"As readership and revenues shift onto the Internet, experts said on Tuesday that top news media executives must seek new digital opportunities without neglecting their traditional print publications by rushing headlong into cyberspace."
Timing. Isn't that the age old advice. Knowing when to change course and how fast to shift direction. Clearly the advice given is to not lose sight of current revenue streams through print while embracing the rise of digital content. Moving to fast might just result in turning "dollars into pennies."
Yet reacting too slow will turn dollars into bupkiss. Regardless of the distribution, print or digital, it is the content that consumers wish to consume. Making that content relevant in the most preferable ways will maintain brand loyalty and grow revenue.
Unfortunately, the lessons learned from change are often repeated. As the book, Who Moved My Cheese notes, we get fat and comfortable when the current model is full. But unless we are careful, that model can change quickly and we can be starving as wee look for the next piece of cheese. The print model has enjoyed subscription and advertising as a dual revenue stream. Even cable has enjoyed this dual approach.
But the shift to digitized content will require new thinking on how to maintain a healthy revenue and profit stream. Will the subscription model still work or are other revenue models needed? It's all about timing. Change may not happen overnight, but if you don't stay proactive to it, you'll be without your cheese while others are getting full bellies.
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