Could ‘mindful’ media consumption save the newspaper industry?
Earlier this week, WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell told the Society of Editors conference that he had been re-evaluating the role that newspapers play in the advertising mix.
Traditionally, advertising budgets have been to a large degree guided by time spent. With newspaper readerships, and thereby time spent reading papers, declining in almost every corner of the world, it’s no wonder that we’ve seen a slump in traditional newspaper advertising.
But could a more mindful way of consuming news provide the newspapers some respite, as they look for new ways to fill the gap left by dwindling advertising revenues?
According to Sorrell, time spent is increasingly being seen as an outdated standalone metric, whilst the quality of that time is becoming more important.
“Data in Canada, Australia, the UK, the US and elsewhere shows it is not just a question about time spent, it is also about engagement,” Sorrell told the conference earlier this week. “Data from many sources shows that when people engage with newspapers in a traditional form, digital too, the quality of the time they spend is much higher than we first thought.”
In other words, we may be reading less, but when we do, the time we spend is more valuable. In marketing jargon, the ‘engagement’ is higher in quality.
This could well provide a glimpse of hope for newspapers. A more mindful readership won’t be a long-term solution to their financial woes, but if there is a chance papers can hold on to some of their print revenues for a wee bit longer thanks to more engaged readers, that’s surely welcome news.
In the longer term, the crucial nut to crack is digital. Ad blockers present a new challenge for the newspaper industry, but so does capturing and monetising new readers on digital platforms. Paywalls, seen by many as a crucial piece of the puzzle and advocated by Sorrell among others, come in many forms. Only time will tell which form, if any, works best.
(For an interesting analysis of the FT’s move from a metered paywall to cheap trial subscriptions, do give John Cassidy’s piece in The New Yorker a read.)
This blog first appeared on mhpc.com
Image source: "The Old Man and the Sea" by Miguel Pires da Rosa is licensed under CC BY 2.0