After reading this week’s articles about company
partnerships, I felt it was very fitting for me to highlight my current
employer, The Hub, a television network for kids and their families, which is a
joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro, Inc.
In reading Kanter’s (2010) article “Collaborative Advantage:
The Art of Alliances,” Discovery and Hasbro, Inc. went through several of the
mentioned stages when considering a partnership, particularly the chemistry and
compatibility between the two companies. In deciding to come together as one,
the parent companies and The Hub’s executives had to agree on what the new
network would be and how it would stand out in the current obstacle ridden,
children’s television landscape.
Competing against other children’s networks such as Disney
XD, Disney Jr., Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, The Hub’s launch was and
continues to be handled under very watchful eyes by our parent companies. In
order to meet the many desires of our parent companies, all departments within
The Hub, particularly the Marketing and Communications & Publicity teams
maintain a constant upward flow of information to Discovery and Hasbro, Inc.
executives. As Kanter mentions, “more communication than anyone anticipated is
necessary” (p.105) – for example: the weekly calls my department has with the
Hasbro, Inc. Corporate Communications team, yearly in-person meetings with both
Discovery and Hasbro, Inc. publicity teams to discuss new shows The Hub aims to
launch or even the quarterly board meetings Hub executives take part in to
discuss the network’s progress. The channels of communication all three parties
have established seem almost endless.
I also agree with Kanter’s idea that “strategic, tactical,
operational, interpersonal and cultural integration” (pp. 105-106) do work in
favor of having a successful partnership. Each of the five levels of
integration is implemented on a daily basis at my network (2010). Network goals
are set by the board of directors, including The Hub’s President & CEO and various
marketing, on-air, publicity and research campaigns are implemented at least
every two months for new series launches, special stunts and promotions. On the
flip side, we do deal with the challenges of having to often mend unforeseen
disagreements between our network executives and parent companies. The few
challenges I’ve encountered involved deciding what shows the network should and
should not air, how will our target audience react to particular shows or even
simple things like what shows should be network priorities in the fall and
summer programming lineups.
Fusing two successful companies together is never easy due to
everything a partnership entails, especially the consideration both sides must
consider before literally saying “I do!”
Reference:
Kanter, R. (2010).
"Collaborative Advantage: The Art of Alliances."Harvard Business
Review. pp. 1-16.
Crystal,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post and the connections you made with the readings of this week. In your opinion, do you think that the alliance/partnership between Discovery and Hasbro, Inc. is a successful one? If so, can you share why you think they are successful?
In the article Kanter says that the companies need to take the time to learn about each other's differences early and take them into account as issues come to the surface in order to make the alliance successful (2010). Do you think that both companies took the time to get to know each other before partnering?
Hi Xiomara,
DeleteI believe that the joint venture between Discovery and Hasbro, Inc. has been quite successful in terms of the viewership we have and positive responses to our various animated and live-action series. Because of the competitive landscape of children's television programming (e.g. Disney XD, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network), our network executives have had to be very creative in what series to launch at what time of the year and what's different that no other network currently airs. Because neither parent company has ever successful launched a children's network, we have a open line of communication with them on what really works and does not work.
Lastly, each parent company took a lot of time and consideration prior to entering the partnership. All partnerships flux and change, and in this situation, ours will continue to do so as well.
Crystal,
ReplyDeleteYour post was thoughtful and I appreciate your sharing your personal experiences - my favorite type of application assignment!
You mentioned that there is an "almost endless" channel of communication. What have you found to be the most valuable in this amount of communication - that there are few surprises? Or that once the challenges come up, there are ample venues for working them out?
How have the companies - and your specific group - been able to work out the unforeseen disagreements you mentioned about programming, target audiences and fall lineups? As a veteran communicator, I am always interested in problem-solving activities and I wonder how you have specifically been charged with implementing solutions to these problems in this alliance between Hasbro and Discovery?
Hi Peggy,
DeleteGoing into this partnership, several lines of communications were established - weekly calls with the respective parent companies, quarterly board meetings to discuss goals/what's working and not, yearly meetings with Corp Comm departs to brainstorm series priorities and what events to attend, etc. We've also gotten use to it's never too late (no matter the time) to call "X" with questions or even to address a "fire" that needs attention. I've had several of those with our east coast counterparts. Also, because the network works so closely with all of the internal depts, that is another channel of communication to address serious issues that arise.
Crystal, following from Xiomara’s question, I’d be interested to hear what metrics you would use to evaluate the success of the partnership between Discovery Communications and Hasbro Inc.
ReplyDeleteHow long has The Hub been in existence? Would you say that the partnership is in what Kanter would characterize as the “old marrieds” phase? Kanter says that productive relationships usually require and bring about change in both partners. Do you think this is the case with the Discovery Communications/Hasbro Inc partnership?
Hi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good question re: metrics to evaluate the partnerships success. I personally have not been invited to that type of information. There's some things that only upper management have access to. I feel like investigating now.
The Hub was established in 2009, but did not officially launch with on-air programming until October 2010. Seeing how we will turn two years old this year and the partnership was in the works for a while, I do agree that Discovery and Hasbro, Inc. are an old married couple. Because we have to meet the demands of not only our network executives, but also the requests of the parent companies, we've had to adapt several times. For example, one parent company is very protective of its properties, so we've had to target certain media outlets under their guidance and expertise or even push out show announcements back in order to give a parent company time to push information out first.
Crystal, out of curiosity, how are communications/public relations executed through this joint venture? Recently, my agency teamed up with Sports Illustrated to launch the 2012 swimsuit issue. During this my team worked closely with SI's marketing team to create consumer-facing publicity stunts and events. It was an interesting dynamic as both companies had different success metrics and ideas about how these campaigns should be executed.
ReplyDeleteHave you found the same thing with the Discovery/Hasbro partnership? Going back to your survey of the company cultures, does this translate effectively to the marketing objectives of both companies' success metrics?
Crystal-
ReplyDeleteExcellent job outlining how your current employer took the time to go through all of the necessary stages, prior to forming a successful partnership. From your description, it appears that the communication systems are working like a well-oiled machine as they continue to nurture the relationship between Discovery and Hasbro, ensuring their continued success. I'm curious to know, however, with so many other children's networks out there, how does The Hub position themselves to stand apart from the competition?
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ReplyDeleteCrystal, I enjoyed your post, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI get the impression that the "unforeseen disagreements between...network executives and parent companies" you mentioned arise out of having to serve two masters (I'm sure that's coming directly from our reading in a previous week). Answering to one beauracracy is hard enough, but two? Is there any amount of autonomy given to the network executives? If not, how does this affect The Hub's response time to new market/programming opportunities and, as Dawn pointed out, competition?