SIME Talks Season 2 Episode 8, The Media Edition: How should media companies position and grow?

At SIME Talks, we feature different thought snacking concepts in the digital arena. Last week, we had a mobile edition from the operators perspective.

Read about the SIME Talks Mobile Edition here

Read about SIME Talks here

This week we thought lets talks about the media companies. We all know, traditional models are crumbling. Newspaper circulation is at its all time low, marketers do not want to advertise offline since they typically cannot track eye balls leaving media companies at cross-roads. Get eaten by the new wave or embrace it and move along. Ok, wait this is so 2007 right?
Actually it is. So what has really changed?

The Internet opens a pandoras box

For starters, big media companies know that the internet is changing the landscape. Technology is available everywhere and people like consuming content in different media. Twitter has become the new CNN. But what’s different from 2007 and now is, people see it clearer and acknowledge it. Companies are tearing down their walled garden approach and suddenly looking at being open, cool and socially nice. So then we wonder, what does make the rounds in the board rooms of these big media companies?

Lets do a comparative study. Media companies like Newscorp, Telegraph, BBC have embraced the new media. They made acquisitions (some good – some bad), they thought about mobile, they thought about advertising, but nothing really has changed on the bottom line. But hey, nothing really will right now. It’s a long term planning ain’t it. Not everyone is making serious money of the internet, some are, and they make it big. But majority nevertheless are trying and trying, they want to know the secret sauce, but seldom realize its made of many ingredients.

Shopping around for internet innovations

From a media companies perspective, how should they view the internet now that they have embraced it? Well for starters, I think they should license and acquire more internet companies. From that private shopping club to  video advertising start up to that coolest Web TV innovation at the incubator, they need to understand and grab the core.

This has many advantages.

First, it helps them monetize traffic better. Converting their online traffic and connecting with complimentary revenues, that’s a no brainer to do so, it doesn’t need industry experience for it. Second, it gives them and their ad. partners more channels to segment and engage. The attention economy does not want consumers to be targeted the same way; each one has a different social graph, and you would want to engage that.

As to whether people want to pay for news and similar content, I would think, people would not mind if the quality and content is original and not available elsewhere for free. Wait a second, there is a paradox right there. You can of course find all content free somewhere online. But then, that’s where the first part of the sentence makes deeper sense. Quality also means originality, twisting and turning the sides to find the interesting angle and to drive home the point. May be, Rupert Murdoch thinks he can charge people 1 Pound a day for content, may be he is right, but then that is a testimony to the fact that there is quality in the content.

So big media companies, its time to wear your shopping hats and look around for the coolest technologies. You have already decided to open the door, why not open both of them and get a better view of the world.

Below is the keynote by Rupert Murdoch at Abu Dhabi Media Summit 2010. We gave in our reports long time, but now you can watch it.

Read about Abu Dhabi Media Summit feat. Rupert Murdoch

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