Former editor of Advertising Age and now CEO and editor in chief of business to business digital publisher Breaking Media Jonah Bloom spoke at the CMDC conference on the media companies of the near future.



Bloom says it is not the decline in advertising which is the problem for media companies, because that will come back once the economy rebounds. The problem is the declining marketing share for media. He said the idea of “commoditization per eyeball” is something that needs to go.

The other pressure on media companies is technology, said Bloom. The internet, he said allows people to choose pieces of information and entertainment regardless of the media company behind the content. “If you want to keep a consumer,” he said. “You’re going to have to merit their attention.”

He said that marketing is going to be the difference between success and failure for media companies. “The media company of the future is going to have to evolve to be more of a marketing company.”

An example of a company that has adapted well to the changing landscape is Hearst, says Bloom. “They decided to restructure around women aged 18 to 64 and build a database around the companies that interact with that age group. Then creating marketing around the brands business problem rather than to fill the magazine pages. There is a big difference between a company that is built to serve advertisers and a company that is built to grow audiences and sell against them.”

Bloom says media companies need to create a culture that values advertisers. “It is unrealistic and shortsighted to think that advertisers aren’t going to want a say in the type of content they are supporting,” says Bloom. “Advertisers are valuing content, quality and viewer engagement, not just volume. If advertisers only want volume they can go to YouTube.”

Advertisers and media can’t ignore that consumers want to interact and change the content they are viewing more and more, says Bloom. “This isn’t just something that the younger generation wants, it is something they have come to expect.”

He says that with all the new technology and new ways of thinking comes the need for new talent. “We’re going to need more creative people, ones that can think of creative solutions for advertisers. There will also be a need for more technologists.”