The “2023 Predictions” podcast mini-series continues, bringing in various experts to give their thoughts on what the year ahead in media might look like. The first week featured Brian Morrisey from The Rebooting. It was a great show in which Brian told some hard truths. Give it a listen if you missed it originally.
With layoffs and cuts at major outlets continuing, it feels more important than ever to be discussing what the media can and will look like in the 12 months to come. As was made clear in the previous episode, things might be difficult. The ad market is tough as brands halt some spending in order to see how the economic situation will develop. People have less money to spend on subscriptions.
However, there will also be some exciting opportunities out there and available to grab. Enthusiasm for getting high-calibre news and entertainment remains high. Niche products can work too and consumers want to feel a connection with those producing such work. It is those outlets stuck in the middle, trying to cover everything but not doing so in-depth, that might find themselves with real problems. Amongst all that, we might well see another pivot to video - this time with publishers focussing on vertical clips designed for consumption on a phone.
This week, I was delighted to be joined by Mark Stenberg, senior media reporter at AdWeek. We discussed a variety of issues, including why publishers will pivot to video (again), the risk of traffic from Google dwindling, the importance of newsletters and events to connect with your audience, and whether independent publishers can survive and even thrive in a recession.
Newsletters are finally growing up: how publisher email strategies evolved in 2022 - Mark Stenberg on “Media Voices”
Mark Stenberg on Twitter
Mark Stenberg at Adweek
Charlotte Henry on Twitter
Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
2023 Predictions - Another Pivot to Video?