Paradigm Shifts We Remember – From Video Rental to Streaming

It was quite cosy, wasn't it, parking the car outside the video shop. Walking around among the shelves. Getting your hands on a couple of films and mumbling "Could these be any good, I wonder?".

In case of decision anxiety, there was often knowledgeable staff to turn to. "Which is better, Die Hard 3 or Titanic?", we could ask, whereupon a lengthy account of the directors' visions, acting performances, lighting and film scores would come our way. Cosy, pleasant and greatly appreciated by most. And yet, it's gone, and if we were to guess, probably quite few people miss it. Why?

The Future Belongs to Self-Service Tools That Gather Everything in One Place

The simple answer is that this service is no longer needed. We consumers are not so foolish that we spend our resources on services that don't give us the greatest value. When it comes to film, most of us consider we get the best value for money through one or several of the tools that gather almost all films in one place. Today's streaming services are easy to navigate and give us good control over the movie night process; we can handle it from home and don't need to visit, call or email anyone to get what we want. One simply has to note that there are excellent conditions for paradigm shifts when services that gather everything in one place, are easy to navigate, affordable and convenient challenge the past's, admittedly charming, but comparatively quite cumbersome approaches.

What If One Were Even More Cumbersome and the Other Free?

Let's stay with the video shop analogy but now imagine a considerably more cumbersome process. Suppose a large group of people are going to rent a film, and a coordinator first calls the video shop. The coordinator describes the group's preferences, makes it known that it must be neither horror nor comedy and that the film cannot be longer than 2 hours as some of the group's participants need to head home a bit before the others. The video shop manager says that such a film could probably be found, but that it will require some work. A few calls to colleagues in the industry later, a film is suggested that could work. But, and here the video shop wants to be clear, the work that has been put in will of course not be free.

From Planning to Execution, Quite a Lot Can Change

The coordinator accepts the costs and picks up the phone again. Some cancellations have come in, and moreover, most of those who initially thought they needed to leave early could attend the entire evening. "We would therefore need a different film," the coordinator informs. After countless back-and-forth exchanges, the process is brought to completion. It turns out right, it turns out well. But it has been complicated and demanding. When the movie night has taken place, a cloud dampens the joy -- the final invoice from the video shop.

Let's instead draw a parallel to the streaming services. Imagine that the movie night group is offered such a service, completely free of charge. In this platform, all preferences can be accounted for. And everything needed for the movie night to be successful is gathered in the platform. By using this smooth self-service tool, preparations go quickly and easily. In addition to saving time, it becomes significantly cheaper. More money left for movie snacks, in other words.

Through our self-service tool we offer corresponding simplifications in the event and meetings industry. As a result, we believe that a paradigm shift that makes things easier, more efficient and better is within reach in our industry as well.

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