21_23_David Robertson.qxp_Grid 14/08/2024 17:29 Page 1
OVER THE
COUNTER
BY DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.
All of us of a certain age feel that life is moving quicker and quicker. In fact, since I had my little boy, life seems to have gone on a crazy fast forward. He is now two! I can’t quite believe that. Perhaps because I am approaching my 50th milestone birthday, it has made me reflect on how every industry, be it hospitality, media or of course retail continues to change in this new world.
Foreshortened Future? I enjoy a podcast called The Rest is Entertainment and recently they spoke about TV and all the challenges and changes that are evident in that medium. The debate around linear TV (ie BBC, Channel 4 etc) was a very interesting one as they all believed that it would not be there in 15 years in any similar shape to what we know now. That would mean the BBC, which started in 1936, would perhaps see its centenary while Channel 4 (1982) and Channel 5 (1997) would barely see 50 or 40 years! While we could probably all see this coming true, change leads to more opportunities. Already we have seen the rise of the content
creator and that is what in effect is happening with media. Today YouTube content creators are perhaps more valuable than traditional TV producers. They produce content daily, target specific audiences and feed them with the knowledge that they want. Many of them have literally built careers, whether it be Mark Goldbridge speaking about Man U on The United Stand, Mat Armstrong salvaging crashed cars, Brick Clicker launching the latest Lego sets or John Campea discussing all things film. In a further discussion on The Rest is Entertainment they made the comparison with TV and the steam railways. In the 50s steam was king and then electric came along and made that obsolete. It didn’t matter if you were the best steam operator in the world, you would struggle. However, you were making the seats for those trains, your
Left: Mark Goldbridge and Mat Armstrong are among the many YouTube stars who deliver specialist content to their fans.
Above: Traditional TV companies are having to be switched on to new challenges from consumers. Left: David with his two year old son, Hudson. Below: The Rest is Entertainment podcast is one of David’s fave listens.
business could continue whether the trains were being powered by steam, electricity or hydrogen. This very valid point will not be lost on the TV companies as they find ways to connect with the new audiences and change enough to remain relevant. All of this got me thinking about retail and how they keep saying that the High St is dead. If this is the case then why are Governments and Councils pouring money into it? Are they like the BBC and Channel 4 and just trying to eek things out for as long as they can? Or do they really think that shopping and retail still has a place? Last month I highlighted the need for Govt, Councils and town centre organisations to think carefully about how they spend the money and what they do with things like parking, bus lanes and other rules that make it difficult to access town centres. Making things easy for people to get what they want is key. Think about YouTube. If you want to watch content on women’s basketball PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 21