Launch of iPad Media Strategy framework

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This morning I ran the iPad Strategy Workshop at Newspaper Publishers Association Future Forum in Sydney. To provide a framework for discussion at the workshop (and also as part of our ongoing research into effective approaches to the iPad for media and news organizations) I created a visual framework of key strategic issues, as below.

ipadmediastrategy_500w.jpg

Click on image for full-size pdf

I will delve into these strategic issues in later posts.

This is a Beta v1 version, so as always, please give feedback on how to make it more useful, including anything that’s missing or things that could be put better.

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Live notes: Afternoon of PANPA Future Forum conference

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Following my live notes from this morning of the Newspaper Publishers Association Future Forum conference, and before my closing keynote, here are quick notes from the afternoon session.

Jan Rezab from CandyTech in Czech Republic was originally going to speak about mobile but decided that it would be more valuable to discuss Facebook. According to their statistics, over 1 million news articles were shared globally in July and August, with 100 million news items seen as a result. Media organizations in Australia are not strong on Facebook, with the most prominent, FHM, having 13,000 likes on its Facebook page, and the top newspaper, news.com.au, 10,000. In contrast, regional radio Europe2 has 300,000 fans over the sites for its various shows.  

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Live notes: morning of Newspaper Publishers Association Future Forum in Sydney

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I am at the Newspaper Publishers Association Future Forum conference, where I am giving the closing keynote later today. I will endeavor to capture a few thoughts through the day.

The overall tone is of an industry that absolutely recognizes that it is in dramatic transition, and is by no means in denial of the scope of change that is required. This creates an appetite for learning and ideas, and hopefully a broader shift to what I think is a very real optimism from the presenters.

I have to say that I agree with almost everything that John Hartigan, CEO of News Limited, said in his opening presentation. The rhetoric was all about new platforms, the role of the iPad, the necessity of journalists becoming entrepreneurial, visual storytelling, and creating news in multiple formats relevant to different delivery platforms. John clearly is a believer; the issue is in making it happen.

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Infographic: The NewsScape – 8 sources of value creation in a post-channel media world

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Tomorrow I’m doing the closing keynote at the Newspaper Publishers Association Future Forum conference in Sydney, with already considerable attention on what I will discuss.

I have just prepared a framework to crystallize some of my thoughts on the news landscape today, which I’ve called The NewsScape. Individual channels – such as print, TV, internet, and more – are becoming meaningless. In the post-channel media world we are entering, the entire landscape is laid open. The NewsScape shows how value is created in this world. (Media revenue models are addressed elsewhere with an update on this coming.)

The NewsScape

Click on the image to see large version

Interfaces are the furnace at the heart of how we access news. Adding to the established interfaces of newspapers and television, newer interfaces including phones and tablets have emerged. Before long digital paper that has most of the great qualities of print as well as the advantages of the digital will be available at reasonable prices.

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Culture jamming is where it’s at: morphing the news into a Billboard hit single

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At the turn of the decade I selected Culture Jamming as one of the top 10 trends of the 2010s.

We have a fantastic example of that in the Auto-Tune the News series from members of the Gregory Brothers band. These take actual TV news coverage and use auto-tune to create songs.

The latest song in the series, Bed Intruder (below) has hit #25 on the iTunes top sellers, and solely on that basis (since that is the only way the song is distributed) it is now ranked as number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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Key trends in media and communications usage

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Ofcom, UK’s communications regulator, annually produces what is the most detailed study of the local communications marketplace available anywhere in the world. Every year it provides deep insights into many aspects of media and communications usage and the state of the industry, and Communications Market Report 2010 is another gem.

Depending on your interests different data will come out – here are some of the results I found interesting. All charts are from the Ofcom report.

Ofcom10_simultaneous.jpg

The results that have received the most attention is the multi-tasking in media usage. Everyone multi-tasks, but younger people more, to the point of 29% of media usage being concurrent in 16-24 year olds. Back in our Future of Media Report 2006 we described how simultaneous use of media would drive future media consumption.

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Infographic: iPad sales fly way beyond expectations

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Here is the first of a series of infographics we are creating on the iPad and media. It shows the growth in sales of the iPad, including actual sales figures announced by Apple and forecasts by a variety of players for the end of this calendar year.

Click on the image to see at full size

It is interesting to look at the forecasts made before the launch of iPad for September 30 (Apple’s end of financial year). No-one had any idea how successful the iPad has turned out to be. Given continued shortages in the stores, it appears clear that any forecasts for sales this year need will be driven by supply capacity rather than demand.

While some believe these high initial sales are just early adopters and Apple fanboys (and girls), I think the higher range of forecasts for this year and beyond (some as high as 35 million for next year) are likely.

[NOTE:] Our iPad Strategy Workshop on 27 August in Sydney is now at 75 registrations and will almost certainly sell out, so register soon if you want to come!

iPad swiftly becomes the dominant medium for reading and entertainment

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Very interesting results out from a survey by Cooper Murphy Webb of British iPad users:

ipadreading.png

Source: Cooper Murphy Webb

The study of 1034 iPad users in the UK showed that 31% prefer reading magazines and newspapers on their iPad, followed by 26% on their laptop/ computer and 24% on print.

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The 12 key elements of iPad media strategy

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iPadmedia.jpgOn August 27 in Sydney The Insight Exchange is running an iPad Strategy Workshop as part of the Newspaper Publishers Association Future Forum conference. It is free for PANPA members and very inexpensive for others, including discounts for members of industry partners, so if you’re in Sydney I hope to see you there. See here for full details and registration.

It will be highly compressed event, packing much content, action and participation into two hours. One of the highlights will be the panel discussion with a group which has extensive experience and insights to share, including:

Keith Ahern, CEO, mogeneration

Grant Holloway, Managing Editor – Online, The Australian

Warren Lee, Group Director – Content Strategy & Integration, APN

Jan Razeb, CEO, Hungry Mobile (Czech Republic)

Abigail Thomas, Head of Strategic Development, ABC

Content partner for the event is Future Exploration Network, which is currently preparing a website and report on iPad and media. We are still developing the strategy frameworks, but I thought it would be worth sharing some of the high-level strategic issues we think are important, and will be raised at the iPad workshop (to the extent we can in the time available!).

iPad in the distribution mix. As some have pointed out, iPad can not be looked at in isolation. It is one of an increasing number of channels for content distribution and revenue generation. Strategies need to examine not only relative characteristics of the available channels, but how they complement each other and afford economies of scale or reach. In particular, the iPad is just the vanguard of a coming cornucopia of tablets and other media-friendly mobile devices.

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“iPad Strategy”: incredibly limiting or a useful frame?

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I recently tweeted to announce The Insight Exchange’s iPad Strategy Workshop, which will be held as part of the Newspaper Publisher’s Assocation Future Forum in Sydney on August 27.

I was a bit surprised by the response, firstly from @trib who said:

@rossdawson seriously, Ross, *iPad strategy*? Isn’t that incredibly limiting and the sign of some bandwagon-induced narrow thinking?

with @renailemay supporting @trib and @abroadabroadeh separately writing:

@rossdawson cmon Ross – ” iPad strategy” ? Please! It’s a tool it should be part of a strategy – talk about shiny object syndrome

…followed by a bit of to-and-fro between us all on how iPad is only one element of media distribution.

It’s a fair point. As a media organization, anything you do on the iPad has to be considered within the complete context.

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