Biggest Challenges Faced By A Producer At Red Bull Media House

The biggest challenge in my current role is making what I'm doing stand out. You see a huge amount of images daily, from photos and videos to content you're consuming. Between social media, your favorite shows, movies, sports, and podcasts, it's hard to get people to focus on your content.

I still love reading magazines, newspapers, and books, but trying to make your own work stand out is the biggest challenge. On social media, it's a bit more formulaic. Trends like "Get Ready With Me" consistently perform well because they have a clear purpose.

A person outlines what they're going to do, and you see the end result as they go to accomplish it. If viewers are interested, they'll usually stick around to watch. I use this as an example for creating social assets for other things.

The number one thing is relatability. Number two is making people want to stay and watch. You also need to provide enough "kicks" or hooks in the story to keep them invested. We have data showing retention rates, and I see it on my own Instagram account.

Sometimes, people watch a video for only four seconds before moving on. This is why many try to start with something that immediately grabs your attention. A few years ago, or even 5, 10, or 15 years ago, YouTube videos, even action clips, would start with beautiful, slow-motion nature shots to set the scene.

In today's landscape, you don't have time for that. It's a bit sad because the people I learned from did that kind of thing. However, you need to grab people immediately. This is challenging when you're aiming for a general audience to bring them into the world of Red Bull.

The people who already follow athletes and Red Bull are great, but we're always trying to reach a larger group. Grabbing and holding people's attention, and ideally creating something they want to share, is another major challenge. You're inundated with images, and our attention spans are getting shorter.

How can you hold people's attention without it being overly produced? Some people create crazy, visually stimulating edits, but sometimes the story doesn't warrant that. For a more heartfelt story, like someone recovering from an injury, a high-intensity montage isn't needed.

The audio of the interview needs to grab people, in addition to the action. But then you wonder how many people are watching with the sound on. It's a constant struggle to grab and hold attention and make your content different enough to pique curiosity.

The biggest challenge, ultimately, is making sure people who watch are interested and like it. You also want them to share it or talk about it with others to bring more people in. This is hard because everyone's attention span is short, and I'm the same way.

I recognize when people take risks, but some still put text on the screen telling you to rotate your phone sideways. We don't do that as much because our data shows people leave as soon as they're asked to turn their phone. It's about balancing what works to keep people engaged with not compromising the storyline or creative vision.