Commentary

The Future = Art + Science + Scale

This year will be remembered as one of dramatic change in the media business with the shifting preference to digital delivery and ongoing debates around free versus paid content models. But, it also opens the doors for a media renaissance that doesn't overlook the hungry appetites of audiences. For some who saw this year as the "Media Meltdown of 2009" others, including large portal players like AOL are looking to content to innovate their business model "using a broader platform with more information around content and the creation of content."

What is abundantly clear is that traditional media companies should seek to enhance the valuable assets they own today by embracing the new opportunities presented by the Internet. This was also the year that social media hit the mainstream, with Facebook and Twitter achieving widespread adoption and influence providing for additional distribution of the information that sustained conversations and increased circulation of the virtual paper routes of the world. With technology and economics serving as the driving forces behind the changing landscape, where does that leave traditional media?

Emerging from the chaos, there is a new pioneering media model -- one that combines the "art" of traditional media, the "science" of the Internet, and the power and "scale" of community.

ART: The history of media in the last 100 years have taught us that pairing talented content creators with rigorous editorial processes can build brands with enduring value. Unfortunately, many cutbacks in the media business today are removing the "art" (both layoffs at and closure of respected brands) without adding something new to the mix to replace it. In fact, as of July 2009 more than 100 newspapers closed their doors and 10,000 newspapers jobs had been lost. The US and Canada have seen 383 magazines fold in the first nine months of 2009, according to the MediaFinder.com. While some in the market fear that traditional editorial processes and talents are devalued, I argue the value of the editorial function has never been higher -- especially when paired with "science" and "scale."

SCIENCE: Google has proven that "science" can have dramatic (and positive) impact on the media landscape. Their use of algorithms and innovative ad platforms have opened up the media business to new types of consumers, publishers, and advertisers. Another company, Netflix, has successfully used the "science" of algorithms to improve their recommendations engine. They've used the power of 'science' to improve quality of the content experience, by focusing on the relevancy of that content to the viewer. As a result, NetFlix has reduced churn and improved customer satisfaction, making them one of the most innovative companies in the movie business. 'Science' equals more certainty, less guess work and less risk which equals better ROI.

SCALE: While many in traditional media are being asked by their management to "do more with less," there is a compelling opportunity to leverage the value of their existing communities to produce a new sustainable media model. Many publishers have been embracing social media over the past few years to engage their existing communities - in fact, USA Today has been one of the leaders. But where the effect of the "Art + Science + Scale" formula really takes hold is when you use it to revolutionize one of the most valuable and arguably most inefficient segments of the media business, the creation of content.

New methods of content creation enable companies to use proprietary content algorithms to help bring "science" to the process. These algorithms help companies to predict this content will have an audience, an advertiser, and the ability to get traffic to an article or video BEFORE its creation. Content assignments are then given to some of the thousands of journalists that are learning to leverage the opportunities of the Internet to their advantage. When you combine this talent with a workflow process which requires plagiarism checks, fact-checking, copy-editing, it becomes apparent that the "art" of traditional media is alive and well on the Internet. Adding "scale" to the equation is a trickier process, one that many publishers are working to address within the confines of physical infrastructures whose processes and products are tied to the concrete world. Exploring science and rethinking the model within these environments would more easily facilitate the ability and opportunity for scale.

From Chaos Comes Opportunity
Some pundits argue the contrasts between "old media" and "new media" today are striking -- even unprecedented. But some think they have seen this situation before during the collapse of the Web 1.0 bubble. Back in 2001, traditional media's cash-cows enabled them to survive the downturn, while young start-ups failed to find a sustainable media model and closed up shop. Today, many of those cash cows in traditional media have run dry and, as a result, chaos is alive and well in boardrooms around the country.

But just as Google emerged from Web 1.0 chaos with a unique, disruptive and valuable advertising and search model, we see a similar opportunity today with content and social media. Using the power of "art", "science" and "scale", the next logical step in the evolution of the media business is at hand, one that is a sustainable business model and, we believe, one that is pioneering/laying the groundwork for the future of media.

1 comment about "The Future = Art + Science + Scale".
Check to receive email when comments are posted.
  1. Scott Brinker from ion interactive, inc., December 2, 2009 at 7:10 a.m.

    Love this post and the Art + Science + Scale meme. If the marketing world could use a rallying motto for 2010, that has my vote.

Next story loading loading..