Media brands in the experience economy: exploring experiences as alternative revenue streams

Conference: IISES 7th Business & Management Conference

Dates: 5-7 June 2018

Abstract:

This paper discusses how media brands are experimenting with the provision of innovative branded experiences to their audiences. Three British media brands are used as examples to illustrate the possibilities of brand extension beyond print and digital to that of experiences.

Media brands as containers of experiences

It can be argued that media brands are inherently different from other types of commercial brands. This is because of what Chan-Olmsted (2006) describes as their dual nature, that is, there is a content component (intangible, non-perishable) and a distribution component (the platform used to distribute the content). Audiences might experience the brand differently on different platforms. From a usage and gratifications perspective, a media brand could be seen as a provider of experiences for the fulfilment of the consumer’s utilitarian, hedonic and social-psychological needs (Mersey et al. (2010). Calder and Malthouse (2008) described the media brand as container of experiences due to its content-driven nature: “the content of the media should itself be thought of as providing experiences for the viewer or reader” (p. 92).

Experiences as brand extensions

Proponents of the experience model Pine and Gilmore (2014) have been advising brand leaders to consider opportunities to move their offerings from mere tangible products to that of transformational experiences. They defined experiences as “commercial offerings that engage customers in memorable ways” (p. 24)a and argued that experiences needed to be designed in a way that they provide a lasting impact of the participants. They also pointed out that such experiences needed to be paid-for and not provided for free as part of a marketing campaign. The experience itself should be seen as a value proposition from the brand which would also ideally be tailored or customised according to the customer’s needs. We provide below three examples of media brands from the UK context which have been experimenting with extended their brands into experiential offerings. These examples illustrate different forms of brand extensions and different ways of utilising the experiential component to increase revenue.

Guardian Live

Founded in 1821 as a print newspaper, the Guardian is nowadays a multi-platform brand with both cross-media and non-media extensions. The brand’s strategic direction over recent years has included developing the portfolio of digital products as well as building a strong membership base. They launched a three-tier membership scheme in 2014 with options of contributing between £5 to £60 monthly to gain access to various benefits including discounts for events run under Guardian Live. The latter was launched in 2015 ‘to bring the Guardian brand and experience to life’ through a series of different types of events including discussions, debates, interviews, etc. Guardian Live has been experimenting with different types of experiences including getting journalists on stage to interact face-to-face with readers. After few years of trial and error, it seems that the Guardian Live events remain an important aspect of the membership offering which has been on the rise since its inception (from 15,000 to just under 200,000 in 2016). There is now even more opportunities for the brand to explore transformational experiences with its growing community membership.

Telegraph Events

In 2014, the Telegraph Media Group which owns several print and digital media brands including The Daily Telegraph, launched the Telegraph Events brand (a rebranding of VOS Media which they acquired 2013). The subsidiary brand would provide branded events to businesses and a special division was also created to create exclusive and unique experiences for The Telegraph’s audience. The success factors, according to the newsbrand, include brand partners they manage attract as well as the quality of experiences provided. Some examples of successful experiential events include The Whisky Experience, The Gin Experience, and the Telegraph Festival of Business. Telegraph Events brand has been performing well financially since its inception despite penetrating a challenging sector. Since the rebranding of VOS Media to Telegraph Events, the company moved from £419, 000 operating losses (2014) to operating profits of £268,000 (2015) and £283,000 (2016). This progression indicates the viability of extending the brand into experiential offerings.

Times+ Times+ is the brand experience extension of the Times which offers to subscribers access to a variety of exclusive events. These include interactions with journalists and exclusive behind-the scenes access. For example, a reader subscribing to a ‘digital pack’ at £6 per month will get access to editorial content across various digital platforms and will also gain access to the different types of events promoted under the Times+ brand with opportunities for readers to interact directly with journalists. These events have admission fees with possibilities of discounts or exclusivity rights to subscribers only. Some of these vents could be perceived as once-in-a-lifetime experiences such as the sold out event of enjoying a special day at Highclere Castle with a guided to by the Countess of Carnarvon telling stories from her recently published book. There are also different efforts to provide members with different sorts of exclusive experiences such as private museum viewings, subscriber-only concerts, etc.

These three examples demonstrate various opportunities for media brands to explore transformative experiential offerings by leveraging the reputation of the parent brand. However, there might be several experimentations and trials before finding the most appropriate offerings best aligned with the parent brand’s identity and positioning.

Preliminary findings from these three case studies could be summarised as follows:

• Media brands with a traditional print offering are also exploring opportunities to extend their brand into transformative experiences earning revenues from admission fees. Experiences can be offered as part of a subscription or membership package offered to audiences.

• The reputation of the parent brand as well as its audience profile can be leveraged as a key differentiator when penetrating new experiential segments. That could potentially attract sponsoring brands interested in reaching a specific target audience.

• Brand experiences can also contribute to building brand awareness, deepen relationships with audiences and increase brand equity in the long-term.

References

Calder, B. J. and E. C. Malthouse (2008). Media Brands and Integrated Marketing. In: M.

Ots, M. ed. Media Brands and Branding. Jonkoping: Media Management and Transformation Centre, Jonkoping International Business School, pp. 89-94.

Chan-Olmsted, Sylvia M. (2006) Competitive Strategy for Media Firms - Strategic and Brand Management in Changing Media Markets. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Mersey, D. Edward, R., Malthouse, C. and Calder, B. J. 2010. Engagement with online media. Journal of Media Business Studies 7 (2): 39-56.

Pine II, J. and Gilmore, J. H. (2014). A leader's guide to innovation in the experience economy, Strategy & Leadership, 42 (1): pp.24-29.

Source: Manual