Kate Ayrton wants to make you comfortable with feeling uncomfortable.
As an expert in the business world, Ayrton knows that using curiosity and creative problem-solving in the workplace can sometimes feel uncomfortable.
However, with over 15 years of experience working at the intersection of media and emerging digital technologies she knows that people with these skills are the ones driving business growth at the world’s leading media, screen, and broadcast organisations.
Most of the time, these people have the job title, ‘digital producer’ or ‘digital product manager’.
The Digital Producer is at the centre of the action
Over the last decade, the role of Digital Producer has emerged and become one of the most important to the success of all types of businesses.
“It’s the hot, in-demand job,” Ayrton says. “What we’re seeing today is the merging of mass communication outlets across print, television, radio, and the internet. They are undergoing digital transformation so that consumers can easily consume their output via portable and interactive technologies across a breath-taking range of new digital media platforms.”
As we pivot into the age of smart tech, smart cars, smart homes and cities there isn’t a workplace that won’t be untouched by the demand from customers for digital products and solutions they offer.
Irrespective of the types of customers – internal or external, B2B or B2C – they will demand smarter ‘connected’ solutions that only digital producers will be equipped to supply.
What is the role of a Digital Producer?
A Digital Producer is a manager, coordinator, strategist, and supervisor for the development of digital media projects. The role encompasses everything a project manager might do with the freedom, imagination and innovation of a creative to bring interactive digital properties to life.
They help create everything from websites, apps, and games through to the kinds of mixed reality projects that are revolutionising every part of our daily lives across entertainment, medical, finance and leisure and more.
When you vote for your favourite contestant on a TV singing competition on social media, order take away via your smartphone on Uber Eats, do your online banking, or play your favourite mobile game, it’s a digital producer who helped you do that.
How do you become a digital producer?
Having experience in a traditional role like product manager, production manager or marketing manager is useful but, actually, anyone can get into this tremendously exciting job.
A digital producer uses foresight, planning, troubleshooting skills, and communicates across teams. If you like problem-solving then this is the job for you.
Curiosity, emotional intelligence, empathy, resourcefulness, good organizational and creative problem-solving skills are at integral to being successful in such a role. If you have those you can learn the rest.
Can you learn to be a Digital Producer?
As one of Australia’s leading digital producers Ayrton is passionate about helping people from all walks of life and working backgrounds get into a role just like hers.
The Industry Certificate: Digital Producer that Ayrton teaches at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney is not just focused on helping people become digitally literate; it’s also about helping them to develop a ‘growth mindset’.
We don’t know which skills we will require in the future, but, as new technology evolves, those people who have shown a willingness to extend their skills via ongoing learning will be in favour with employers.
Another part of the digital producer course is focused on collaboration and how teams use the wisdom of the tribe to innovate.
“The future of work is team-work,” she says. “Across modern workplaces, no one is the superhero and no one is the sidekick. Everyone contributes via their input into the documentation, design, prototyping, and testing. Digital producers need to be at the centre of everything, supporting and managing the process.”
If all of this sounds intangible or insubstantial, don’t panic.
Digital producers get to keep their feet on the ground by keeping up with ever-evolving tech trends such as VR, AR, wearables, chatbots, AI, machine learning, big data, and analytics.
All this can be learnt according to Ayrton.
The Industry Certificate: Digital Producer that she teaches at AFTRS in Sydney has been designed to help students fit learning in whilst continuing to work.
The course offers a combination of intensive three-day workshops, online learning, and online collaborative sessions.
Digital Producer is the role for those who like a challenge and reward in equal measure and it’s attainable for those who have the ambition and drive.
Do you like collaborating, discovering and working with new technologies? Do you think you can get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable? If you are creative and seeking new ways to do things better then perhaps jumping into the world of the Digital Producer is right for you.
Find out more about the Industry Certificate: Digital Producing, reach out to the admissions team or request a detailed course outline today.