Jen Grogono Podcast Transcript
Jen Grogono joins host Brian Thomas on The Digital Executive Podcast.
Brian Thomas: Welcome to The Digital Executive. Today’s guest is Jen Grogono. As founder and chief executive officer of uStudio, Jen Grogono leads company vision and strategy for a new generation of media technologies for the enterprise, transforming training and communication using podcasts, on-demand video, and live streaming.
In 2006, Ms. Grogono co-founded one of the industry’s first multi-channel media networks, ON Networks, or ON, where she served as president and chief content officer. Under her leadership, ON pioneered new forms of digital programming, any screen publishing and distribution, media measurement, promotion, and monetization.
ON was acquired by Complex Media in November of 2009. Well, good afternoon, Jen. Welcome to the show.
Jen Grogono: Thank you. I’m happy to be here.
Brian Thomas: Absolutely, my friend. I appreciate it. Today, you’re hailing out of the great state of Texas, there in Austin. I’m in Kansas City. So we’re in the same time zone. Don’t have to navigate a lot of calendars today, but I appreciate you jumping on today.
So let’s just get right into it here. Your path runs from co-founding ON Networks in 2006, one of the industry’s first multi-channel media networks, it was acquired by Complex Media in 2009, to founding uStudio a year later. You’ve said the mission started with a question: What if you could reduce the friction in getting great content to its audience, and do that for enterprises?
How does your experience watching digital media explode at ON Networks lead you to bet that business would need to become media companies of their own?
Jen Grogono: That’s a great question. It’s, often we have jobs where we run into friction or an obstacle in trying to complete the mission, and that becomes the very thing that moves you into the next business and, and that’s exactly what happened with ON Networks.
We were taking original programming from a variety of sources, well-known people like David Lynch to unknown, two guys and a dog making content. And one of the things that was so interesting to us as we were delivering that content and syndicating it to YouTube and AT&T U-verse and about 100 other endpoints, you know, cable companies and and ISPs trying to get into the streaming media business was that everyone had different metadata and formats.
And it, and it was just a heterogeneous set of systems that we had to deliver this content to. So, the, the pipeline from creation to delivery and ultimately to an audience seeing the, the new programming on a Sony Bravia television, for example we needed to solve a lot of technical challenges, and those challenges weren’t being addressed by any one or two vendors.
So, it was pretty early. It was 2006, 2007 timeframe. And by the time 2011-’12 rolled around, we could very clearly see that not only were media companies going to struggle with this in the future, but enterprises were very quickly building lots of media. They were building large libraries of marketing content and training content and, and that same technology needed to be in place.
So we switched gears and started working exclusively with large corporations that needed the same technical capabilities and started working with IT organizations and built a platform with a sophisticated set of APIs that made sure media libraries were managed efficiently and ultimately content found its audience.
Brian Thomas: That’s so awesome. I appreciate that. Just love the backstory and that we usually start out there talking about-
Jen Grogono: Yeah …
Brian Thomas: -kind of your beginnings, and it was pretty cool. Obviously you had this you had to take all this original content and really transport it to various streaming networks, and that pipeline from creation to delivery, you needed to solve some tech challenges, and you saw the technology gap there, seized the moment to address this, worked with a lot of vendors, and built this robust platform now that just completely delivered some, some great content.
And I, I just love that when somebody sees a problem in the world or a gap in the market and they aim to fix it, and that’s what you did. So thank you. Jen, unlike email and intranets, uStudio lets companies monitor, listen, listening and watching behavior in a unified dashboard, giving employers insight into what messaging is working, who’s listening, and when.
Why is that measurement layer so important to enterprise buyers, and how does being able to prove engagement change the way leaders think about internal communications?
Jen Grogono: I think part of the, the challenge for internal communicators is not just making, compelling content and motivating their workforce to consume that content, but understanding what’s landing, right?
At the end of the day, that signal, the alignment, the teaching a, a team a new skill, for example is, is critical. It’s the, it’s the most important part of how a company performs and, and whether or not they hit the goal and, and when. And so it’s not just about sending it, it’s also about making sure you know what’s working and what’s not.
And I think that is that measurement layer was just critical. So as we built the system that managed the content delivery, we also had to make sure that that system was instrumented. You know, obviously highly secure because you’re working within an intranet or a– sorry, you’re working within a corporate network, right?
