Vivendi SA
Introduction
Vivendi SA has been the second largest entertainment provider in the entertainment industry and it incorporates complete control over its value chain in order to enhance the quality and efficiency of work processes (Vivendi, 2016a). The current paper aims to present the SWOT analysis of the company in accordance with the company’s internal and external strategic factors and core competencies. Furthermore, the paper also enlightens the recommendations in order to determine the adequate and feasible course of action for the company.
Key Internal and External Strategic Factors
The SWOT Analysis of Vivendi SA in accordance with the analysis of key strategic factors is as follows:
Core Competency Assessment
Expertise in Technology Integration
The company has been maintaining its value chain from acquiring talent, training new talent and incorporating production of media using the competitive skills of the acquired talent. The company owns concert halls, theatre, infrastructure and production house that is well equipped with the latest technology. The company uses the efficient means of social media to attract, screen and acquire talent, whereas it also uses the similar platform to launch its media in order to determine the customer inclinations. Similarly, the company utilizes its infrastructure and technological equipment to produce the entertainment media, whereas the process of distribution also takes place via the cloud services and advanced media platforms. In this manner, the company has integrated the technology well enough throughout its value chain (Vivendi, 2016b).
Innovation
The company acquires the talent from all the fields, incorporating artists, production technicians and software developers. The company is highly inclined towards innovation and provides adequate training opportunities to its talent in order to enhance their knowledge, skills and abilities. The company understands the customer preferences by means of using the advanced tracking information and rating mechanism and hence, offers its customers such products that are in accordance with their preference. Therefore, the company has incorporated innovation in its selection, production and customer need analysis mechanism and hence, it offers the next-gen media that is preferred by its customers (Vivendi, 2016c).
Learning Curve and Skills
The company has been operating since the year 1853, and since then the company has acquired talent and produced media in accordance with the need of customers. The company has learnt to adapt in accordance with the inclinations of customers and hence, it has mastered the art of being responsive towards the customers’ need of entertainment. The company has adaptive from the times of theatres and live opera to the digitization of media content and broadcasting mechanism via cloud services and social media platforms. In this manner, the company has acquired a learning curve in remaining responsive towards the ever-changing demand of customers. It helps the company to maintain and enhance the quality of its media due to the experience that the company has acquired over the period of time (Vivendi, 2016b).
Key Industry Pressures
The buying power of the customers to spend on leisure has been decreasing due to the prevalence of global recession. It reduces the customers’ ability to purchase the gaming consoles, attend concerts and media equipment to acquire the exclusive entertainment provided by Vivendi. Similarly, the increase in demand of entertainment, availability of alternatives and low switching cost makes the entertainment media hinder over a short span of time, due to which entertainment companies need to generate profits at low price within a short duration of time (Vivendi, 2016b).
The entertainment industry is dependent heavily on keeping pace with the technological advancements in order to enhance the features and quality of media. Moreover, the prevalence of patents in industry increases the cost of production and incorporates a challenge for the company to develop media in accordance with the customer preferences, technological advancements and limited budget (Vivendi, 2016b).
Key Success Factors
Vivendi SA has adequate technical equipment and infrastructure to provide quality entertainment media to its customers. The company owns the most renowned and state-of-the-art theatres and concert halls, where the country recruits and launches the talent and its productions. The company has made production contracts with renowned entertainers and singers, and the company has been actively engaged in the CSR activities in order to attract and retain its customers. The company has a high brand image that company uses to attract and retain talent in order to produce quality media (IFM, 2016).
Generic Strategy
The generic strategy of Vivendi SA incorporates the Cost Leadership Strategy, in which the company targets all the customers in the entertainment industry and provides quality products at low price in order to maintain and enhance its market share. The company targets the overall customers of the entertainment industry by means of providing variety in entertainment media, which ranges from theatres, concerts, music, movies, television series and interactive games. The company has been offering these services and products at a low price, in which the customers perceive uniqueness towards the company’s products and services. The company provides entertainment via multiple channels of distribution, mainly comprising of social media, website, TV channel, theater and concert halls and hence, the uniqueness resides in providing range of entertainment incorporating virtual and physical entertainment platforms. The company is focused on becoming the largest provider of entertainment media in the world and hence, cost leadership can increase the customer base of the company and can make it a market leader in entertainment industry (Vivendi, 2016b).
Discussion and Recommendation
The strategic objective of the company is focused on increasing its market share by 5% within 1 year and increase its earnings per share by 30% by 2017 (Vivendi, 2016d). In this instance, it is implied that the company’s objectives are in accordance with the strategic internal and external factors. It is observed that the company has competitive talent to produce quality media and the company has been responsive towards customers by means of CSR activities and customer preferences. Moreover, the company has the ability to enhance the work processes due to control over its value chain. The company’s financial data indicates that the company’s profitability has been increased after investing heavily in the entertainment industry by means of acquisitions.
In this manner, the company has the potential to increase its customer base by means of providing entertainment services via various channels of production. It will eventually increase the profitability of the company and will result in a positive trend of earnings for its investors. Therefore, the company’s strategic objectives are in accordance with the strategic internal and external factors of the company. However, it is suggested that the company should enhance its dimension of entertainment media by producing educational media in order to address the educational need of the customers by means of the interactive audiovisual aid. The company has the talent, infrastructure and equipment to produce the relevant media and the company also has the number of platforms to broadcast its production (Vivendi, 2016e). It will help in developing a loyal customer base due to their high engagement towards the educational matter and hence, the company will enhance its market share in the entertainment industry.
References
IFM. (2016). Vivendi SA. Institute of Media and Communications Policy. Available from: http://www.mediadb.eu/en/data-base/international-media-corporations/vivendi-sa.html
Vivendi (2016a). Vivendi in Brief. Vivendi. Available from: http://www.vivendi.com/vivendi-en/vivendi-in-brief-2/
Vivendi. (2016b). Vivendi Annual Report Fiscal Year 2015. Available from: http://www.vivendi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20160331_Vivendi_Annual_Report_Fiscal_Year_2015.pdf
Vivendi (2016c). Innovative Positioning. Vivendi. Available from: http://www.vivendi.com/social-responsibility/vision-challenges/our-sustainable-development-policy/our-specific-innovative-issues/
Vivendi. (2016d). Financial Report and Unaudited Condensed Financial Statements for the first quarter ended March 31, 2016. Vivendi. Available from: http://www.vivendi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/20160511_Vivendi_Financial_Report_and_Statements_Q1.pdf
Vivendi. (2016e). Innovative young talent. Vivendi. Available from: http://www.vivendi.com/talents-en/passion-for-our-businesses/jeune-talents-innovateurs-en/
