PART ONE
New Media’s New Challenges
The internet revolutionized media production and distribution, creating “new media” brands like Vox, Buzzfeed and Vice. As the internet continues to reshape content dynamics, these companies face a critical juncture.
This first article in a three part series explores how community-driven strategies can help new media brands thrive in the evolving media frontier.
The internet made it possible for everyone to produce and publish media, not just giant corporations
First, “new media” companies were able to leverage the internet for distribution and create mainstream traction.
and more recently, independent creators are also finding financial stability through their own distribution.
These groupings create the spectrum that is today’s media landscape.
The majority of new media companies eventually have a fall from grace
This happens because the “attention economy” shifts so quickly that it makes it difficult to maintain consistent growth and relevancy.
So how do corporate media companies survive this volatility?
Resulting in financial stability through different revenue streams
and additional touch points to to build raving fans of the brand
The classic visual example of an entertainment ecosystem is the 1957 drawing of Disney’s corporate strategy.
Disney is world class at creating different ways for their fans to engage...
...but the magic that isn’t pictured above is the community their ecosystem empowers.
The Disney community creates millions of dollars of value for Disney because they love creating and connecting through their brands.
Disney knows this and ensures there are official avenues for their community to connect, alongside organic efforts.
Let’s explore that by seeing how Vice could approach rebooting their food sub-brand Munchies into an “entertainment ecosystem”
Munchie’s audience is young adults, food enthusiasts, and digital natives who are interested in unique, culturally diverse food content.
Munchies can create a successful “entertainment ecosystem” with the following principles:
1. Create products/platforms that help their audience experience new foods that compliments media
2. Intentionally design rituals and common language that can be incorporated into new programming and platforms
3. Make it as easy as possible for the audience to engage with each other in the “Munchies ecosystem”
There is no single right answer as to what a entertainment ecosystem should look like.
Every entertainment ecosystem will be unique, crafted specifically for that community.
The media companies that successfully build entertainment ecosystems their communities love, will outlive every one of their competitors.
Enjoyed Part 1 of this series on the future of new media?
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