How We All Make Money Again: Back to the Future With Re-Invention - Steve Blacker - MediaBizBloggers

TELEVISIONThe early days of television had a few channels clientbacked programs such as Milton Berle39s quotTexaco Star Theatrequot and quotThe Philco Playhousequot and I use to watch the test patterns as a young child eagerly awaiting a new day of programming While freedom of choice is good it can also become overwhelming At the end of the day a consumer has just so many hours to watch TV Rather than continuously launching or buying new cable channels perhaps the major networks need to rethink the business model that worked in the quotgood old daysquotLess can be more if the programming is really good If this is not doable then how can a network make it easier for the consumer to select the programming they are most interested in viewing without spending endless minutes channel surfing or reading an endless digital guideRegardless of ratings Jeff Zucker39s innovative programming move with Jay Leno is brilliant programming and needed change in the business model Why As Dave Letterman said facetiously on a recent program quotIf I keep doing well CBS is going to move me to the 1000 o39clock time slotquot Leno is a trusted brand and highly entertaining Whether every night is a home run does not matter Over time Leno will build an ongoing new 1000 PM franchise for NBC varying by day of the week and his guests Leno will experiment and try new things and some will work At the same time those people who switched to Letterman because they may not be sophisticated enough for Conan O39Brien now have their Jay Leno back Bottom line the Leno show is a very inexpensive test lab and can make money without hitting a home runCABLEWhy not have a consolidation of cable channels versus an endless expansion I can understand the need for FOX News to balance CNN and MSNBC But when there are cable channels devoted to terrifying roller coaster rides or horribly executed programs it becomes a wasteland for the viewer to get through More importantly can cable channels with minuscule ratings that Nielsen has a tough time measuring ever make money I doubt with the exception of launching an Oprah Channel there is much room left for innovationNEWSPAPERSI love my NY Timesand NY Post for two different reasons But unless newspapers realize they must charge for digital and look at content producers as one operation newspapers can become endangered species Same goes for the marketing and ad sales side A newspaper can not afford separate staffs and independent silos Content is content just the format and delivery system is differentMAGAZINESThe strongest media brands with the most archaic business models in existence While ad pages still contribute the lion39s share of revenue and hopefully profits the future is already here Few magazines are investing adequately in Digital or producing quality high traffic Web sites Here too there needs to be one content producing organization and one marketing organization for every platform Partnerships are needed with Google MSN Yahoo even major client Web sites etc to leverage the phenomenal trust and brand equity that magazines do have New thinking is desperately needed And trips to Paris for the fashion shows for fashions no one buys are a waste of money even if everyone stays at Motel SixDIGITALStop believing that quotif you build it they will comequot a great line from a movie Bubbles are bursting all over the place as companies with huge traffic are finding it more and more difficult to monetize that traffic Simple fact is if you create a site that39s non commercial and it attracts people making it into a commercial profit center is extremely difficultAD AGENCIESUnless clients stop quizzing ad agencies to a point where a major account becomes unprofitable don39t expect big agencies to deliver great creative and outstanding media plans Ad agencies need to make media planning and buying more of a priority along with creative Most media planners and buyers are overworked and underpaid Do you really need account executives who cannot produce or place advertising Why not make the media people your account executivesCLIENTSBe wary of too many price promotions and special offers for your brands and look out for private label Do not judge every ad on an ROI basis Brand equity not only moves product and service it separates you from your competition and private label If anything you need to invest in marketingadvertising more than ever If you want to cut back eliminate your travel department and outsource the accounting function to IndiaSteve39s new book You Can39t Fall Off The Floor The Insiders39 Guide to ReInventing Yourself and Your Career chronicles his 50 year career working for over 25 different companies with 189 lessons learned and insider tips from Gayle King Cathie Black Chuck Townsend and 28 others Blacker is still going strong today as a partner in Frankfurt ampamp Blacker Solutions LLC His web site is blackerreinventionscom and email address is blackersolutionsaolcomRead all Steveamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Steve Blacker MediaBizBloggers

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How We All Make Money Again: Back to the Future With Re-Invention - Steve Blacker - MediaBizBloggers

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