Digital Media outlook report - 2009

An interesting presentation on Digital Media outlook for year 2009.Few reasons why Internet is still called 5% medium:

• Almost 60% of advertising campaign's biggest objective is to create 'Brand Awareness' - I firmly believe Digital is not a medium to create awareness... it is medium to drive engagement / interactions.
  
• Only 9% of advertisers wants to engage their audience - A reason for big No-No to Digital!
• Perception of medium is another problem... None of the vertical has clear idea about the know-how of medium. A big opportunity evangelists - teach marketers what digital is!
• Is mobile the next big thing? - answer is We don't know. I think industry is still waiting for a successful marketing campaign on mobile to be used as case study.
  
• Measurement Metrices - is it really helping? or it exposes something more than what it should!
  

Webchutney Digital Media Outlook Report 2009

MeDigit News pack

MeDigit News round up:

• What's social score of your #brand? http://cli.gs/7Mjtph #socialmedia
• New Russian Investment values #facebook at $6.5B http://cli.gs/5EJ7vN
• 5 most important features of #ms-office 2010... http://cli.gs/mH9P0U
• #microsoft #bing riding on growth... sees 8% increase in unique visitors since launch.. http://cli.gs/W35H4z
• 15 year old says teens are abandoning #twitter... are u listening?? http://cli.gs/7GU0sJ
• #VAS asia 2009.. many challenges for #mobile market. http://cli.gs/zGR4z4
• Online friedns are like banner ads! only 33% of us trust them. http://cli.gs/jLEXpH
• #unitedbreaksguitar... this is how you damage brand's reputation online... http://cli.gs/HtzTnZ
• Future of media moguls... http://cli.gs/JSNn35 | #twitter #rupertmurdoch

MeDigit News Pack

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MeDigit News

Digital and media stocks update for last week. http://cli.gs/pVTTrp

Long awaited mobile number portability starts from August. Cheers, India! http://cli.gs/8z1jQH

An insight in to Social media usage pattern of Indians. Indians spend comparatively low time on SNS. Orkut Rules!! http://cli.gs/NGybXU

Oodle, classified aggregator service provider to power AOL classifieds. http://cli.gs/NBuqA4

Study: Local / Mobile search has now overtaken yellow pages. http://cli.gs/UjmBBa

MySpace mobile - readying to beat facebook on mobile front. Mobile social networks on a roll... http://cli.gs/7Zut48

Twitter and question of Identity. A psychological point of view - must considered by markets. http://cli.gs/HpbBNY

Facebook and twitter are generating news around. What's the gist and who creates news?? http://cli.gs/SnrZ2q

What will you do when social media is not social anymore?? http://cli.gs/znVt1q

Mobile update: 8 upcoming technology that will change our lives! http://cli.gs/7GYstg

Potential of Mobile

Here is a good article on Potential of mobile media as marketing vehicle on Bnet. Consumption of mobile as media vehicle is increasing and it is giving thrust to several para mobile industries. I am talking about industries such as Gaming, VAS, Mobile applications developments and WAP.

Figures are showing that mobile has penetrated up to last mile. In India, however last mile penetration is still distant dream and it will take 3-5 years to achieve this milestone. People's consumption habits of mobile is changing and it is becoming source of entertainment, information and communication needs; suggests this article.

As a marketer, I would say that Mobile is NOT JUST another media tool. Mobile's nature as media vehicle possesses few distinct features. It has Personal nature - same as a news paper as. Also, It is Persuasive nature because of its multimedia functions. Targeting on mobile is highly effective because of emerging technologies. It is these capabilities which gives mobile a distinct identity.

These are motivational factors for marketers and content providers to go Mobile. 'Rework your strategy to suit mobile and achieve good RoI by being present on mobile'. This is mantra for next gen marketing!!

Web 18 registers loss

Web 18; online venture of Network 18 has registered loss for Q3; 2008 - 09. Company posted net loss of 9.57 Cr during last year. It will be interesting to see how online business sustains during recession as giants like Web 18 doesn't seem breaking even in near future.

Must see company's press release here as it's showing various important statistics for media industry.

