New viewer reality?
New storytellers, new content, new tools
Blinx, the pioneering digital-native storytelling hub in the Middle East, has seen skyrocketing engagement from viewers since its launch in September 2023. In just five months, blinx has captivated an audience of 2,000,000 followers and driven more than 1 billion video views, showcasing the immense appetite for a different kind of storytelling in the region.
Challenge
Viewing patterns are changing globally. This isn’t news to anyone; where once linear broadcasting held sway, American viewers alone streamed 21 million years worth of content in 2023 according to Nielsen. This is not necessarily (only) detrimental to broadcasters, many of whom have started their own digital platforms and are exploiting their content making chops to fill those platforms. However, legacy thinking is still largely linear - both in terms of tools and delivery, and this does harm a media house’s ability to reach the younger audience. In Saudi Arabia for example, 70% of the population is below 30 years - so there was no choice but to think radically differently, to draw on new talent and tell new stories to a new audience.
Solution
The team behind blinx are seasoned broadcasting veterans who know very well that content is the only true vector of value in the media industry. What sets this team apart is their vision and willingness to change existing workflows and accepted truths - and learn from young creators. Thus, they decided to build something completely different, more in line with the creator culture that has been emerging for the last decade, where the toolset and mindset of millennials and gen z are the default. By building a hub concentrating technical expertise, cutting edge tools and an environment suited to storytelling into one location, they have been able to harness the power of many creators into building a juggernaut digital brand both in content in general and - more and more - regional news in particular.
Central to this success story is the integration of cutting-edge cloud-native tools to enable agile, remote friendly and ever-changeable workflows that are familiar and workable to a younger workforce, including asset management in Mimir and story planning in Dina. Tools like these have enabled blinx to build the truly revolutionary workflows they needed to deliver a lot of content - fast. A central tenet has been the belief that journalists and creators should work in a single interface, with all other systems either tied in, or somewhere in the back end. This saves time, eliminates mistakes and enhances the focus on the story and the content, over the technology.
Fadi Radi, the Chief Commercial Officer of blinx, reflects on this remarkable journey, stating,
"Our vision to incorporate the most advanced technology of the future into our current storytelling workflows has resulted in content that resonated deeply with our audience. With Dina and Mimir at the heart of our operations, we've created an unparalleled audience experience that has clearly struck a chord across the Middle East region."
As blinx continues to evolve, the team underscore their commitment to leading the digital storytelling revolution in the MENA region. This journey not only marks blinx's rapid rise to prominence but also signals a shift towards more tech-forward, engaging storytelling methods worldwide.
Images and video courtesy of blinx.
