rethinking publishing in the content marketing era 2015
TRANSCRIPT
RETHINKING PUBLISHING IN THE
CONTENT MARKETING ERA
M a t t h e w B u c k l a n d | C r e a t i ve S p a r k | ww w. c r e a t i v e s p a r k . c o . z a
E d g a r s ’ s C l u b A d ve r t i s i n g S u m m i t
2 0 1 5 | J o h a n n e s b u r g
The digital/internet era caused massive disruption & change in just about every
industry. Here are a few...
Banking & financial services: Peer-2-Peer lending, cutting out the banks, Wonga, Snaplify, Friendsurance
Credit: teeveetee.blogspot.com
Medical: mines data from millions of studies to make assessing medical experts and treatments easier
...disruption also in education, retail, government, consumer electronics. In the media & marketing world we have seen unprecedented disruption too...
MEDIA
CHOICE
Mainstream media consisted of a few choices in TV, radio and newspapers. Then came the internet...
Massive digital fragmentation: many options, competition for our time & competition for media businesses
BUSINESS MODEL
Competition for both revenue & reader attention. Media & advertisers need to figure out a new paradigm: platforms, ad formats, content types, distribution & business models
Internet instigated a dramatic fall in
the economics of media. It’s now
cheaper, faster, quicker to produce
& distribute media allowing non-
media companies, bloggers, one-
man shows to get in on the media
game. Therefore all companies are
media companies = massive
competition for eyeballs & revenue
MODELS
• Superdistribution: the forwarding of media through social
networks means a tiny publication with an important article
can reach huge audiences quickly & at no additional cost*
• Presence of networked video cameras in people’s pockets
increasingly means reporting comes from readers*
• Print felt disruption first... now TV (internet TV in fast
bandwidth era) & Radio (podcasting) beginning their
disruption cycles
• New platforms mean new rules (tablets & all digital devices)
DIGITAL MEDIA DISRUPTION
* Post-Industrial Journalism: Adapting to the Present: COLUMBIA JOURNALISM SCHOOL
• Soaring user numbers, but revenues struggling: 10c per print user, vs 1c per digital user
• Paid content online is NOT WORKING, except in limited cases where financial data or B2B research data sold
• Fierce (and unfair - tax) battle for digital advertising pie from Google (R1,5bn) & Facebook (local office)
• Advertising flocking to these new businesses. Why? Reach, scale & ease of placement; better targeting & engagement; better ad formats & placement; CPC/shared risk model
DIGITAL PUBLISHING 2015
• Niche publications that serve rich advertising ecosystems will continue to thrive
• We are seeing rise of new, lean media companies that are able to run profitably & extract value (Open source tech, crowd-contributor model, new ways of working)
• But digital publications in general still searching for optimal revenue models
DIGITAL PUBLISHING 2015
• “Light bulb moment”: Stop seeing ourselves as Online Publishing but as a Content Distribution Network
• Secret behind any site is the web of business deals, distribution decisions behind it that sees its content activated and monetised on new platforms
• Successful digital operation sees website/CMS at the centre, distributing content & brand to a variety of platforms
RISE OF THE
CONTENT DISTRIBUTION
NETWORK
WEBSITE/
CMSAPPS & OTHER
DEVICES
EVENTING
SOCIAL
MEDIA
VIDEO/TV
AUDIO/RADIO
THE CONTENT
DISTRIBUTION
NETWORKAlso known as “Hub &
Spoke”. CMS distributes
content to other platforms
& social media. Create
content once and
publish everywhere
SYNDICATION
• Print is many a digital philosophers’ punching bag
• Print will not die, but will shrink, niche• Like theatre became smaller & premium• High barriers to entry (cost) ironically make
medium better businesses• Print publications “dedicated devices” –
more effective at getting your attention• Digital overload & too many choices in a
busy world: Print able cut through noise • A good option for niches with loyal
communities
“ATTENTION”
Fire vs electric heaterPrint vs online‘Common sense’ that one would replace the other“Easier, cleaner, faster” vs “dirty & old”But each has different feel & function
ANALOGY
• Well, many hardcore, new-economy digital businesses
• Net-a-porter, AirBNB (Pineapple), Uber (for drivers), Politico, Allrecipes, Ars Technica, Pando
• Locally: ITWEB (for the last 15 years)
WHO IS DOING IT?
• Last 10 years has seen a search for new revenue models
• Banner ads alone are not cutting it
• Banner ads an outdated model: a pre-social media & pre-
search invention: not shareable, searchable, emotionally
engaging or ‘interruptible’
• (Users don’t mind interruptions if advertising relevant &
useful)
• Harder to ‘distribute’ banners to broader internet in a
medium that is all about distribution & sharing
NEW ADVERTISING MODELS
• Paradoxically banner CPMs dropping as sites get bigger (supply & demand)
• We need to get creative: advertising types, placements, creative, platforms
• New product innovation: Programmatic, native advertising, sponsored content, advertiser partnerships, full page tablet & smartphone ads
NEW ADVERTISING MODELS
- Native advertising is part of a site’s core newstream, therefore plugs into its existing distribution network (RSS feeds, social media, email, apps, syndication etc)
- Is also part of search ecosystem- Is ‘interruptive’- Is shareable- Can live “forever”- Encourages user engagement (commenting)- Publishers therefore can charge higher CPMs
NEW ADVERTISING MODELS
- Native advertising is a form of advertorial (2.0) or content marketing for the search & social era
- We differentiate between “sponsored content” and “native advertising”
- Ethics are key: commercial vs editorial to be clearly delineated to maintain credibility
- New ethical dilemmas arise: show sponsored during share etc?
NEW ADVERTISING MODELS