Braun Consulting: Is Content Still King in a World of New Media and Consumer Choice in 2003?Business Editors Braun Consulting releases annual "Media Trends" report, suggests that innovative content creation and delivery must build on deeper customer insight to reach elusive consumers CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 2003 When Internet entrepreneurs An Internet Entrepreneur is a person that engages in business on the internet and helps to shape the future of business on the internet by being an innovator. One who is able to recognize opportunity and administer resources to take advantage of the opportunities. a few years ago pictured a world in which new distribution technologies would enable anyone and everyone to become a content creator See content provider. , many of the world's leading media companies squirmed. "Content is king," they reminded everyone who would listen. Meanwhile armchair futurists predicted the imminent death of the newspaper and the rapid rise of interactive TV, wireless delivery devices, and pay-per-view services. Turns out they were both right, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Braun Consulting (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :BRNC BRNC Britannia Royal Naval College (Dartmouth, England) ), the Chicago-based professional services (job) professional services - A department of a supplier providing consultancy and programming manpower for the supplier's products. firm that recently released its annual "Media Trends" report. "There is a great deal of evidence that suggests quality, branded content Branded Content, also known as Branded entertainment and Advertainment, is a relatively new form of advertising medium that blurs conventional distinctions between what constitutes advertising and what constitutes entertainment. will continue to drive demand," says Bart Lombardi, Vice President, Braun Consulting, Inc. "That said, the threat of the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the has not disappeared. As consumers grow more elusive, media companies must evolve their ability to leverage new communication channels to create and distribute content in a form that's tailored and convenient for their target market, which, in turn, requires a deeper understanding of customers. These are real challenges for many firms." In the report, titled Media Trends: 2003 and Beyond, Braun predicts that media companies will clear that distribution hurdle HURDLE, Eng. law. A species of sledge, used to draw traitors to execution. via a "hub and spoke Any architecture that uses a central connecting point. It is the same as a star topology in a network. A network hub is hardware that functions as a central hub to all nodes. See hub and full mesh.  " acquisition strategy that will enable them to improve
the volume and quality of the content they provide while expanding their
ability to tailor A tailor is a person whose occupation is to sew menswear style jackets and the skirts or trousers that go with them.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor content and distribution to individual customers' preferences. By offering narrow and deep subject matter to specific consumer segments across multiple channels, media companies can maximize the value of their best customers. As delivery technologies develop and proliferate pro·lif·er·ate v. To grow or multiply by rapidly producing new tissue, parts, cells, or offspring. , providing customers with the right content at the right time will create competitive advantages for the most savvy media companies. Meanwhile, as advertisers continue to bombard bom·bard tr.v. bom·bard·ed, bom·bard·ing, bom·bards 1. To attack with bombs, shells, or missiles. 2. To assail persistently, as with requests. See Synonyms at attack, barrage2. 3. consumers, technologies like digital video recorders See DVR. are helping consumers bypass traditional advertising altogether and forcing media companies to reexamine re·ex·am·ine also re-ex·am·ine tr.v. re·ex·am·ined, re·ex·am·in·ing, re·ex·am·ines 1. To examine again or anew; review. 2. Law To question (a witness) again after cross-examination. their revenue models. According to Braun, media companies will be forced to explore content-based revenue models as advertising becomes less effective. "Media companies know they can't be as dependent upon traditional advertisements to fuel their business plans any longer," explains Lombardi. "As consumers become more willing to pay for convenience, subscription-based revenue models and interactive advertising are evolving." Looking ahead, the firm suggests that as subscription revenues grow, consumers will be empowered to tailor content to their needs and interests. Digital delivery of information - anytime, anywhere - will help drive this trend, and digital content libraries will expand in the coming years. At the same time, media companies will rely on ever-evolving "smart filters" to deliver tailored content to consumers, utilizing customer information and analytics - today confined con·fine v. con·fined, con·fin·ing, con·fines v.tr. 1. To keep within bounds; restrict: Please confine your remarks to the issues at hand. See Synonyms at limit. to sales, marketing and customer service activities - in order to define product and service offerings. To take advantage of these advancements, however, requires that media companies embrace new technologies and be creative about how they utilize them to offer consumers what they want. An overview of the trends Based on