Turning around an audiovisual production company specialized in the education sector

Summary

We find ourselves in a time where digitalization is taking (more than ever) a relevant space to the offline world, therefore, it seems a unique opportunity for an audiovisual media production company to increase its business volume.
In the world of education, the rules of the market are very much affected by agreements from previous years (unwritten laws), with some reticence to change, but above all, dominated by large publishers that have their own audiovisual department and make it difficult for other companies to enter the market.
ST strategy helped EducoProducing* to quickly develop a restructuring strategy that reduced costs, replenished priorities and gears at an internal level and professionalized the company at a commercial level, making the company a potentially relevant player in the industry.

A company with a clear business focus.

Try to be disruptive in a traditional sector

Major problems selling.

The complete story

Opportunity

Like many of its competitors by scale, EducoProducing* was overwhelmed by the difficulty of successfully offering its services to the country’s publishers.
The company has in its DNA a quality superior to the market average and a proven pedagogical value in each of its works, but the difficulty in attracting clients and retaining them made the company’s daily work difficult. An added problem was that its main client represented more than 60% of its turnover, which did not offer reasonable margins that made it impossible to cover any unforeseen event (common in the audiovisual world).
The property found itself unable to adapt to the reality of the sector and the difficulty of changing the organizational structure to give a change of direction to a company with relevant assets, but without success.

Changeover points

Working closely with the CEO and senior management, ST strategy served as a strategic advisor and developed a comprehensive transformation plan that addressed three key challenges:

  • Professionalization of management: The Company’s management was aimless and stagnant with regard to the possibilities of change. We worked on the type of leadership to be followed and the priorities and objectives to be achieved.
  • Transformation of the internal structure at the operational level: We identified ways to reduce costs and generate additional income from a renewed pricing policy. The most relevant thing in this sense was the fact of transforming the internal work methodology, generating a more efficient and productive organization chart than before.
  • Refocused commercial strategy: We developed strategic initiatives that focused resources on the main EducoProducing* products. We offered alternatives in the search for new opportunities and alternative customer segments, also adding a commercial structure to increase the number of customers. We carried out an intense analysis and modified the company’s value proposal according to its strengths and the needs of the market.

    Recommendations

    We recommended that the CEO take several immediate steps to improve financial management, reduce costs and innovate in new revenue streams. We work collaboratively to:

    • Modify the organization chart based on the team’s capabilities and skills, introducing operational flows at the business unit level to increase accountability.
    • Redefine the corporate image to communicate clearly and precisely the services offered by the company.
      To build an efficient commercial network in economic terms that increases the generation of the current business flow.
    • Establish company-wide cash flow reporting and forecasting processes with clearly defined roles and responsibilities and improved visibility.
    • Replace lower-margin services that take up more time for the team and provide less value to the customer. Once these disappear, introduce digital business launches and complementary services to achieve increased contract revenue for higher value-added services.
    • Optimize operations and reduce the workforce to save costs in an industry where the figure of the freelancer is the most optimal for both parties.

      * The confidentiality of our clients is a priority of the company. Although we have changed their names, the information is real