Transcript ReadSpeaker and MTV

ReadSpeaker and MTV France
Best in France Case Study
January 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?
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France 2nd Largest Country in
Europe
New legislation in France made
product a necessity
Do company values fit the
French culture?
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Without legislation, cultural
attitudes towards product
would be significant problem
MTV France
 American Company
managed from London
 Television and Entertainment
 Why come to France?
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€ 5 Billion advertising
Do company values fit the
French culture?
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No!
Company Introductions
ReadSpeaker
 Constraints
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Product Adaptation to
France
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Tax Level
Social Security Cost
Work Protection Policies
MTV France
 Constraints
Required French Version of
Software Product
Required French Sales &
Marketing Representative
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Outsourcing is Essential for
small start-ups in France
Product Adaptation to France
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French Production of Programming vs.
Importing American Production
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Essential Advice
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Tax Level
Social Security Cost
Work Protection Policies
35 Hour Work Week
Non-French Brand Identity
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If American: Dubbed-French vs. Subtitled?
Different Viewing Habits of Audience
Essential Advice
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Do not underestimate cultural differences
across functions: product, marketing, and
HR
ReadSpeaker Market Basics
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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
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Users of this legislation are the visually-impaired, senior citizens, illiterate,
dyslexic and other learning disabilities
Forecast
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Target all 8,000 Web-Sites of public and governmental organisations in
France by 2007
Target eLearning Web-providers
MTV Market Basics
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Entered the French market in 2000
Music Television
Non consolidated Forecast
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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?
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Everything is developed &
produced in Sweden. Only
sales & marketing offices in
France.
MTV
 Localized content
(Short programs, commercials
spots, on air marketing, and some
live interactive show)
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Sales & marketing
regionalised
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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
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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
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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
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.
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.
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.
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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
MTV
ReadSpeaker
 Big Market, 5B€
 Quality of the workforce.
 “Television sans frontiere”
 France & Paris are good for attracting
allows MTV to avoid the
top managers due to cultural reasons.
40% quotas of French
 Product quality
content on the channel.
 Good logistics & infrastructure in France
 Good health care system funded by the
state through taxes
 Big market
 High growth potential
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 Lindemann
Partner ReadSpeaker
Former Vice President, General Manager of MTV France
Our Team ES2-C
Amlan Saha
Pierre Bonnet
Robert Shan
Spencer Altman