Sam’s Town: Nichepaper nonsense
If the ”Nichepaper Manifesto” is some sort of harbinger of the future then God help us all. Unfortunately its broad sweep of generalities, trite statements and ill-informed comments are typical of the newspapers-are-dead lobby.
A few quotes should suffice:
“20th century news isn’t fit for 21st century society. Yesterday’s approaches to news are failing to educate, enlighten or inform”;
“Nichepapers . . . [are] built on new rules that are letting radical innovators reinvent what ‘news’ is”;
“Newspapers strive to give people the news . . . Nichepapers strive to impart meaningful, lasting knowledge instead”;
“Newspapers dictate to their reader what news and opinion are. Nichepapers co-create knowledge through ‘commentage”;
“Nichepapers develop topics – instead of telling quickly-forgotten stories”;
“Newspapers strive for circulation, by telling the same stories in the same ways – in slightly different places. Nichepapers strive for scarcity: to develop a perspective, analytical skills, and storytelling capabilities that are inimitable by rivals.”;
“Newspapers give you the news then. Nichepapers give you knowledge now . . . Nichepapers develop topics of conversation, not individual stories, and let them co-evolve with readers”;
“Newspapers seek perfection: perfect grammar, perfect ledes [I presume he means leads], perfect headlines. Nichepapers seek provocation instead. Sometimes, yes, that provocation is mere titillation. But more often than not it’s authentic provcation: nichepapers provoke us to think; they challenge us; they educate us in ways that newspapers stopped doing long ago.”;
“Newspapers long ago sold out to advertisers, PR flaks, powerful “sources,” and lobbyists… Nichepapers haven’t sold out – and if their economic promise delivers, they won’t have to.”
I defy anyone to get their head around such an amalgamation of nonsense.
The email was sent to me today (Wednesday, August 5). That day, as usual, I read the AFR (a specialist finance and business newspaper and website which seeks – and many say succeeds in doing – to develop a perspective, analytical skills, and storytelling capabilities that are inimitable by rivals . . Nichepaper, anyone?), The Australian, the SMH and the Telegraph. All three strove to impart meaningful, lasting knowledge by extensively educating, enlightening and informing me about many issues, particularly the Ozcar debacle in Canberra and the terrorism arrests in Melbourne.
Far from radically reinventing what news is, both those issues had the previous day been the subject of astonishing news breaks by The Australian, with the paper exclusively revealing that Godwin Gretch had admitted to writing the fake email and – even more astoundingly – revealing that the massive police terror raids were being carried out even as our papers were being delivered.
The SMH and The Australian had sections on local news, world news, arts, sport and business (Nichepapers?) and separate liftout sections on Money (SMH), Higher Education, Wealth and the Australian Literature Review (all the OZ). Both papers have interactive websites with the last figures I saw showing smh.com.au with more than 4.3 million unique browsers each month and theaustralian.com.au with 1.4 million.
The Nichepaper Manifesto says Nichepapers ”are different because they have built a profound mastery of a tightly defined domain – finance, politics, even entertainment – and offer audiences deep, unwavering knowledge of it.”
One would have thought that the SMH, The Australian and the AFR – along with their attendant specialist sections – offer all that, plus something more: eyeballs.
The latest circulation figures show that, far from the sky falling, the top three quality broadsheets in Australia – the SMH, The Age and The Australian – slightly increased circulation over the previous 12 months. And, in fact, the three papers have increased circulation over the past five years. And, while I can’t talk for The Australian, I do know the the SMH and The Age remain profitable.
News (of the current definition, not the yet to be disclosed reinvented definition) still sells. The Daily Telegraph in London increased daily circulation by around 100,000 during the recent period when it was drip-feeding stories about the spending habits of British parliamentarians.
It is true that advertising has tanked in newspapers. But my theory is that everyone loves a new toy and the lure of the bright, shiny new media was difficult to resist. But in the light of a post-Christmas hangover sometimes those toys are looked at in a more critical light – they might be trendy, but are they better at doing the job?
