• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, December 27, 2019

Yearly predictions about media, entertainment and advertising are all the rage for many publications. And why not? It’s a fantasy league for business nerds.

Mull the merger landscape and create your own business league combinations with possible drop-to-the floor headlines:

“Apple Buys Netflix!” or “Disney Buys Netflix!” or “Apple buy Disney AND Netflix! Even better, consider mid-size media companies combinations: Sony-MGM-Lionsgate or Discovery-AMC Networks-ViacomCBS.

But the best one could be something lurking in the weeds: Every technology company will need to be in the entertainment business. This comes from producer Cassian Elwes, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter.

He says: “[These] companies start to realize that entertainment has to be an inherent part of their strategy, bringing major investment and new thinking.” Oracle, Salesforce, Nvidia? Other tech companies that make hardware, processors, or are CRM, data handlers, and the like?

In that regard, think bigger. Entertainment connections remain a big draw for top consumer marketers -- especially with the rise of digital media and all the disruption and distraction it can bring.

From 2018 to 2023, content marketing could see double its total value -- to $9.59 billion in 2023 from $4.12 billion in 2018, according to ResearchAndMarkets.com.

Why is that important? Because with the uncertainly about where advertising consumption is going, as well as data confusion -- first-party, third-party, as it relates to business outcomes and attribution -- companies know one thing for sure: Consumers engage deeply with all things entertainment.

If marketers feel there is a lack of clarity or scale concerns of traditional ad pushes, shifting to films, TV, short-form videos, social media TV, outdoor video seems a logical bet.

So, how do consumer marketers do more? Find producers who know how to tell stories -- long, short, mid-size, on film, TV, social media, mobile and everywhere in between.

The main question: What remains in the traditional advertising space?

Entertainment can be feel-good stuff for marketing executives. Then all you need is to find how much comfort there is in everything else, as if you just left a big holiday dinner -- stuffed, out of shape, and not really nutritious. (That Christmas Day NBA game did nothing for you, either).