I could have called it customer dissatisfaction, but the
media might feel that this does not pertain to them. Therefore,
I will begin with the
ending.
***********************
Media Middleman
A few years ago I said, “Newspapers are in the advertising
business. They sell ad space to advertisers and sell advertisements to the
readers. However, people won’t spend a
dollar or two for advertising, so newspapers give away the news as an
inducement to buy the ads.
Television works on the same paradigm. “You sell commercial
time to the advertisers, and sell commercials to the viewers. However, as the viewers won’t pay for
commercials, you give away the TV shows as an inducement to watch the
commercials.
When that business model is
disrupted, your company and your industry are endangered.
Now!
Younger audiences are buying (paying for) games, apps, or
downloading free apps. They are not watching your programs—the inducement to
watch commercials is losing all potency.
************************************** Back to the article
already in progress.
Deny it all you want, have the public relations department
issue any statement making any claims, however, this paradigm is valid. Why?
Because it focuses on the customer.
The customer believes that you may care about your
customers, however, both you and the customer know that the customers do not
care about any one customer. For
example: If Charlie is unhappy with your goods or services, you will try to
make it right. If he is still unhappy he will take his business elsewhere. However, you have many satisfied customers
who do not care about Charlie. Your
business will go on. Unless…
You lose your market, your market share, revenue stream and
so on. This brings us to…
The Media.
While watching old videos of recorded TV programmes, I
realised there weren’t many commercials.
Market Segmentation
1. When you go from
10 to 50 to 150 television stations you will lose market share.
2. Advertisers have
smaller audiences. Advertisers want to pay less for ad time.
3. Regardless of the
cause of downward pressure on the revenue stream, you increase the number of
commercials. This for revenue enhancement.
4. You reduce
customer satisfaction or increase customer dissatisfaction.
5. There is an interim pushback.
6. The VCR and TIVO ® are invented to time shift the viewing
experience and to allow commercials by-pass.
7. There is a major shift in the entire industry paradigm.
Today, the market has shifted but the suppliers are using an
old model to understand it, to respond to it, and to profit from it.
1. The delivery system has changed.
2. The market demographic has changed.
3. Consumer demand (taste) has changed.
Viewers are now on:
Computers
I Pads
I Phones
And so on.
A growing segment is now “streaming”. The [real] translation: A growing segment is
not watching “television” and the incumbent commercials to pay for it.
NB. Remember! The “cord” goes only as far as the front
door.
Just as many are predicting that the newspaper as we know it
will cease to exist being replaced by digital, the television sets may be
reduced to “entertainment occasions”.
For example:
Super Bowl,
World Series,
March Madness,
Man U. v. Liverpool
or
Movie Nights.
We must now ask, is
that Flat Screen TV compatible with that i-phone; with i-phone technology?
Look at modern trends.
Young people are spending money on gadgets and eating out
instead of clothes.
Mall traffic is down. (Some figures put it at 40%)
Amazon has penetrated the Wal-Mart Market. (Wal-Mart is closing stores, and Amazon is
going great guns,)
Young audiences are streaming.
The result of all this is that advertisers are moving, or
trying to move, with the times to reach consumers to drive sales up, to drive
revenues up in order to stay in business.
Of course, the advertisers will have an easier job if corporate
remembers
Marketing: Find a Need & Fill It.
Mall Real Estate is poised (positioned nicely) to be repurposed.
This will reduce the
downward pressure on revenue streams that arise from rising city rents; the
repurpose will increase foot-traffic thus answering any business renter’s prime
question.
“Will I have customers?”
The Difference?
I am an expendable customer.
If I don’t like your products or services and I take my business to
another "store". The Point? The other customers don’t care.
The other "store" is the threat.
You sell black and white television sets. Your competitor
sells colour television sets. You lose not one but many customers, market
share, and revenues. You change your product line or go out of business.
Does that sound contrived? Simplistic?
Silent Films v. Talkies
Black and White television programs v. color.
35 millimeter v. Digital Cameras v. i-phone Cameras.
Media Middleman
A few years ago I said, “Newspapers are in the advertising
business. They sell ad space to advertisers and sell advertisements to the
readers. However, people won’t spend a
dollar or two for advertising, so newspapers give away the news as an
inducement to buy the ads.
Television works on the same paradigm.
“You sell commercial
time to the advertisers. You sell commercials to the viewers.
However, the viewers won’t pay for
commercials, therefor you give away the TV shows as an inducement to watch the
commercials.
When that business model is
disrupted, your company and your industry are endangered.
Now!
Younger audiences are buying (paying for) games, apps, or
downloading free apps. They are not watching your programs.
The inducement to
watch commercials is losing all potency.
If you find any of this to be helpful, please don’t hesitate
to send me a really tricked out MacPro or i-Pad and to tuck a few dollars into
the envelope along with the thank you note.
Warmest regards,
Slim
Copyright © 2016 Bob Asken
All rights reserved.