Nielsen research released in April showed that more than 60 per cent of Twitter users have stopped using the service a month after joining; the two latest ANZ job advertisements surveys have shown an increase in newspaper job ads in June (0.9%) and a decrease (0.4%) in July, while online ads fell 4.8% in June and 3.6% in July.
What it all means, I’m not sure but I’ll finish with a blog in March from Tim Pethick, the young entrepreneur who successfully launched Nudie drinks, among other products.
He told of his product Sultry Sally chips, a low fat brand available in Woolworths.
Woolies, which had launched a rival product, told Pethick that he had to engage in mainstream advertising to boost the sales of his chips.
Pethick wrote: ”to be forced into a position where I have to take a traditional, main media approach is anathema.” His fears were multiplied when a partner suggested advertising on 2GB.
”My heart sank. Strategically, I couldn’t think of anything worse. We are talking radio; worse, AM radio; worse still, talk-back radio; even worse, a radio station that everyone knows is only listened to by a few old punters – way, way off target and brand for us.”
Needless to say the product walked off the shelves, with stores emptied of Sultry Sally chips. ”It is working like nothing I have seen before,” wrote Pethick. ”I love the fact that the old ways still count for something; I love the fact that I can still be surprised, be wrong and learn from it.”
Actually I won’t finish on that, I’ll finish with the Nichepaper Manifesto which writes that “Nichepapers are the future of news because their economies are superior.” “What is different about them is that they are finding new paths to growth, and rediscovering the lost art of profitability by awesomeness”.
And what is the lost art of profitability by awesomeness?
I quote: “ When you can make awesome stuff, you don’t need to find ‘better’ ways to sell it.” The fundamental challenge of the 21st century isn’t selling the same old lame, toxic junk in new ways: its detoxifying and dezombifying it, by learning how to make insanely great stuff in the first place.”
Of course.
Having Tweeties for Breakfast
The key, according to Ogilvy’s digital influence expert Brian Giesen, is this: If you want to use Twitter, the newest of the new media, for public relations or business then it is imperative that you follow the rules.
And just what are those rules? Well, it’s all pretty simple. After setting up a Twitter account (the essence here is to be completely transparent in identifying yourself or your brand) there are basically three steps to engaging with and through Twitter: 1) Follow, 2) Create and 3) Engage.
Giesen, speaking to a 100-strong crowd at a Frocomm breakfast conference held on Wednesday at Ogilvy House, said the first stage, follow, meant that a business searched Twitter to discover what people were saying about their brand or their market.
After a time, the business could then enter the create phase, Twittering interesting messages relevant to the conversation and gathering followers.
Only after going through those steps, Giesen stressed, should a company start engaging with other tweeters, responding to people who mention the brand, offering advice and assistance where necessary so that people who may have been critical before may now have the chance to be brand evangelists through the positive contact.
Twitter’s growth in Australia this year has been extraordinary. Traffic has surged more than sixfold, the fastest growth in the world, while there are almost 4 million registered users, rating us fifth behind the US, Japan, the UK and Canada.
Giesen said businesses could use Twitter to meet real business objectives in a number of ways: customer relations; product promotion and sales; crisis and reputation management; event coverage; issues advocacy; and, internal communications. All, however, utilise the three steps: follow, create and engage. And, he stressed, all must use the code of ethics for social media which includes being transparent, respecting other Twitterers by knowing when to participate and when to listen, thinking before messaging (will it be seen as helpful or intrusive), making sure your message is relevant, and providing value to your followers.
Another of the speakers, Strath Gordon, the Director of Public Affairs at NSW Police, related how he had to deal with a company which was Twittering under the name NSW Police. After trying unsuccessfully to contact the through Twitter Gordon was forced to go to the media. A prominent newspaper story and subsequent radio interviews soon had the company coming forward (It was a marketing company trying to build the NSW Police Twitter profile so they could go to the police and show what a powerful tool it was).
