Stephen J. Davis

Transitioning from a long and successful career in traditional entertainment production and distribution to the exciting and rapidly evolving world of mobile entertainment, Stephen J. Davis was named president of mobile media at InfoSpace, Inc., a leader in mobile entertainment and private-label search and online directory, in November of 2005.

Responsible for managing InfoSpace’s mobile entertainment business worldwide, including content licensing and production, marketing, public relations, promotions, sales and product development, Davis answers questions about the opportunities in mobile entertainment as December’s NATPE Mentor.

NATPE: What is the biggest misconception about digital media?

Davis: Traditionalists need to recognize that although the new world of digital distribution channels offers phenomenal opportunities for getting content out in a very different way to a very diverse audience, it is still a new distribution channel and therefore it requires a particular kind of care and feeding to be sure that the content works in that medium. To think that because content is successful in traditional linear media it therefore will automatically translate to digital is one of the biggest mistakes people like me, who come from that traditional media world, make. If you look at the realm of formats, as we’ve seen with the explosion in reality television and game shows and the like, the same kind of parallels apply to the digital world. You have to create formats for programming to ensure that they really fit through that digital distribution pipeline as effectively as possible.

NATPE: Are the skills and talents of traditional production and distribution executives the same skills required in the digital world?

Davis: Although looking at the digital world through a digital lens is critical, traditional media executives can apply the skills that they use every day in the exploitation of traditional media very effectively in the digital world. You don’t necessarily have to be trained as a digitalist in order to be successful; you just have to have the ability to look at the world through a different lens. The skill sets translate very nicely, otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here.

NATPE: With everything evolving so rapidly in the digital world, how do you stay on top of the technology, the new distribution platforms, what’s working and what isn’t?

Davis: The best way to keep abreast of what’s happening in this new world that we live in is to study what other people do – the good, the bad and the ugly. You learn from the experience of others. I’m also a voracious reader and it’s very easy now to peruse the trades like Variety and Hollywood Reporter and technology books like Wired and the plethora of Web sites and online news sources that have been created around this new digital world. Reading is always a very effective way to keep abreast of the changes and innovations in the industry. Having said that, however, there is no substitute for talking to the people who are creating the innovations, who are doing what they’re doing in the digital world. That’s really the most effective way to keep abreast of what’s happening.

NATPE: There’s so much hype surrounding digital media, how can we identify the real opportunities?

Davis: That’s our objective for the upcoming NATPE Mobile++ event in Las Vegas next month – separating the hype from the real opportunities that exist today. There is a lot of hype around what is happening in the mobile world just as there was a lot of hype in the early days of the Web. One of the things media executives have to recognize is that there is certainly immediate opportunity and a lot of people are making money in the space. But there is a long tail to the mobile world, just as there is a long tail in other digital distribution channels. We really do have to be careful not to be overcome by the hype, because the hype breeds disappointment.

We’ve seen in many instances a lot of very well-meaning campaigns or uses of mobile to either deliver traditional programming or create interesting promotional opportunities that have failed solely because the hype was greater than the reality. Not recognizing what was realistic at the time, expecting more when more could never have been delivered. By that same token, we live in such a phenomenally dynamic time where consumers are willing to experience and experiment really unfettered by the complications of technologies, the good and the bad of technology. It’s wonderful but it’s complicated and if consumers don’t have a good experience and don’t embrace that technology, they’re not very loyal and they’ll move on to some other distribution channel. That’s why it’s so important that we recognize it’s all about delivering a great consumer experience. We may be excited about it being the fourth platform or fourth window but if the consumer doesn’t get it, we won’t be able to monetize it. That’s really our focus during the sessions at the event.