UTV's new media business

UTV's new media ventures have registered profits for Q309. Titled as UTV New Media business, UTV has Softwares, interactive products under this umbrella. Company also has Gaming as another segment. Compare to loss during last year, this year has proved to be successful for UTV. UTV gaming showed EBITDA of 12.23 million while New media segment showed EBITDA of 1.405 million during the quarter. However, consolidated figures for last 9 months for these verticals shows loss. New media business accounted for 4% of company's profits. Source: Medianama




It is interesting to see companies registering earning revenues and sustaining businesses during tough times by appropriate media strategies and using new media as driving vehicles for new age business. I believe that proper mix of conventional media and new media products will help corporate to sustain during recession and get an edge over competition.

Crucial time for NDTV

NDTV is going through crucial time and effects of recession has started showing up. Company is cutting down its expenses and re looking at few ventures. NDTV registered net loss of 174.8 Million during third quarter. While company's revenue showed 10.7 % growth, expenses were on higher side which resulted in overall loss; reports Medianama.

Here is the snapshot of what these figures looks like:

It is rumored that company will either downsize its delhi based channel MetroNaton or shut it down. NDTV was in talk with HT and BCCL for strategic partnership about this however, both of them have denied this offer.

It would be interesting to see how NDTV takes this matter forward. Mounting pressures, declining revenues and increasing competition in Indian News business would surely result in something good. If media houses manage to provide valuable news content and can sell it across various media vehicles, it would be great for E&M industry.

CyberMedia India Restructuring

CyberMedia India Online Pvt Ltd (CIOL) has undertaken major restructuring processes. Company will merge its online portal with its Parent company CyberMedia India Ltd. CIOL claims to receive a monthly average of 10.5 million page views and 1.1 million unique visitors.

Company has 15 Major publications and 12 websites catering to various verticals of digital, internet, mobile and IT industry. It is also expected that company will go through several cost cutting initiatives as Medianama reports.

Here is snapshot of company's changing revenue mix for last year.

Well, CyberMedia's publications are thoroughly written and provides valuable insights for marketers, managers and entrepreneurs. However, company's online initiatives doesn't seem so much appleaing. I personally believe that CyberMedia can do much more at this front to attract viewers. Let's hope restructuring results in better revenue generation for the company.

MeDigit News this week

• Find out how Obama will use web technology: http://tinyurl.com/clnhvg
• New age 3G enabled handheld game console: Sony PSP likely to feature touchscreen as well. http://cli.gs/b2SE80
• This new paint stops your wifi signals being used by neighbors ... http://cli.gs/aHGmjW
• Approx 200,000 Tech Jobs down since August 2008!!!!! check complete list here http://cli.gs/y2dLJq
• Facebook Rocks!! now it's twice the size of MySpace worldwide: http://cli.gs/Y6rBsz
• New job challenges for new administration at white house: http://cli.gs/v8d78s
• Ronnie Screwvala's letter to employees on challenges in 2009: http://cli.gs/YzhzdX
• Stocks this week... Indian media companies stock last week; http://cli.gs/NDRdbs\
• Media updates this month. Monthly business wins and rankings of Agencies... http://cli.gs/4G6Ejd
• The 2009 OnMedia 100 winners... Top 100 companies in online Marketing. http://cli.gs/by7rQG

Medigit News

Fast track news from Medigit....

Latest news from Media / Internet / Mobile world...

• Beware!! Scams are taking advantage of your trust on social network... http://cli.gs/07rz82
• Friendster - 28 Mn out of 30 Mn visitors are from Asia. Friendster can now claim itself as Asia's social network... http://cli.gs/4v39Sg
• 1.5 Mn Obama related status updates within one day!! facebook connect Rocks!! http://cli.gs/QTt2dE
• MySpace launches black curtain screening program for Slumdog Millionaire and more movies. New age marketing for sure... http://cli.gs/0svYt4
• Airtel launches IPTV services in NCR region; important milestone for new age television experience in India: http://cli.gs/tXdGry
• 57% of internet users in India are in age group of 18-35: http://cli.gs/16vZrD
• Did Twitter Just Pass Digg? http://tinyurl.com/95lpgc via @ShareThis about 1 hour ago
• Digital media stock updates: http://tinyurl.com/73htam
• Google is laying off 100 recruiters..... http://cli.gs/LdGBt1
• Nortel, North america's biggest maker of Telecom equipments filed for bankruptcy... http://cli.gs/0gYa6N

Mar.Com - website for Marketing communication professionals

Just came across a website called Mar.com; Reviews suggest that it's not a well maintained site! I haven't gone deeper in to it but thought to share it with you.....

