I\u2019m Eleonora de Gray, and I\u2019m President of RUNWAY MAGAZINE. So this isn\u2019t a journalistic essay or fiction. This is a plain analyze of the media market: where we lost in the past, what we can get in present, and what we can regain in the feature.\u00a0There\u2019s a myth about magazines and online media, and specially in fashion, which should be broken ones and for all.<\/p>\n
You have no idea how many times known fashion designers, architects, artists, emerging designers contacted me and asked if we\u2019d like to publish an article about them in our magazine and our web-platform, showing how great and talented they are and their exceptional \u201cknow-how\u201d. They then send their look-books and regale me with how exceptional they are. Wonderful! And when they receive our prices, they are very surprised : \u201cAh\u2026 I did know I have to pay to be published\u201d.
\nYou didn\u2019t know? Do you create your dresses, designs, interior decor and then give them to customers for free? No, you sell them. It is a market basic \u2013 you produce and you sell your production. Why should it be different for media products?<\/p>\n
What exactly does media produces? Media produces a \u201cvoice\u201d on the market, a \u201cvoice\u201d that everyone can hear in their hearts and minds, so cherished image of oneself which corresponds to a dream everyone has, \u201cwhat do I want to be\u201d. And, as a result, every person who hears this media \u201cvoice\u201d and sees that it corresponds to a dream, wants to have this product as another step to a dream. \u201cWant to look young \u2013 buy this cream\u201d, \u201cWant to look thin \u2013 buy this dress\u201d, \u201cWant to look rich and successful \u2013 buy your house and car, and this bank will give you a loan for that,\u201d \u2013 there are many magic formulas on the market.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s say media produces a psychological \u201cproduct\u201d. Everyone, well\u2026 almost everyone pays to a psychologist to feel better. Everyone pays to the media to hear a \u201cvoice\u201d of the own dreams and know steps how to achieve it. Because we are the ones who actually possesses these formulas : images and slogans, we are talking about you and your dreams.<\/p>\n
So when you have a product to sell on the market, you come to known and established media : magazine or online-platform, and you\u2019d like to use it because it\u2019s popular, because it\u2019s respectable, because there are many readers and followers, because of high expertise proposed by this media, because at the end of the day media is still a trendsetter. So why should it be \u201cfree\u201d?<\/p>\n
All of this is a media company \u201cknow-how\u201d. How media company can pay salaries, offices rent, print if everything media company proposes should be \u201cfree\u201d? I\u2019m not even mentioning on-line media. I believe it is a time to talk abut it. And there\u2019s a mythology and reality for that.<\/p>\n
Mythology
\nOnes upon a time\u2026 more than 100 years ago, at the beginning of media, when news-papers and magazines began to exist, brilliant commercial minds, founders of first media companies, quickly figured out that quick news bring popularity, popularity \u2013 possibilities to print and distribute more copies, more copies opens up a new commercial absolutely fantastic \u201cgold mine\u201d \u2013 publicity.
\nEveryone wants to publish news about their company or new product in popular news-paper or magazine. But how to bring attention of popular magazine? Scandal. You can\u2019t create a scandal if you produce a new tea or cream. You can engage an artist and his nude models to do a street performance. But\u2026 hey, there are not enough great artists and nude models to perform for every produced product, not even these days. And back in these days you had to pay a great artist and his nude models for a performance as well. They also need to eat and pay their rent.
\n\u201cFree\u201d news is never been an easy option, not back in these days, not in our days. So \u201cpaid\u201d news was cheaper solution for promotion than engaging an artists. You sell your product, you use your money for new production and paid news. \u201cPeople know \u2013 people hear \u2013 people buy,\u201d is media magic formula. Media companies at that time made billions on that. That is how the FIRST myth born.<\/p>\n
So why news about new products should be \u201cfree\u201d today? Because of new \u201ctool\u201d the internet? And everyone can be popular and create their own \u201cpoplar\u201d news? Well, NO! I\u2019ll come back to this later.
\n50 years after paid \u201cnews\u201d \u2013 \u201cpublicity\u201d created their own niche in the market and became an independent part of the industry. It\u2019s not enough anymore just to put out some pretty girl with the line \u201cbuy my drink, it\u2019s so good\u201d. There are so many other companies who also use pretty girls with \u201cbuy my drink\u201d lines in different news-papers, magazines and billboards. How to make my own product different? After all, I want public to choose my production.
