Defining the future of media

In an age of voyeurism and commoditised, recycled content, the only way forward for media platforms hoping to stay relevant is to make the move from volume to value – so said Juan Senor, partner at Innovation Media, in his opening address at the Future of Media conference in Johannesburg yesterday.

“The media landscape has reached the apex of cheap uninformed opinion masquerading as news,” he said. “We need to move toward valuable or ‘caviar’ content, which a number of publishers worldwide are already investing in.” To make the transition effectively, publishers – particularly in the embattled print space – will have to migrate from selling space and brands, to instead selling audiences and services through new revenue drivers including reader revenue, event revenue, branded content and marketing solutions.

Only those business models focused on adaptation and innovation will survive. The publishers and brands that come out on top will be those that truly connect consumers with their message. Brands should adjust their approach by moving from “clicks” to “clocks”; going freemium; being mobile-first; investing more deeply in video; and re-inventing print for profit.

Display advertising is on the wane because consumers don’t click on banner adverts. Because of the advent of ad fraud and ad blocking, banner advertising is an ineffective approach for brands. “In the digital age, consumers always win. Advertisers can play in the space, but not control it. Instead, they need to evolve and find new ways of reaching consumers,” he said.

Advertisers and publishers can no longer focus simply on clicks – the new target is “clocks”, the amount of time spent on a website. Real engagement is the holy grail, and the key to true engagement lies in quality content, a core driver of the freemium model.

Increasingly, publishers are employing the freemium model, since value in business is paid for. Paywalls have proven to be ineffectual for the majority of publishers, said Senor, while the freemium model – in which certain content is free, while premium content is paid for – has been proven to drive online readers. It works because it enables businesses to offer a more personalised and customer-centric approach.

High-quality content is also a key component of brands being mobile-first and investing more heavily in video. “Mobile is an extension of most people’s bodies and they use mobile for ‘me time’ to read long-form pieces and stream video, among other activities, so only unique and tailored content will succeed. Advertisers should let mobile behaviour guide content creation,” he added.

By 2018 the majority of all content consumed will be on video, which means that content creation must be guided by consumer behaviour. Advertisers can tap into this value by creating and launching videos with lower streaming costs – such as text or cartoons – as well as promoting and distributing clips across multiple platforms.

While digital is undoubtedly a dominant force in the media landscape, Senor warned that to underestimate the power of print would be a grave mistake. Print will remain profitable, but not in its current form. To survive, print is going to need to become a premium product featuring must-read content. There are already examples of this, including single-issue newspapers that examine only one issue – the Orlando shootings, for instance – through in-depth coverage.

“The endgame is to reinvent print alongside digital, with print being used for prestige and visibility while digital is used for mass appeal – because it isn’t possible to find all the answers in only one place,” he concluded.

Big take-out: Value – in the form of quality content – is the key for publishers, advertisers and brands to survive in the evolving media landscape, according to Innovation Media’s Juan Senor speaking at the Future of Media conference in Johannesburg.