4 ms·

comradity, I think you are missing the point. The essay doesn't discuss the value of this content but it's price. These are not the same. Price is somehere bet

by netsp 17y ago

comradity, I think you are missing the point. The essay doesn't discuss the value of this content but it's price. These are not the same. Price is somehere between the maximum the buyer is willing to pay, considering his other options & the minimum the seller is willing to sell at, considering his opportunity cost. In a competitive market, the price usually creeps close to the latter because consumers have more and better options to consider. In a monopolistic one, it creeps closer to the latter for the opposite reason. The reason the price of content might be zero in the content industry is that A) The opportunity cost for the seller is 0 & B) The market is more competitive.

comradity 17y ago
I got the point exactly. You are assuming that the unit price and number of units garnered by the publishing industry reflects consumer demand. This is only true if the industry has used best practices in pricing and marketing strategy. I disagree with that assumption. As a former media planner, it appears that the publishing industry has been focused on generating revenues from advertisers. Period. But more concrete evidence of publishers' lack of marketing best practices is that publishers keep talking about selling content. Tide does not sell laundry soap. They sell superior clean. The value to the consumer can be very high or even priceless. For example, the value of getting the red wine stain out of that expensive tablecloth is very high, the value of being confident the kids look like their mom cares is priceless. Publishers need to stop taking marketing short cuts (giving away free copies, relying 3rd parties to sell subscriptions, reacting to social marketing, and buying into marketing gurus with silver bullet answers).
- netsp 17y ago
  I have not made that assumption. Neither has the essay as I understand it. It is simply a statement about how they are priced. Regarding your advice, that is somewhere between wishful thinking and suction cups for the dead.
  - comradity 17y ago
    So, we're both saying that publishers' pricing is driven by the latter of "the maximum the buyer is willing to pay....& the minimum the seller is willing to sell at..." But we disagree as to why. You say the marketplace is too competitive or monopolistic. I'd say it is because publishers are B2B (business to business) and not B2C (business to consumer). I am not referring to just existing publishers, so suction cups for the dead is not entirely accurate. The competitive opportunity for new entrants as well as to turnaround existing publishers is (now positively rephrased): Be a B2C business, market directly to consumers, immerse yourself in what your consumers think your product is worth and what they will pay for it. For media, an investment in a B2C model starts to generate revenues sooner than the B2B model. Because, in the media B2B model, the audience has to be built before making dollar one from advertisers, distributors, merchandise licensees, etc. Therefore B2B is the more "wishful thinking" model of the two.
    - netsp 17y ago
      The reason I said wishful thinking and suction cups to the dead is that you are ignoring the central reason that we are having this conversation at the moment: Why are Newspapers as an industry contacting? If your answer is as applicable in the 90s as it is now, I would suggest you explain why it is happening now and not then. Newspapers are in trouble because both consumers and advertisers need them less today then they did before. This is a consequence of the internet and competition. There are also all sorts of other little things. Quality of journalism is part of those little things.

by netsp 17y ago

comradity 17y ago

I got the point exactly. You are assuming that the unit price and number of units garnered by the publishing industry reflects consumer demand. This is only true if the industry has used best practices in pricing and marketing strategy. I disagree with that assumption. As a former media planner, it appears that the publishing industry has been focused on generating revenues from advertisers. Period. But more concrete evidence of publishers' lack of marketing best practices is that publishers keep talking about selling content. Tide does not sell laundry soap. They sell superior clean. The value to the consumer can be very high or even priceless. For example, the value of getting the red wine stain out of that expensive tablecloth is very high, the value of being confident the kids look like their mom cares is priceless. Publishers need to stop taking marketing short cuts (giving away free copies, relying 3rd parties to sell subscriptions, reacting to social marketing, and buying into marketing gurus with silver bullet answers).

netsp 17y ago
I have not made that assumption. Neither has the essay as I understand it. It is simply a statement about how they are priced. Regarding your advice, that is somewhere between wishful thinking and suction cups for the dead.
- comradity 17y ago
  So, we're both saying that publishers' pricing is driven by the latter of "the maximum the buyer is willing to pay....& the minimum the seller is willing to sell at..." But we disagree as to why. You say the marketplace is too competitive or monopolistic. I'd say it is because publishers are B2B (business to business) and not B2C (business to consumer). I am not referring to just existing publishers, so suction cups for the dead is not entirely accurate. The competitive opportunity for new entrants as well as to turnaround existing publishers is (now positively rephrased): Be a B2C business, market directly to consumers, immerse yourself in what your consumers think your product is worth and what they will pay for it. For media, an investment in a B2C model starts to generate revenues sooner than the B2B model. Because, in the media B2B model, the audience has to be built before making dollar one from advertisers, distributors, merchandise licensees, etc. Therefore B2B is the more "wishful thinking" model of the two.
  - netsp 17y ago
    The reason I said wishful thinking and suction cups to the dead is that you are ignoring the central reason that we are having this conversation at the moment: Why are Newspapers as an industry contacting? If your answer is as applicable in the 90s as it is now, I would suggest you explain why it is happening now and not then. Newspapers are in trouble because both consumers and advertisers need them less today then they did before. This is a consequence of the internet and competition. There are also all sorts of other little things. Quality of journalism is part of those little things.