In September 2020 , Nation Media Group took a bold step that was a turning point towards becoming a modern digital content company . This was the beginning of the Group ’ s digital transformation journey through the launch of NMG ’ s digital brand - Nation . Africa . The Group seeks to leverage on its new digital brand as a pathway towards monetisation of digital content , and take up leadership in the mobile publishing landscape in Africa . Nation . Africa is part of NMG fulfilling its vision to be the Media of Africa for Africa .
Marketing Africa team had a chat with Clifford Machoka , Head of External Affairs & Marketing , Nation Media Group , on the new baby on the block as well as wider challenges facing the media industry in Todays ’ digitally disrupted environment . Here-in are excerpts .
Tell us more about Nation . Africa . What informed its launch ? Why did you decide on the name Nation . Africa ?
Nation . Africa is Nation Media Group ’ s digital brand that seeks to create and deliver high quality content from across our continent - from the news as it unfolds , in-depth reporting , expanded content from across the continent and premium paid content - delivered to audiences on a cleaner and more user friendly platform that enables interactivity with the consumer . It will enable NMG play its rightful role in empowering and transforming Africa by informing educating , sharing and engaging our audiences .
Our key consumers have gone whole heartedly digital-social-mobile . We need to be relevant by providing unique , high quality content at their convenience . Hence , the launch was informed and it is part of the Group ’ s strategy to become a modern digital content company . Nation . Africa seeks to reposition NMG as Africa ’ s # 1 independent media brand from a regional multimedia power house in legacy media platforms to a modern digital media Pan-African Brand with global reach .
The name Nation . Africa is informed by and the realisation of NMG ’ s vision to be a ‘ Media of Africa for Africa ’ to capture a wider audience than just East and Central Africa .
What has been the feedback so far ? Please tell us the key milestones and by which metrics you measure this success ?
The feedback so far has been very positive and encouraging . The uptake of registrations and subscriptions has positively surprised us . We have largely achieved what we thought could take us a year in a period of 3 months . Specifically , we have achieved key milestones such as hitting registrations of more than 280,000 , total subscriptions of more than 65,000 as well as rolling out innovative content formats such as Nation Audio ( a new podcast service that seeks to offer best in experimental and creative audio experiences with a focus on genres such as sports , entertainment , lifestyle , hard news , and soft news ) and Nation Puzzles ( a feature that contains daily crosswords , sudoku , word searches and so much more ). There are a number of metrics we use to constantly measure our performance such as traffic , page views , average time on page , registrations , subscriptions etc .
Kindly share with Marketing Africa the challenges you have encountered and how you have gone about tackling them ?
One of the major challenges is that digital is a moving target . Consequently we are constantly in ideation and iteration while ensuring we are deliberate about understanding our consumers and making data-driven decisions .
Then there is the continuous challenge of building and aligning the whole organisation , not just one or two departments , towards digital-first . We have engaged culture champions in each department to drive initiatives . We are continuously assessing and building capability on digital skills .
What are the key pillars for success of digital platforms compared to traditional media from your point of view ?
In our experience , the success of digital platforms is built around a number of factors including understanding audience needs and consumption habits ; continuous engagement and interactivity ; data-driven decision making processes ; and adopting an agile way of working .
Given that NMG ’ s products - Newspaper , TV and Radio already had people consuming them , are you seeing a different audience for Nation . Africa ? Has it expanded your audience or have the same audiences shifted to this new platform ? In short is there any cannibalization ?
Indeed , we are seeing a more younger audience for Nation . Africa that is largely different from our current platforms . Nation . Africa has enabled NMG to recruit and retain audiences that we would not otherwise have been able to attract . We have expanded our audience from just East & Central Africa to continental and
Nation . Africa is a platform that delivers high quality content to a more loyal engaged audience that has enlisted on a long term journey that is transformational in nature . The relationship is therefore not transactional . This audience is now more continental and global driving significant traffic who spend considerable amount of time on the platform .