And those networks are they need to be secure. This content is highly confidential. And so making the, the instrumentation just as secure as the content itself is a really important part. So that took, that took quite a bit of work and innovation on the part of our CTO and, and tech team and, and we’re now able to not only manage the delivery, manage the different formats, make sure that people inside of these companies can stream the message very frictionlessly or effortlessly, but also tell leaders what’s landing and where that signal is actually hitting the audience.
Are people tuning out after 20% of the exist- you know, the episode that you’ve made? And so it’s, that feedback loop is just, it’s a key part. Maybe something different frankly, than what media companies needed
Brian Thomas: Thank you. Appreciate that. Obviously it is a challenge. We’ve all worked in corporate environments, large and small, and the, the challenging thing for internal comms teams a lot of times is they get the content right, I think.
But, what’s really landing, as you talked about that measurement layer I thought was important for the outcomes was really important. Able to provide that feedback to the leadership team so we could really engage on how that stuff is working internally. And of course, security is paramount.
Always can’t talk about security enough, especially if there’s proprietary internal comms that just needs to stay internal. So thank you. Jen, you said AI is changing how businesses function and that more companies now need training and messaging for implementing AI tools, making now the time to reevaluate change management strategies.
How do you see media-based communications playing a role in rolling out AI across the workforce? And how is AI reshaping how enterprise content itself gets created, personalized, and measured?
Jen Grogono: Well, I think most of us know that when you see a new tech era take hold, it’s rarely the technology that causes adoption to fail or slows the, the rate of usage.
And in AI, it’s just no different. The workforce change is just significant here, and the, the thinking on the part of workers and how they do their job and, and what they take on versus have an agent do, for example, is just far more than the technology itself. They need ongoing context. They need leadership messaging.
They need to be aligned regularly. And there is just no better way to do that than audio and video, and I think we’ve learned over the years, if you go back a long way, the 7-38-55 rule, where words make up 7% of meaning of a message, and audio takes you to 38%, so that tone of voice and, and voice in general, and then if you add video to it, you’re at 55% more effective.
So, I don’t think there’s a huge question today around the impact of streaming media, but using it effectively and making sure that you’ve got a delivery system that, as we talked about a moment ago, is providing that, that rich feedback loop and, and it’s getting to its audience easily via mobile phones, via desktop so it’s always there.
It, it just can be a massive boost in making sure people are getting the message. So, so that guide along the way, if you will, helping to create, translate organize, personalize all of those important messages the content that’s being delivered to the individuals is just, is a huge component of the adoption.
So, so I think what we’re seeing, at least across the, the big enterprises we work with, is that they are investing more heavily now in building that streaming media building not just the library, but also the, the, the system in which that content is delivered, you know, just in time. And, and we’re, we’re excited to, to finally see corporations become the media companies that they are you know, sort of destined to become in a world where consumers are just listening and watching.
We call it the listen watch network explosion. And and what we do in our consumer life always tips into the enterprise. So, so that’s just a big part of the the future of how communications is going to cascade messages throughout these, throughout the enterprise.
Brian Thomas: Thank you. I appreciate that.
I’ve been in technology a long time, and, and you talked about this, when this new tech comes out, right? It’s– the adoption issue isn’t necessarily always the technology. It’s, it’s rarely, in fact, the the issue. But again, you talked about that messaging, the strategy, the why behind it.
And that people connection is so important, so ensuring that comms is getting the messaging right, you talked about that meaning, that tone, the sentiment, et cetera. And having really that set up that environment for a rich feedback loop across various mediums, what’s working, what’s not working but, but obviously offering various methods to get that messaging out.
So I appreciate that. Jen, the last question of the day I have for you here, you’ve spent your career watching how new media is created, consumed, and distributed. As AI personalization and on-demand media all converge inside the workplace, where do you see enterprise training and communications heading over the next maybe five, 10 years?
Less than that with AI, but– And really, what will the companies that get it right be doing that everyone else isn’t?
Jen Grogono: Yeah, it’s– I think it’s going to be a Spotify-like experience inside of corporations. I just think we’re going to continue to see this desire on the part of the end users to have an always-on network that they can tap into, right, via their phone, which is today at least the most accessible device that you can take anywhere.