\nPublicity agencies, who created outstanding images and promotion slogans, which touched millions and worked on strong sociological and psychological strategy, earned billions on the market at that time. Producers (designers, farmers, everyone who produced products to sell on the market) became dependent on image and slogan associated with their production. Nothing changed since than.<\/p>\n
But after time understanding and knowledge of these marketing strategies, based upon strong images and slogans, targeting buyers gone. Why? Simply because developed \u201ccliche\u201d at that time worked so well that Publicity agencies lost this knowledge in time, and today have no interest to look for new strategies. They just use and reuse what was used, and worked decades after decades. Why reinvent the \u201cbike\u201d?
\nThat is why even 50 years later we still see on TV or magazine publicity with children or poppies and meaningless slogans not related to the promoted product. And it comes back to media \u2013 media don\u2019t control commercial images and slogans as they used to anymore. But in the eyes of public the SECOND myth was born, and in reality this was a FIRST fiasco of media. Media back in the days couldn\u2019t handle news content and creation of commercial images with \u201cpaid\u201d news. So \u201cpaid\u201d news did not belong to production of media companies any longer.<\/p>\n
30 years later Advertising agencies created their strong niche in the market. Someone has to be between media and publicity agencies, simply to link them together. There are so many medias, there are so many publicity agencies and producers, that there should be an agency who can suggest, link, and distribute \u201cpaid\u201d news to corresponded media : salad to salads, cream to cosmetics, dress to dresses, and so on. Producers can\u2019t find by themselves the best corresponding media for their \u201cpaid\u201d news. This is the THIRD myth and SECOND fiasco of media.
\nIn the eyes of public media companies earned a lot of money with placed publicity in their news-papers and magazines. Cost for 1 page back in the days is very expensive. But media let even this part of the market \u201ccake\u201d go, as media companies were not able to navigate on the market, search, and gain the trust of producers, who\u2019d like to publish their news with them.
\nPlus, Advertising agencies developed their psychological product \u2013 consulting. They didn\u2019t produce anything \u2013 they consulted according to their expertise and marketing knowledge where better to place \u201cpaid\u201d news. For that they heavily charged media companies. Why? Because as the \u201ctrustee\u201d of the producers, they suggested and chose the \u201cbest\u201d media for placing \u201cpaid\u201d news.<\/p>\n
Reality
\n15 years ago a new massive phenomenon touched every sphere of the market \u2013 Internet. With this phenomenon \u201cdoors\u201d became open for everyone who wants to be \u201cpopular\u201d and tell their news.
\nAnd another part of media market \u2013 communication, was taken by the bloggers, according to who everyone can be \u201cpopular\u201d. Using a 100 years old marketing methods of paid \u201cnews\u201d bloggers started to post their \u201cnews\u201d on all social media networks and their own blogs. The ONLY difference is that bloggers were posting news about themselves, promoting their own image and dream: \u201cLook, I enter VIP zone, I\u2019m with cinema stars, I\u2019m rich and famous, and look what I wear, and where I stay\u201d.
\nBloggers indeed used the same cliche like 100 years ago for paid \u201cnews\u201d. Only difference that these \u201cnews\u201d are not about products, or people who buy the products and realize their dreams, but these news are about news-spreaders \/ bloggers and their life-style. Egocentric turn of event is a THIRD, and probably biggest fiasco of media.<\/p>\n
Bloggers showed to everyone with access to the internet and social media networks like facebook, twitter or instagram that everyone can be popular and everyone can spread news about their products \u2013 own images or production, no matter. No marketing needed \u2013 just scream out loud. At first, bloggers had enormous success because their \u201cvoice\u201d was considered the voice of public, buyers, not experts, based on simple formula of bloggers \u201c I like or dislike this\u201d. But 10 years later, lack of marketing strategies and egocentric tendencies in communication showed that to market new product on internet platforms, with screaming public about themselves, it\u2019s simply impossible. No one sees or reads, or even gets the news. The phenomenon of success on facebook or instagram today is happily understood by many people: \u201cBeing famous on facebook is like being rich in Monopoly\u201d.