its work with top media companies, Braun predicts the following media trends will have the greatest impact in 2003: - Media consolidation will continue, with an emphasis on a "hub and spoke strategy." The media industry will continue to pursue targeted mergers and acquisitions that enable them to achieve synergy among content creation abilities and distribution technology. This will be fueled by the emergence of new content delivery media, the lingering advertising recession and the FCC's continued loosening of cross-ownership regulations. - Subscription-based business models will grow as traditional advertising-based models contract. As the number of ads they're exposed to daily overwhelms consumers, the growth of new content channels and development of new technologies will cause traditional advertising's effectiveness to suffer. Media companies will bolster revenue through subscription-based models while interactive advertising technologies develop. - Interactive television will dramatically change the revenue model for cable and satellite providers. As consumers begin to avoid television commercials by using digital video recorders and on-demand applications, there will be a movement from traditional 'spot' advertising on television to interactive advertising, product placement, and "virtual" in-program advertising. With the ability to more narrowly target audiences and provide compelling advertising content, media companies will see consumers' receptivity to television advertising rebound. - Data privacy legislation will reshape marketing efforts. Companies who rely heavily on non-permission based, direct marketing tactics to get their message out will have to rethink that strategy. With current legislative efforts underway to regulate or prohibit non-opt-in marketing tactics, media companies will be forced to develop proprietary customer data and information sources (instead of purchasing this data), resorting to tactics like opt-in programs. - Consumer choice will become the driving force in content delivery. The days of passively receiving the newspaper on the doorstep as the sole source of information are long gone. The age of viewer choice is upon us now with the intersection of three complementary trends: recommendation technologies, which use consumer preferences and habits to recommend content; expanding digital content libraries; and geography-independent delivery of content through technologies such as satellite and broadband. - Media companies will begin to offer customers truly personalized products and services rather than one-size-fits-all bundles. As media companies begin to leverage analytical and technological tools to understand customer preferences, standardized bundles of services - such as video, voice and data - will not be sufficient to attract and retain customers. Media companies will need to establish value for customers based on their individual product preferences. - Winning media companies will embrace geography-independent delivery mediums. The intersection of massive data digitization and geography-independent delivery mediums (like satellite systems and wireless technologies) will drive considerable changes in the media industry. As these purveyors of geography-independent delivery mediums continue to add services and functionality and deepen customer relationships, they will increasingly lock out media companies that don't offer a geography-independent option. While predictions of the democratization de·moc·ra·tize tr.v. de·moc·ra·tized, de·moc·ra·tiz·ing, de·moc·ra·tiz·es To make democratic. de·moc of media have not yet materialized, leading media organizations today are developing technologies and integrating traditional and innovative communication channels in an effort to capture increasingly elusive consumers. Ultimately, however, successfully providing consumers with these tailored offerings will depend on their ability to understand and differentiate among customers in a way never required in a mass-market world. To learn more about the above media trends, visit Braun Consulting's Web site at www.braunconsult.com About Braun Consulting Braun Consulting, Inc. (Nasdaq:BRNC) is a leading professional services firm delivering customer-focused business solutions to Fortune 1000 companies. Braun Consulting combines cutting-edge business intelligence and CRM/eCRM technologies with business strategy to help clients build customer loyalty. By creating the necessary connection between technology and strategy, Braun builds effective business solutions that help clients drive business performance and cultivate cul·ti·vate tr.v. cul·ti·vat·ed, cul·ti·vat·ing, cul·ti·vates 1. a. To improve and prepare (land), as by plowing or fertilizing, for raising crops; till. b. long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. relationships with their most valuable customers. Founded in 1993, Chicago-based Braun Consulting has 5 offices throughout the U.S. Braun Consulting maintains strategic alliances with top developers of enterprise applications, including BEA Systems BEA Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BEAS) is one of the major companies developing enterprise infrastructure software. BEA makes middleware, products that help software run on top of databases. , Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Siebel, Business Objects, Hyperion, Documentum, and others. Additional information about Braun Consulting is available at www.braunconsult.com |
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