Stop talking about the demise of newspapers, start talking about the rise of news brands. That’s the advice of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ global entertainment and media leader who argues there will always be a role for trusted brands.
According to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Global Entertainment and Media Outlook, global advertising will fall to 12.9pc in 2009 with a further drop of 2.7pc in 2010 and returning to just under 2008 levels in 2013.
Video game ads are expected to outpace the rest of the advertising industry (albeit from a low base) at 13.8pc compounded annually, compared to an overall advertising industry decline at a compound rate of 0.6 per cent during the forecast period.
The growing proportion of internet and mobile advertising in the overall global advertising mix will rise from around 12pc in 2008 to 19pc in 2013.
Marcel Fenez, global entertainment and media leader at PricewaterhousCoopers told siliconrepublic.com that a broader trend emerging is how people will consume content through social networking sites.
“We are seeing generations of teens who watch TV via YouTube. Well, there are a lot of people between 27 and 43 who are on Facebook and will follow this pattern as well.
“The whole collaboration theme and user feedback will drive product development in this exciting space.
“One of the very important things to realise is that advertising is going to go through its biggest change in history. Before the recession we saw big TV and print campaigns. When the recession arrived, these campaigns were the first to be cut.
“When the upturn eventually comes and brands have more money to advertise, they will realise that the consumer will have fundamentally migrated to somewhere completely different to TV and print.
“That is why the change that we will see in the entertainment and media industry will be structural rather than cyclical. The way that brands advertise and connect with their consumers is going to be different.
“The media pillars of the future will be trusted brands. There will still be a role for news brands and premium content.
“Let’s be clear about this. While social networking and user- generated content are important, the consumer still values brands and content.
“We need to stop talking about the demise of newspapers and start talking about the rise of news brands.
“The consumer will always value a source they can trust. Whether it’s the Irish Independent, the New York Times or RTÉ. Wherever they are used to getting information there are still huge opportunities. But media brands would be foolish to ignore the structural changes that are happening,” Fenez said.
By John Kennedy
