View Press Release (PDF 170KB) Beijing, China December 10, 2009 – Content has become the king of Internet media and publishers should charge for that content if it is unique to their website. In addition, advertisers are still willing to spend in today´s economy, but want publishers, or "audience access providers" to provide creative solutions beyond displays. These observations of the silver lining amidst the unprecedented challenges facing publishers were made by Glenn Hansen, President and CEO of BPA Worldwide during a panel session at the inaugural "SOPA Media Summit 2009" – "The Future of Publishing – New Platforms, New Technologies, New Models," held in Beijing on November 19-20. "It´s a new day in media measurement, as publishers are undergoing a transition to becoming audience access providers, and metrics are moving beyond mere circulation to consider how the audience reacts to all of the touch points of the brand. And the silver lining in the current recession is that advertisers are still willing to spend, but they are demanding more creative solutions beyond just a display and a print product," Hansen asserted. "The advertiser needs to negotiate with the ‘audience access providers’ across all of the touchpoints of the brand including email, newsletter access, white paper download and traffic to the web site. Those ‘audience access providers’ who provide advertisers with the most creative solutions stand to win, and BPA can play a valuable role by measuring the results of these innovative solutions," he added. Robin Hu, Deputy Chairman, SPH Magazines Pte Ltd. and Senior EVP, Chinese Newspapers and Newspaper Services, Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. described a parallel power shift to Internet media in terms of a similar transition in the locus of editorial decision and its unlimited potential. "On the Internet, a new generation of digital natives is acting as editors personalizing which information they will read as against the old paradigm where the editor made that decision mandating what the reader sees." For Hu, this shift manifests a fundamental difference in scale between the Internet and paper-based media. "Paper-based media is finite; it has a beginning and an end which imposes limits on stories, while the Internet is infinite and without boundaries. People on the Internet are looking for action and their minds are predisposed to absorb information and Internet advertising taking advantage of this can be potentially more powerful." Anurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, exchange4media (India) similarly stated that the media can better engage the reader by expanding focus beyond conventional formats to embrace popular functions found on the Internet. "Traditional and digital media needs to change from broadcasting to netcasting of content. Digital media also needs to adopt some of the more effective social media tools and techniques, such as blogging and creating more interactive content." Fei-Peng Ho, CEO, Cité Publishing Group and President, Taiwan Digital Publishing Forum (Taiwan) believes that publishers need to embrace the Internet´s potential, but that they still have something to offer by creatively migrating content. "With information access becoming easily available through the Internet, traditional media in Taiwan have been losing their influence over the past few years as the new media gather strength. Tapping into the Internet, including forging partnerships with leading players, can help publishers to extend their marketing reach and boost their presence, and they can add value to their Internet enterprises by providing content in Chinese." The inaugural "SOPA Media Summit 2009" – "The Future of Publishing – New Platforms, New Technologies, New Models" has been hailed as a landmark conference bringing together international and Asian media leaders and principal stakeholders to appraise the challenges and growth opportunities, re-define new business strategies and models, uncover new commercial values and unlock partnership opportunities in China and across the region. |
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