What will we become? I think it’s important for us to visualize the new form that former media companies can take as we go through transformation. So much of our attention and resources are focused on media products that it is hard to think of our model and mission as anything but community, news and information.
Local media companies recognize that their current ”product” and business model is failing (or has failed). The push to monetize digital content is an important tactic to attempt to change the business model, but it’s not enough. Information has lost it’s value. I read somewhere that google was worried that if traditional news media dies, it may have to pay for trusted content… ironic since google is a prime example of how information has been devalued in the first place. The key here is in analytics and the education of the small advertiser to understand the value of the search-engine as a channel that drives impressions.
However, until we recognize that our model can morph beyond content generation and advertising sales, we are limiting the possibilities. We had a retreat at my place few weeks ago where we began to explore what other assets we have as a mature local media organization. If we turn the model upside down and shake out the assets, some pretty significant opportunities presented themselves.
One of the most glaring opportunities has often bubbled up in conversation. We have paid lip service to “selling audience”. I would guess that this media company is not the only who has attempted to “sell audience” by including more audience information on a rate card (or a handful of rate cards) and bundling products.
This is a step in the right direction, but we can do better. It needs to be a focus of our changing structure and business model. We need to look at ourselves increasingly as marketers with a powerful set of channels at our disposal, some of which are our own. We need to build the skills, processes and tools to market through multiple channels.
We are beginning to recognize, enhance and further develop marketing vehicles and services through existing channels such as email, mobile, and social media, but it’s not happening fast enough. Our focus is still on the traditional channels of print and broadcast. Our new approach must be multifaceted, and we must partner with other channels to offer total audience solutions.
The new product management model must focus on the right mix for the right audience and deliver the mix with multiple options including services as well as packaged products. We have to ask ourselves how we can use our assets to quickly create relevant, convenient opportunities for audience to find information and marketers to find audience.
Then what? Then we can more effectively talk about marketing our own products, transactional partnerships, and so on. But we must lay the new foundation very quickly. It must be built into our structure, skill sets, tools, planing…our processes… It must be how we think. This is the opportunity for product management as we sludge through the daunting challenge of rebuilding the value of our assets.