So you can imagine, anytime you have idle moments, windshield time, a lot of our pharmaceutical clients talk about field reps driving and needing to learn on the road or on the go. So I, I think having that always-on corporate network where you can quickly access streams that are relevant to you, either in short form, in long form, if you wanna take a deep dive learning moment it, it’s just gonna be critical, and I think it’ll be embedded into every part, every corner of our, of our work.
And, and it’s, I think it was Andreessen who said early on when Apple introduced the AirPods, you know, this is– having a voice in your ear at all times is gonna be an incredibly powerful and impactful movement. And, and in the enterprise if a leader could have their voice or a set of voices in the ear of its workforce all the time in a compelling, easy-to-consume, low-tax, low-burden way that’s just gonna be the infrastructure, I think, that wins.
And, and what does it mean to have that, voice in your ear? It’s not just, you know, talk. It’s specific to your position. It’s relevant to your day-to-day. It’s personalized and based on your listening and consumption habits. If we think of the TikTok algorithm and while it, it feels very evil sometimes in the social context sort of capturing people and addicting them to the network, imagine taking the good parts of that, right?
The I know you consumed these ten things, so here are another ten things like them. Or if you wanna go deeper on these three topics, we notice that you’ve spent a lot of time streaming content streaming this style of content or this topic of content. So- So as a, as a worker, as an end user, I’m not having to sift through pages on an internet or an, you know, yet another portal or having to take you know, these, these LMS courses, right?
It feels very, very natural to just log into my phone or my computer and, and listen to content in a podcast-style format. There’s no question we’re doing one today, that podcasts are are taking over, they’re eating the world, and and it just stands to reason that the enterprise can make absolute use of that.
So, we’re excited. One of the things we’re doing is, is launching AutoCast, which is a, a way whether you use our system or another system, a way to take the, the corpus of knowledge, you know, the, all of these print materials and audioize them. And so we talk a lot with our clients about audioizing the important content so that AI can do what it does best, which is help you quickly find the, the three-second piece or the five-minute deep dive into a topic, and that’s just proved to be immeasurable in terms of value.
It’s saving lots of time on the part of leaders because in many cases, the messages are there, they’re just not landing, or the end user can’t find them, or they’re having to sift through, way too many documents and, and pages, and that is just, It, it, it doesn’t work anymore. You know, people don’t have the patience, and they certainly don’t have the time, right?
We’re asking a lot of our workforce today. So I, I love the idea that AI will be a real driver in changing what has historically been a difficult part of of communication, which is how do I make compelling messages? It… we’ve seen it on the, the consumption side’s been easy. Again, I use Spotify as an example because it’s, it readily brings to mind a, just an easy streaming network you can tap into.
But on the content creation side, I think we’re also seeing AI take these the knowledge and the information inside of companies and codify it and audioize it and, and make it extremely deliverable in these personalized snippets, right? Shorts with the ability to go deeper or targeted messages or notifications.
So we’re, we’re pretty excited about the, the, the future and what will be possible and, and what will be easier now for leaders. And, and of course, with all of the instrumentation and the security the system just grows and creates more value. So, so I think that’s what it looks like. Every company does become somewhat of a media company themselves, and, and we’re excited to, to be part of that.
Brian Thomas: Awesome. Thank you, Jen. I appreciate that. Just to highlight a few things I thought were important out of your messaging here and I, I thought this was great, your internal communications messaging and will evolve into the future into, like, a Spotify-like experience. And I think that’s really cool.
I think we’re all plugged into Spotify at some point in the day. But having that always on corporate network, you talked about that various formats, short, long form, it doesn’t matter their listening habits, it’s available wherever that meets them and, and their schedule. And that compelling message is the, the, the good stuff, right?
Is, is in the voice of the organization’s ear by leveraging your platform here, which you talked about your Audiocast platform, leveraging the power of AI to target and summarize those important messages so that the messages are truly landing. So I appreciate that. Jen, it was such a pleasure having you on today, and I look forward to speaking with you real soon.
Jen Grogono: Thank you. I appreciate it. It was, it was a nice conversation.
Brian Thomas: Bye for now.
Jen Grogono Podcast Transcript. Listen to the audio on the guest’s Podcast Page.