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Media Roundup - Top news from Media last week

New York Times to sell stake in Red Sox — The Times is planning to sell its 17.5 percent stake in the Boston Red Sox in an effort to raise $150 million to $200 million in cash. The company may also sell The Boston Globe and About.com to gain additional breathing room. [Source: Silicon Alley Insider]

Post and Sun to share content — Longtime rivals, The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun, have inked an agreement to exchange some news and sports stories. The deal doesn’t include some news topics, such as University of Maryland athletic coverage. [Source: Editor and Publisher]

USA Today to be sold on Kindle — USA Today will join The Washington Post, The New Tork Times and other large newspapers on Amazon’s Kindle e-reader device. While the final monthly subscription price has not been released, similar papers sell for $10-$15 a month. [Source: paidContent]

Pew Survey: TV still #1 source for news, Web catching up — As a news source, the Web has surpassed newspapers for the first time in the survey’s history to become America’s second most popular source of news behind television. The survey asked 1,489 adults about their news habits and also ranked the top news stories of 2008. [Source: Pew Research]

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Online News, political sites and blogs: Where are we heading to?

Last year, we have seen lots of websites offering news in various forms. Blogs, Political websites, News portals and Print media's online ventures are few of them. Of course, news has become commodity when it is to be consumed over internet. Majority news websites offer news and also provide access to add comments on news items. Bloggers put forward their point of view in very subtle way that you cant differentiate whether it is news or something which blogger says. Apart from this, forums are where people discuss ideas and create something out of it which creates mass movement.

As a News marketer on Internet media, I would say that Online media lacks authenticity and integrity. Small websites and private bloggers provide information which is either copied  from somewhere or it is not conveyed by authenticated source. In case of news paper's websites, yes, they are trying to communicate authenticated information. However, I would say that people don't find it easily accessible and it caters to very small geogrophic area. Also, it lacks some sort of interactivity, which an internet user always expects. In case of small websites and local news portals, there is lack of traffic which get them larger ad revenues... So, what would be probable system of distributing authenticated, user friendly and customized news over internet??

Given such a scenario, it is challenge for marketer to make his / her news website preffered choice for people. Can you suggest anything?

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Media RoundUp: Yahoo!'s open strategy, Facebook devalued, ESPN Relaunching website...

Yahoo! announces “open” strategy — In an effort to tie all of its services together under the same technology, Yahoo! has announced its new “Open” strategy. As a result, services like Yahoo! Mail will now feature applications from companies like the blogging system Wordpress, and the photo sharing site Flickr. Yahoo! also plans on adding social networking capabilities across services, which notify users of their friends’ actions. [Source: TechCrunch]

Facebook devalued — Once valued as high a $15 billion, Facebook now has a more realistic valuation of $2 billion. The social networking’s new valuation is based on the current trading of the social networking site’s common stock. Facebook has also struggled to fully monetize its massive user base. [Source: Silicon Valley Insider]

Layoffs at New York magazine — Reports place cuts at New York Magazine at around half a dozen. The cuts were done in an effort to reduce redundancy as the magazine shifts more resources to digital production. [Source: Portfolio]

AP writers and photographers on byline freeze — In order to protest management’s stance during contract talks, AP workers will withhold their bylines. The two sides are at odds over a proposed wage freeze. [Source: Editor and Publisher]

ESPN to relaunch site — In an effort to simplify its homepage, and include more advertising space, ESPN.com is unveiling a substantial redesign. The site is due to launch today, with a “formal introduction” planned for January 5th. [Source: New York Times]