DIG Insurance & Business Magazine Spring 2019 | Page 13

KILL THE MEDIA
Insider, native advertising and sponsored
content spending in 2013 was under $5
billion in total spend. That number has
to grow to over $20 billion.
So now, media companies that used
to shy away from sponsored content
opportunities are going all-in.
Sponsored content has become the en
vogue business model for media.
But while this shift is certainly exciting,
what it's doing is keeping media
companies from seeking out a real
business model – one that will help them
achieve success over the long term.
And that's what has me worried.
Right now, it’s probably fair to say
that the content being produced at
most media companies is far superior
to what's coming from agencies and
brands. And it’s probably fair to say that
these media companies have superior
distribution capabilities, as well. These
are two top reasons why brands are
investing billions of dollars in media
companies, providing brands with ways
to reach their audiences leveraging
valuable and compelling content.
However, brands are getting better at
content every day. And so are agencies.
These businesses are now actively hiring
journalists, skilled writers, broadcasters
and expert content creators. Heck, Cisco
Systems has over 200 content-related
roles by itself. They are also bringing
on specialists to help with audience
development. It only takes a few internal
moves like this to turn disparate
corporate databases into powerful
content distribution machines.
In the corporate world, it seems like
all the right pieces are being gathered –
they just need to be put into the proper
place. And did I mention corporate
coffers? Brands have so much more
money to invest in this, it’s not even
funny. Apple, for example, can buy The
New York Times 100 times over and still
have $30 billion left over.
In five, 10 or 15 years, when these
brands finally get their acts together, I'll
be genuinely concerned for the future of
media companies. Just as they did with
traditional advertising, these content-
empowered brands will likely start to
pull back on their sponsored content
investments. When they do (and they
will), what business model will media
companies fall back on? Without other
revenue sources to depend on, and with
advertising all but dried up, this pull-
back could represent a final, fatal blow
to the digital media industry.
Look, I don’t want to be right about this;
but I'm sure as sure can be that it will
eventually happen. Just as we have seen
the rise of content marketing, we will
someday see the demise of media if they
continue to solely focus on a revenue
source that is, at best, fleeting. +
Joe Pulizzi is the founder of Content
Marketing Institute, a UBM company, the
leading education and training organization
for content marketing, which includes the
largest in-person content marketing event in
the world, Content Marketing World. Joe is
the winner of the 2014 John Caldwell Lifetime
Achievement Award from the Content Council.
Joe’s the author of five books, including his
latest, Killing Marketing. His third book,
Epic Content Marketing was named one
of “Five Must-Read Business Books of 2013”
by Fortune Magazine. You can find Joe on
Twitter @JoePulizzi.
JoePulizzi.com
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