readspeaker and mtv france best in france case study january 10, 2005 team es2 – c: amlan saha,...
TRANSCRIPT
ReadSpeaker and MTV France
Best in France Case StudyJanuary 10, 2005
Team ES2 – C: Amlan Saha, Pierre Bonnet, Robert Shan, and Spencer Altman
Company Introductions
ReadSpeaker Swedish Company Web-based Technology Why come to France?
France 2nd Largest Country in Europe
New legislation in France made product a necessity
Do company values fit the French culture?
Without legislation, cultural attitudes towards product would be significant problem
MTV France American Company
managed from London Television and
Entertainment Why come to France?
€ 5 Billion advertising Do company values fit
the French culture? No!
Company Introductions
ReadSpeaker Constraints
Tax Level Social Security Cost Work Protection Policies
Product Adaptation to France
Required French Version of Software Product
Required French Sales & Marketing Representative
Essential Advice Outsourcing is Essential
for small start-ups in France
MTV France Constraints
Tax Level Social Security Cost Work Protection Policies 35 Hour Work Week Non-French Brand Identity
Product Adaptation to France French Production of Programming vs.
Importing American Production If American: Dubbed-French vs.
Subtitled? Different Viewing Habits of
Audience Essential Advice
Do not underestimate cultural differences across functions: product, marketing, and HR
ReadSpeaker Market Basics
Entered France in 2004 Translation Software which transforms the text on web-
pages into audio New Legislation in 2004 makes it mandatory for all
public websites to be handicapped-friendly Users of this legislation are the visually-impaired, senior citizens,
illiterate, dyslexic and other learning disabilities
Forecast Target all 8,000 Web-Sites of public and governmental
organisations in France by 2007 Target eLearning Web-providers
MTV Market Basics
Entered the French market in 2000 Music Television Non consolidated Forecast
Target sales 2004 : 3.4M€ Target distribution revenue 2004 : 4 M€
Distribution about 5 Million households 45 employees
Company products
ReadSpeaker What products are
produced in France? Everything is developed &
produced in Sweden. Only sales & marketing offices in France.
Sales & marketing regionalised
MTV Localized content
(Short programs, commercials spots, on air marketing, and some live interactive show)
are produced in France Produced in France in
order to be close to the source of content such as record labels
A maximum level of local production is reached
Company's clients
ReadSpeaker The company's clients
are Public organizations
(government, town councils, prefectures, local administration agencies)
eLearning web-centres
The clients expect a better & more natural result than the solution offered by Microsoft.
MTV The company's clients are
Communication agencies Record Labels Brands
The clients expect good ratings & quality audience.
Limited cable & satellite distribution network in France. Limited network penetration compared to UK, Germany and Italy
Why it went to France
MTV “MTV should be in
every household on the planet”. Today: 384 million households around the globe in 140 countries via 31 localized TV channels and 17 Web sites.
ReadSpeaker Go where the legislation is
favorable to the software product
UK, Germany, Italy are also being considered.
France has huge growth potential + the service is obligatory for public organizations.
Company values
ReadSpeaker The local office is a sales &
marketing unit only. The values of the company
remain in Sweden in the corporate office.
Swedish people are more conscious about handicapped issues than the French.
MTV Music, being international,
and innovation are the core values of the company
Being international is perceived as being American in France: it does not fit with company values?
The company does not know how to manage its values in all the countries,
Values topic is a huge internal debate every year.
Constraints in France
ReadSpeaker Worst constraints are tax,
rigid labour laws that protect employee insterests and administrative red-tape.
In the UK, Social security taxes are only 15%
Local subsidiary is outsourcing to avoid the risk of recruitment error.
MTV Arriving in France perceived as
dangerous. Partners tend to protect themselves by collaborating with other companies.
Discovered the importance of cultural differences.
Worst constraint is the cultural battle between US and France.
Watching American content is natural in the UK or Scandinavia, but not in France
Achieved only 5% of planned partnerships in first year, 10% in the second year
Had to review objectives.
Adaptation to France
ReadSpeaker No
MTV French HR dept French Legal dept 35 Hours work week Employee representative
elections Local production unit Local office New Legal Training policy
Key Constraint Costs
ReadSpeaker Key costs are taxes
MTV Key costs come from local
marketing Version adaptation and
production cost of dubbing or sub-titling.
Retrenchment benefits are prohibitively high.
Training is compulsory. Social Security tax
Key Benefit Numbers
ReadSpeaker Quality of the workforce. France & Paris are good for
attracting top managers due to cultural reasons.
Product quality Good logistics & infrastructure in
France Good health care system funded by
the state through taxes Big market High growth potential
MTV Big Market, 5B€ “Television sans
frontiere” allows MTV to avoid the 40% quotas of French content on the channel.
Essential Advice
ReadSpeaker Outsource to launch a
start up in France, don’t employ due to risks and costs associated with hiring and firing workers.
MTV Do not underestimate the power
of cultural differences in determining your product and even HR policies
We Thank
Roy LindemannPartner ReadSpeakerFormer Vice President, General Manager of MTV France
Our Team ES2-C
Amlan SahaPierre BonnetRobert Shan
Spencer Altman