would be an unlimited licence for a defined period that does not shift with volume. 

The former model - i.e. paying for ads or cloud services based on CPM - has vast potential to deliver in terms of revenue but represents arguably greater risk, because it is susceptible to varying usage and seasonality. 

The latter option, which we tend to favour, is the more typical SaaS licence model. It is a far lower-risk approach but revenue growth depends on being able to attract new customers. There is a trade-off to be made and this will always require striking the right balance specific to your company or brand.

2. What are the main challenges you face in product development for SaaS solutions in the media industry?

If only it were possible to distil this into a few - there are just so many. 

However, to be successful in our industry, the principle we come back to at every turn is to remain focused on solving for one part of the client project at a time. If we try to address all the issues at once, we will end up not fixing any of them - our efforts and intentions would just get diluted to a point where there is no meaningful progress.  

In terms of product development, first we need to ask ourselves what one problem we are attempting to solve, and second, whether our product represents a valid solution. Brand Metrics has been around since 2018, and we are proud to be continually iterating, and successfully fixing one really significant problem.

3. Do you sell your services differently to large media companies and entrepreneurial ventures? 

Most of the time there does not need to be a significant shift in approach from our side. We value working with both types of client, and fundamentally we know that we can help either to make money by leveraging the brand uplift data we provide. Smaller ventures usually have less budget available, but equally, they tend to require less time input to implement our solutions. 

4. How do you approach building and managing international sales teams?

The complexity of the product we are offering means successful teams need in-depth industry knowledge, advanced sales skills and a strong existing network. Our clients and prospects are innovative and progressive, and we are able to offer nuanced data solutions that deliver actionable insights to a wide variety of businesses.

Our sales team needs to be fully equipped with the experience to build these partnerships. We also need to build teams based on the geographical spread and evolution of our business, so while we're operational globally, we have regional sales representation in a number of markets and rising. 

5. How do you foster collaboration between sales and product development teams?

It’s inevitable to see some friction between these teams. After all, while the product team wants the sales team to sell what has been built, the sales team wants the product team to build what has been sold. 

To overcome this, the sales team needs to have a degree of flexibility in their prospecting conversations, and the product team needs to be agile enough to deliver against the long-term road map. Therefore, it is important to make sure there's mutual understanding of one another’s perspectives - and a recognition that the different perspectives that come with these different roles is what makes a top-class tech solution possible. 

Regular meeting time and interactions are key to building this rapport and harnessing these collaborations.

6. What trends do you see shaping the future of tech and SaaS solutions in the media industry?

There is always some trend or other that we fixate on, that gradually becomes embedded in our working lives, or not, before the furore dies down. So we need to be conscious not to overcommit our efforts or resources, but adapt to them as we go. 

If there is one long-term trend, I would say it is improved quality. While we are not yet at the point where every ad dollar spent is maximised in terms of what it can do for the advertiser, we are getting there. Advertising is becoming more and more effective. 

In contrast, one trend which fails to materialise in many ways is the effective use of data, especially when it comes to targeting. There are too many instances of working with the wrong data or optimisation strategies, and ending up with the wrong outcomes, which therefore are not delivering brand uplift. An example of this is using data to optimise for clicks, which, without meaningful evaluation of the brand uplift, or lack thereof, results time and again in wasted impressions and ad spend. 

Our product is predicated on the belief that you need to employ this type of evaluation - that brand uplift is a key metric to ensure data is being used to inform advertising practice and deliver ROI. And the more you use it, the more you learn what is working - and what is not.