Here is the original article entitled, "Are Corporations the New Kings of Content?" recently published in Folio magazine. For the edited article in Folio, click here.
There
are significant changes underway in the media business. Competition, which has traditionally been
fairly straightforward and easy to identify, is now surrounding the playing
field.
Of
course, the internet is a big factor here, but something more important is
going on.
Magazine
brands can no longer look at the other magazines or Web sites in their field as
the competition. While most publications
still fight it out with their direct competitors, their customers, the very
ones they are fighting over, have started to compete with them, and are spending
millions of dollars to do it.
That’s
right. Corporations are the new content
providers, jumping with both feet into the province once deemed the sacred right
of publishing houses.
The
new marketers call it “content marketing.” Its roots are in the earlier formation of custom publishing and the
concepts of branded content.
The
transition in the control of editorial content that started over a dozen years
ago is gaining momentum and traction with increasing speed. The Custom Publishing Council, Veronis Suhler
Stevenson and others put the value of corporate editorial projects somewhere
between $28 and $55 billion and growing at 20% plus every year. Those are startling statistics.
The
impact of this movement has effectively challenged traditional publishing’s
claim of producing the markets “trusted, unbiased, and objective” editorial
content. In case you haven’t noticed,
corporations have figured out how to do exactly that. They have hired some of the best journalists
around, looked for, found and paid for authoritative experts to inform their
audiences, set editorial and graphic standards that surpass those of many
publications. And, perhaps one of the most critical components, have launched
stringent measurement analysis to both determine and improve the content they
are sending out.
The challenge for publishers is understanding how to manage this change and become part of the new publishing paradigm. Here are some of the issues shaping the future of content media:
- Change in consumer behavior. Today’s sophisticated, internet-savvy consumer looks
for valuable and informative content from any source for making buying or
purchasing decisions. This consumer does not care if the content comes from
“credible, traditional sources.” A publisher’s traditional advantage as “the
authoritative information resource” is sliding down a very steep hill. Media in
North America is evolving much like the United Kingdom's, where seven of the top ten newsstand
publications are custom publications.
- Distribution. A
key strength of both paid and controlled circulation magazines was in their
ability to document and deliver specific demographics on just about any kind of
definable market. Technology took that advantage away long ago. Most
corporations today have better and more detailed information in their CRM
systems than publications do. As they refine databases, the need for the publisher’s
names gets marginalized.
- Budgets. Corporations
often have bigger budgets and more resources to find and pay for the best
research and content in the markets they serve. Unfortunately, too many media
companies have been cutting both research and editorial budgets at the same
time. The quality of corporate publications today are excellent and
ever-improving. At some point, their quality will surpass
independently-produced publications.
- The “Anti-Sell”. The more informed the consumer or buyer is, the more difficult it is to
sell them. Smart marketers know this and are creating strong brand
relationships by providing good, authoritative, even leadership-type content.
Media companies are often in reverse, giving in more and more to advertising
demands that weaken the editorial product in efforts to maintain ad dollars.
- Technology.
Technology is the underpinning of much of this change and is increasing
exponentially in ways that make content distribution easy. Corporate marketers
are taking advantage of all the technology they can get their hands on.
- Editorial. The key to successful media programs for corporations is great content. Not just any content. Great content. Consumers know the difference between great content and a blatant sales pitch with no inherent value. Corporations address this issue by, in many cases, establishing editorial standards that exceed those of media companies.
But all is not lost. Media companies that want to participate in the content marketing revolution have some basic competencies that appeal to corporations that have or are planning to deliver their own content to the marketplace.
The
primary difficulty for corporations moving into content is that they lack the
built-in proficiencies such as setting editorial and production schedules, and planning
and producing a “sustainable editorial product.” They don’t have inherent
understanding of the importance and adherence to the production process,
blending and coordinating the timelines of writers, graphic artists, editorial
advisory boards, approvals, printers. Media companies, if they are good, excel at understanding how to
effectively communicate with a marketplace. And they know how to project manage the process that delivers the
communication.
Media
companies can leverage their basic communication competencies on behalf of
their corporate customers. Editorial, research, databases and
technology can all be duplicated. Communication experts, who know how to market and manage media projects,
are still very hard to find.
Participating in the content marketing marketplace means learning to sell your communication expertise along with the ability to sell advertising.
Sign up to receive articles like these via email!
>>If you liked this article, try Junta42 for more.





Comments