Even here in Canada, a land of wood, water and poor Netflix selection, it’s clear digital media is the future. It is surprising then, just how little measurement of Canada’s digital landscape we have so far.
Thankfully, 49 Pixels’ State of the Digital Media Economy report takes a first step to rectifying that dearth of information. Headed by Justin Kozuch and funded by both Teehan+Lax and the Mesh Prize, the report aims to quantify the economy that surrounds “the creation of digital content for screens” in Canada.
Among the highlights of the report is a sense of optimism for both revenue growth and workforce expansion, with nearly three-quarters of firms expecting to hire more employees next year and almost half projecting at least a moderate increase in revenues, if not more. At the same time, many surveyed felt that red tape and a too-conservative approach are holding Canada back.
It’s that kind of bird’s-eye view of the industry that seemed to be missing. “The reason I created the report is because this kind of deep-seeded data just doesn’t exist,” says lead researcher Kozuch over the phone. “It’s good to have this data, because it gives us a sense of where companies are projecting revenue, where and who they’re looking to hire, but also in terms of how the workforce is doing.”
While the measurement of economic sectors is normally handled by Statscan, their normal five year cycle is often too slow to capture change in the burgeoning world of digital where significant shifts, like the rapid rise of the tablet, happen much faster.
But Canada may be lagging when it comes to institutionalizing the innovation that drives that pace of change.
“That was a big thing I noticed,” says Kozuch. “A lot of survey respondents came back with ‘I wish had more opportunities to innovate’ or ‘I wish I had more time to undertake personal projects that help improve my professional skills’.”
Unlike large multinationals like Google, who have employees set aside 20 percent of their time to work on creative projects, Canada’s digital agencies are yet to implement that kind of culture. It’s a shift that Kozuch says will have to come by challenging established management styles and conservativism.
As for the role of government in stimulating the digital economy, Kozuch’s perspective is ambivalent.
“Governments have done a great job of funding content, like with the Ontario Media Development Corporation,” who fund a wide variety of projects, from web content to video games. “But where I think the flaws lie is in a lack of understanding the digital media industry from our perspective. I just feel they could be doing a lot more to promote the industry.”
62.5 percent of companies have never applied for any form of funding, the primary reason being stringent application processes or funding requirements.
Another stark, if perhaps unsurprising statistic is how homogeneous the industry is, with 62 percent of respondents being male and 80 percent being white.
Yet, having gone through the survey, Kozuch is bullish about the state of the sector and its prospects.
“This industry is home to many talented developers and designers who are doing great things with digital,” he says. “For example, there’s a big push for open data. People are creating usable apps for the public for access to the information governments have.”
Kozuch gives the example of the recent app for Toronto’s Doors Open event, or an app that helps you pick a restaurant in Vancouver and other cities based on their health inspection ratings.
What’s clear then, is that while Canada’s independent digital businesses are well-situated, the private and public support infrastructure will need to continue to adapt in order to assist in the growth of this increasingly important sector of the economy.
The report can be read in full or downloaded at the 49 Pixels site.
