Paper Revolution | Rethinker's Survival

Joining hands to walk into the Digital Wonderland - print goes 2.0

In 2005, already, Bill Gates predicted in "Le Figaro" the slow demise of print media within the next few years.

Bill Gates was to be right. There are clear tendencies that support his thesis. For years now, falling circulation numbers and dwindling advertisers have been a major worry for the publishing trade. To risk a glance into the future, we only have to look to the USA, where the newspaper market is already in free fall. In Germany, the situation is not quite as dramatic yet. But here, too, the nature of the market has changed. While public limited companies have taken over the newspaper businesses in the USA, the owner-managed publishing houses, often with traditional and regional roots, still dominate in Germany. Yet, this local bond and the loyalty of the classical newspaper readers won't be lasting much longer.

The trend is clearly going towards digital media

China is regarded as avant-garde in the digitalisation of "printed" media. In the "Land of records with the highest population, the fastest growth and the highest foreign investments" , print offerings have been adapted for years now as mobile variants for Smart Phones, and investments for the digital launch of magazines have been increased. But what can be deduced from this for the German print market? Is it really doomed? Not yet. However, publishers have recognised that it is time to take over the helm again and steer their houses on a new course by directing them towards digital distribution of their contents.

The following six pointers are to serve as "orientation aid" for a quick way out of the crisis:

1. Let your readers participate pro-actively in the conception of your magazine

The so-called "Prosumers" consider themselves more and more as an active part of the media. This means that consumers want to actively participate in the generation of content. This opportunity of making contributions, e.g. through comments or own contributions, has been nearly non-existent in print media up to now. The task of the publisher is that of integrating the user in the conception of their magazine, online as well as off-line. A successful example for this is a publication called "Der Freitag", which succeeded in actively networking with and among its readership through discussions and dialogues within the digital community online and off-line and thus in offering much more than only news to its readers.

2. Create an interactive platform for your readers
 

Readers are users too. This fact is still being ignored all too often. Therefore, it is necessary to involve the readers: not only in the print media but also by creating an Interactive Platform with innovative cross-media offers. It is important to create a "world", where the reader can immerse himself, where he feels at home and integrated, and that gives him the feeling of attention being paid to his individual needs.
 

3. Don't forget, the future belongs to the Silver Surfers too
 

Often, businesses tend to focus their digital offers on catering to younger target groups. However, there is a generation beyond the younger generation, who have grown up with internet, smart phones and other technical options - the so-called "digital natives" - that is currently conquering the digital world. Studies have shown that 49.6% of the 50plus generation are online already and that the greatest increase is in the 60-69 year age group. This growing enthusiasm for digital media, as well as the overall the demographic development, is turning the "Silver Surfers" into an attractive target group for publishers, too. Not to forget that - in ten years time already - the first digital generation will be reaching retirement age and will boost this already demographically growing target group.

4. Offer your readers timeliness, relevance, quality and diversity
 

Media such as Twitter point the way. In times of ever faster reporting, the requirements of the readers are increasing with regards to interaction, timeliness, added value, integration, and also quality and relevance. Publishers have to take these into consideration in order to establish even stronger customer loyalty. Here, the Internet is a quick option where to update content and inform readers in real time about news.

5. Simplexity vs. complexity

High complexity makes it difficult for consumers to participate actively, especially with regards to digital media. The degree of motivation to participate through contributions or comments increases the more easily the site, blog or social media can be used. Hence, one important aim of publishers should be to keep the use of their platform as simple as possible. The magic word is "simplexity". Simplexity means: "Offer people potential and endow them with competence". Or, in other words: To render complex processes as simple as possible, so that the user is actually also able to handle them and ends up feeling good about his own level of competence. This is particularly true for the simple menu navigation of a web page and the corresponding offers, such as apps.

6. Paid content must be worthwhile for the reader
  

To stay profitable well into the future, an increasing number of publishers are finding that they have to charge for their content. In view of these considerations, it is important to offer consumers an added value in order to keep their loyalty despite the paid content. This added value could be technical information, special interest content, background stories, exclusive and regional articles. The payment process for the paid content should be as quick and smooth as possible, so as not to tax the patience of the user. Thus far, online sales systems, such as "PayPal" and "Click and Buy", have proven their worth. Another step is the integration of the digital offer into already existing services and markets and their respective pay systems, such as App Store or Android Market.

These six pointers could serve as a basis from which to counter the crisis and to ring in the transformation for German publishing houses. In future, publishers will have to implement strategic changes and digitalise their offers in order to survive.

Sources:

• Fabrice Nodé-Langlois, Le Figaro, Bill Gates se lance dans le nucléaire futuriste, http://www.lefigaro.fr/societes/2010/03/24/04015-20100324ARTFIG00388-bill-gates-se-lance-dans-le-nucleaire-futuriste-.php; 24.03.2010
• Jan Harmening, Auswandern info, http://www.auswandern-info.com/china.html; 06.09.201
• TNS Infratest, Initiative D21, Nonliner Atlas 2010

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Contact:
Milena Geiger
milena.geiger@greenkern.com