Explaining the disruption in traditional publishing models - particularly in lifestyle magazines. The challenges in overcoming this disruption and what these companies can do about it.

1. Why Next Level Publishing
Isn’t Really Publishing At All
Rethinking the business of digital content

2. About Me
• Founder at Made From Media
• Publisher / content strategy
consultancy
• Previously Head of Digital Marketing
at Bauer Media – FHM / Grazia
@mrjamescarson

3. Key Report
http://www.slideshare.net/mrjamescarson/the-new-york-
times-nyt-innovation-report-abridged-version

4. Experience in a Publisher
• They had lots of brand strength
• They had lots of journalists
• They had an audience of 20m a month
• They had loads of ideas
• They made lots of money
What’s Wrong With That?

5. Major Issue: Long Term Decline
• Publishing companies rely on
print to generate profit
• The print market was declining
rapidly (over 20% YoY in some
markets)

6. No Surprises…

7. Challenges in Dealing
With the Declinehttp://digiday.com/publishers/6-reasons-uk-magazines-arent-thriving-online/
And some solutions…

8. Problem #1: The Innovator’s Dilemma
Magazine sales are declining while digital is not making up for the gap = revenue protection.

10. ‘Destroy
Your Own
Business’
Solution#1:
?????

11. Problem #2 Structure
Structuring of a print focused media
business fundamentally different to a
digitally focused media business.
Media
Company
It doesn’t work well in search

12. Solution #2: The One Website Theory

13. Commissioning
Editor Journalist Subeditor
Problem #3: Skills & Retention
• Print journalism relies on a focused skillset that uses experts to
create original content
• Print conventions fundamentally different to online conventions
• Good people in digital were regularly ‘promoted’ into print!
Designer Editor Printer

14. Solution #3: Multimedia Skills
• Writing
• Headline writing
• HTML
• Image editing
• Content Management System
• Promoting your own story
• Social media
• Video skills
• Growth hacking / product marketing?

15. Who Needs Written Words Anyway?

16. Problem #4: Technology
• Legacy of companies having different content management
systems for different brands
• Tech changes extraordinarily expensive due to using third
parties
http://digiday.com/publishers/hearsts-troy-young-modern-publisher-needs-platform

17. Solution #4: Platform Based Technology

18. Problem #5: Distribution Networks
‘The realities of a cluttered Internet and distracted mobile world
now require us to make even more of an effort to get our
journalism to readers. Perhaps because the path forward is not
clear and requires very different skills, we are putting less effort
into reaching readers’ digital doorsteps than we ever did in
reaching their physical doorsteps.’
P.24 of The New York Times Innovation Report
An over reliance on the pull of brands…

19. Solution #5: Social Distribution Networks

20. Creating Content Bespoke for Social Platforms
We see the social networks almost like the new cable networks and
we’re the new MTV or CNN making content for these networks.
The way you make content changes depending on the distribution.
We are continually trying to learn how to make content that is
native to these platforms, people think BuzzFeed does native
advertising for BuzzFeed, we actually do native advertising for other
social platforms.
http://a16z.com/2014/09/18/a16z-podcast-for-buzzfeed-sharing-is-the-metric-that-
matters/

21. The Role of Video

22. Effect on Advertising and Revenue
Trend away from
display / banner to:
• Sponsored content
• Video
• Events
• Ecommerce

23. Converged Future
Established
Publishers
Publishing
Startups
Social Platforms
Technology Content
Distribution
Content
Creators
TV
Marketing
Services
Specialism
Broadcasters Agencies
New media paradigm