\nSo when you think that you don\u2019t need to pay to media company for communication about your new product on social media, you can simply do it yourself, or give it to facebooker \u201cfor free\u201d, and it\u2019ll work \u2013 that\u2019s where you are wrong. I can guarantee 100% that NO, it won\u2019t work. \u201cWork\u201d means \u2013 you sell your product. With \u201cfree\u201d communication given to facebookers or bloggers you\u2019ll never sell your products. People are very generous when it comes to compliments: \u201cwhat you do is so great\u201d. But no one will ever buy.
\nSelf-centered Facebooker, as any blogger, will talk about himself and how he tried your product. That\u2019s why he can\u2019t sell your product \u2013 he can\u2019t even sell his point of view! He is not an expert, he doesn\u2019t know qualities, he doesn\u2019t have any associations with historical past \u2013 he is just a \u201ctester\u201d on a market of today. Blogger today won\u2019t be heard among all screaming bloggers, who are trying different products. \u201cFree\u201d news has \u201cfree\u201d sales. You can only give your products \u201cfor free\u201d after this communication to another blogger, who\u2019ll also promote it for you. And you, as a producer, lose because you actually gave your products for \u201cfor free\u201d.<\/p>\n
Some bloggers managed to get to the certain level of expertise, and actually promote and sell the products. That was cutting edge of marketing 5 years ago, when bloggers by using communication were able to sell products directly from their blogs. They became a strong online communication tool for opened e-commerce.
\nIn screaming online community many people got lost because they simply don\u2019t know who to follow anymore, so people stick to what they know \u2013 to old fashion, to experts.
\nAnd that\u2019s where media is today. After three lost pieces of market \u201ccake\u201d : image\/slogan creation of \u201cpaid\u201d news, expertise in marketing, and communication media companies are still trying to keep their position on market. Myth about media company being very rich because of the produced and placed publicity in their news-papers or magazines is a absolute mythology, and specially today.
\nMedia company today produce a content. For that company needs professional journalists, photographers, and experts with the knowledge to keep public and interest. These positions are paid. No one writes \u201cfor free\u201d, and especially not professionals. Media company needs to pay rent, and needs to keep up with new technologies and new media tools, like search engine optimization, to be visible trough all this chaos of information. And again you need professionals for that. No one will create a web-site, and keep it up to date, create SEO (search engine optimization) \u201cfor free\u201d.<\/p>\n
So, media company supposedly creates an image\/slogan for a brand \u2013 rarely. Media company supposedly receives huge profit from published publicity. In reality media company receives only 30% of publicity, 70% of published publicity goes to advertising agency. Media company supposedly receives profit from sells of the magazines. Again not in real life. High quality production demands large investment. People today don\u2019t buy expensive magazines, people buy low quality but cheapest, or read on-line \u201cfor free\u201d. Distributor keeps 70% from sells. So reality hurts : 30% from publicity don\u2019t even cover the rent, 30% from sales don\u2019t even cover the production. And how media company should pay the salaries to journalists, experts, photographers, marketing and sales managers?
\nLoosing millions, keeping old strategies and old marketing methods some media companies merely survive. And again, not really. Big companies are loosing millions year by year, medium and small companies are doing something else after trying media business for couple of years.
\nHas anyone seen, even ones, stock market of Conde Nast? I strongly recommend you to do so. And this is a big company. What about medium and small ones? They can\u2019t survive if they don\u2019t go back to the source \u2013 the source where media started and gained their power. The \u201csource\u201d is getting back capacity to marketing research, expertise, creation of image\/slogan publicity, control and work with the clients directly.
\nMedia company should start \u201call over again\u201d, not reinvent the \u201cbike\u201d, but regain knowledge of all social and psychological marketing tools available, start new research, investigate working cliche, create new ones, get marketing knowledge of swiftly changing technologies, get to the hearts and minds of new generations, be heard and loved, get \u201cdoor-to-door\u201d technics, etc. : everything that allows media to become whole again and gain monopoly.<\/p>\n
Eleonora de Gray, President \/ R\u00e9dactrice en Chef, RUNWAY MAGAZINE
\nInterpr\u00e9tation en fran\u00e7ais par Guillaumette Duplaix, Directrice Ex\u00e9cutive RUNWAY MAGAZINE<\/p>\n
www.RUNWAYMAGAZINES.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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