Olle, Swedens number one magazine and media blogger, wrote an interesting post about media trends for 2008. I’ve translated the quote below:

This creates challenges for all [media] brands:

* the traditional brands have to create new brands that are similar to the personal brands: they should converse, be credible, clear and be available on several platforms.

* the personal brands have to either position themselves as anti-establishment (probably won’t work for all of them) or look towards the establishments credibility and guarantees of quality.

I agree. This might be the year when the establishment catches up, purely through acquisition and superior resources.

The key here is talent. Talent will always prevail, but it can grow stronger and reach further in the right surroundings. Gawker Media built their successful blogs through strong editorial voices. I wonder though – do the media companies of today attract this type of talent? And even after acquisition – can it provide the right environment to make them stay?

I’m not convinced. My gut feeling is that there is a pool of people that the media companies desperately want, but these people aren’t even considering them as a potential employer. They are multi talented and could probably work pretty much anywhere, successfully. So where do they go instead? I think they’ll increasingly choose brands that represent the right values and have a competitive programme for personal development. Companies that actively recruit and scout out talent, using these types of incentives as bait. Very few (Swedish) media players are active here.

Much needs to done. But if times get rough in 2008, the difference between talent and hype will become clearer than ever. Whoever has the talent will make it. The rest… well, best of luck.

tags technorati : hr recruiting media 2008 talent

tags bloggar.se: hr, rekrytering, media, talang, 2008