The police have now taken over the name, together with 2000 followers, and are using it to Twitter information. At times the responses from the public regarding matters such as speeding fines were ‘’in language not usually used’’ in communication with the police. Gordon said the police see Twitter, and other social media, as valuable tools to help report crime, issue general warnings and to inform people of the real level of crime.
Gordon also said that there was no doubt terrorists and criminals were using social media to communicate with each other, using codes words, and revealed the ‘’secret’’ parts of the force were developing ways to counter that.
Giesen provided a list of do’s and dont’s for Twitter users.
Do:
- See what other businesses are doing on Twitter;
- Use Twitter search engines for keyword searches around brands, products and topics of interest;
- Follow Twitterers with similar interests to establish a brand presence;
- Use twitter to start a conversation;
- Be dedicated to Twitter, with more than one employee on Twitter to ensure an ongoing presence;
- Ask questions and get feedback from followers;
- Engage consumers in co-creation and get constructive insights for future products etc;
- Follow the blogger code of ethics;
- Spread the word about your participation by including your Twitter handle in your email signature.
Don’t:
- Push ads or brand messaging;
- Talk about your everyday tasks. Make your Tweets entertaining and/or valuable;
- Tweet anything about clients, co-workers friends etc that you would not want them to read.
Ogilvy on marketing in a recession
When you attend an Ogilvy marketing in a recession seminar, you don’t expect George Bernard Shaw to come to mind, or even Edgar R Fielder, whoever he might be.
But Shaw once said that if all the economists in the world were laid end to end they wouldn’t reach a conclusion. And Fielder claimed that if you ask five economists you will get five different answers – six if one went to Harvard.
Two of the seven panellists at a lively and informative Ogilvy On Today breakfast Q&A session at the MCA on Tuesday were Phil Ruthven, the founder and chairman of top research firm IBISWorld, and Stephen Joske, the director of China Forecasting Services at the Economist Intelligence Unit in Beijing.
Leading journalist Tony Jones, from ABC television’s Q&A and Lateline programs, hosted the marketing in a recession discussion and began by asking the two economic gurus about whether the current recession was the worst since the great depression and whether the Treasury budget estimate of 4.5% growth in two years was, as Jones described it, ‘’Goldilocks’’ economics.
That’s when you started to think about those quotes.
A gentle recession
Ruthven described the severity of the current problems as being ‘’grossly exaggerated’’, saying it was the ‘’most gentle recession’’ he had ever lived through. And he completely backed the Treasury estimates – ‘’we’re going to come out of this very, very fast’’.
The deep recession
Being an economist, Joske had another view: this was not an ordinary recession with deep damage to the financial system, the so-called green shoots of recovery were, in fact, a false recovery and while China might start moving again at the end of this year the US would not start getting back on track until next year. And his estimate of growth in the Australian economy in two years time was 2.5%, well below Treasury’s 4.5%. It all pointed to a slow Australian recovery next year.
Ruthven said the Australian economy was tied more to the Asia-Pacific than to Europe or the US. Joske said that while China was definitely a positive, it wasn’t enough to restore things to normal.
The expert panel
It all made for fascinating listening for the 100 guests who had gathered to hear the views of a panel comprising Ruthven and Joske, Joe Talcott, the group marketing director of News Limited and the chairman of the Australian Association of National Advertisers, Rose Herceg, STW Group’s strategic director, Mike Daniels, the managing partner and head of strategy at Singleton Ogilvy & Mather, Brian Giesen, Director Digital Strategy at Ogilvy PR, and OgilvyEarth’s senior advisor, Ian Higgins.
The purpose of the morning was to hear, and perhaps challenge, the disparate views on marketing in the current economic downturn of some of the best thinkers in the country, with those views being teased out by Jones.
Sustainability, innovation and digital
Apart from the economy, topics included sustainability, fresh thinking and innovation, trends and the new world of digital.
Higgins said that the general population had finally ‘’got it’’ that we are not living sustainably and were holding that commitment to environmental sustainability through the downturn. Citing Reuters, Higgins said four out of five Americans say they are still buying green products, despite the recession, while a similar percent of 10,000 Australians surveyed last year believe our individual consumption choices can contribute to the greater good of the environment.
‘’We have community leadership on this’’, Higgins said. While warning of the dangers of greenwash – companies claiming false environmental credentials for their products – Higgins said that smart companies were changing their environmental footprint but not talking about it – ‘’you get it right before you speak’’.
Questions were asked about the role of digital and social media in the current business landscape. Giesen said the US marketing experience was that a number of companies had managed to make money out of social media, pointing to computer company Dell which had gained $1 million in extra revenue in the past year by advising of its special clearance offers via Twitter. He added, however, that the main benefit for companies engaging in social media was to develop strong relationships with customers, to understand their customers better and to engage with key influencers.
Giesen also said Ogilvy had initiated a code of ethics – a 66 point plan, no less – for engaging bloggers which he believed essential for responsible marketing.
Daniels said the internet had further increased the necessity for brands to be honest and have integrity because the web opened the companies to public scrutiny in a manner never before experienced.
‘’You must be very honest, very transparent,’’ he said.
The call for honesty was echoed by Talcott, who described the new consumer a ‘’smart, cynical and, most importantly, connected – and to me that changes everything.’’ He pointed out the damage that could be done to a brand by a disgruntled customer using social media.
Daniels said ‘’a lot of digital isn’t very strategic in a business sense. You see ‘wow that’s cool’ but there’s a bit of forgetting that it’s got to make some kind of return.’’
Herceg related how she had been watching a program where a number of highly successful people had stated that recessions ‘’are a great time for imagination and ingenuity and innovation.’’
There was, she said, a place for pragmatism and security but ‘’there is much more to be gain from imagination.’’
Pointing out that most innovation was undertaken by smaller organisations, Herceg said: ‘’If a branded product added innovation it would be almost unbeatable’’ and instanced the Apple iPod as an innovative product from a big brand that now dominated the market.
Her theme was taken up by Daniels who said innovation was a ‘’mindset’’ and instanced companies like KFC and Hyundai which were succeeding despite the downturn through innovation.
Talcott said he believe the consumer was ‘’afraid, and they’re watching every cent they have’’.
When asked about the next big trend, Herceg said she liked to look for pockets of opportunity where nobody else was at the moment – counter-trends – and related how a client, a manufacturer of dairy products, had come to her for ideas. The market was full of low fat products so she advised making something ‘’about 99% butter fat’’: ‘’They couldn’t make enough of it’’.
Herceg said it was essential that business separated innovation and assessment – ‘’you can create all you want, but if it’s a dumb idea it’s a dumb idea’’ – and said that people had to be allowed to fail.
‘’We’re not very good at celebrating failure in Australia. Not good at saying OK, you failed, give it another go.’’
The panel’s advice
When asked by Jones to finish with one piece of advice for business in the current climate the panel responded thus:
- Be brave and take chances (Talcott)
- Innovate by going green (Higgins)
- A company’s two most valuable assets are IP and the organisational culture. Look after both of those (Ruthven)
- The only place that’s growing is the inland provinces of China. Invest there (Joske)
- Be prepared to change everything. Look at everything you are doing throughout the business and ask does it have to be like this, could it be another way (Daniels)
- Listen to what people are saying about your brand and your products. Establish relationships with your customers (Giesen)
- Get five of your best and brightest employees, take them off their day jobs, lock them in a room and see what they come up with (Herceg)
With that Jones closed the seminar everyone went back to their day jobs, no doubt hoping to be marketing in Ruthven’s recession and not Joske’s.
