Recognize opportunities in time

In addition to many communication and technology trends that are gradually changing marketing, I would like to focus on the changes in reading behavior and media reception. Nevertheless, we should not get nervous. Rather, they are challenges that we will face successfully.

My personal observations in 24 theses:

thesis 1

The reader of tomorrow does not read newspapers or visit news sites. He expects the topics to find him - at the right time, on his preferred channel, social network and preferred device.

thesis 2

With the right data, content ban be played out in such an optimized way that every message fits. This increases the risk of influencing public opinion with false information. The serious assessment of the source becomes even more important. At the same time more difficult.

thesis 3

Fewer and fewer readers are forming a comprehensive opinion, as they are increasingly obtaining information pre-filtered by algorithms - information that they themselves have predefined according to their individual interests. Topics and serious sources of information that are not individually predefined as relevant receive less and less attention.

thesis 4

The quality of web content in the newsroom is primarily evaluated using analytics metrics. Quality KPIs play often an increasingly minor role.

thesis 5

The reader of tomorrow (not just the day after tomorrow) is hardly prepared to read longer texts - more complex and longer formats no longer achieve any outreach.

thesis 6

A topic that cannot be represented in max. 250 letters no longer attracts attention in Gen Z & Alpha.

thesis 7

50 Five-star ratings on the major comparison portals and online stores are more relevant to many readers and customers today than expert comments and reviews in the classic media.

thesis 8

Journalistic formats such as features, reports and interviews are becoming niche formats that hardly reach Gen Z & Alpha in particular.

thesis 9

AI, automated content production and distribution will make classic journalism largely obsolete in the mainstream. This is especially relevant for news.

thesis 10

Artificial intelligence and curating tools will eventually put many journalists and copywriters out of work. At best they will be left with quality assurance.

thesis 11

As many journalists are increasingly unable to make a living from their work, research, analysis and classification fall by the wayside. Because it is no longer paid adequately. The quality continues to drop.

thesis 12

Influencers with a wide reach on Instagram, YouTube, TikToK etc. will often achieve a much higher credibility in the future than renowned journalists and experts with proven expertise. As a result, classic media will lose relevance.

thesis 13

Since in the public space somehow everything is content, its image suffers. Even the highest quality content often no longer receives the appreciation it deserves. The willingness to pay for it decreases accordingly.

thesis 14

Publishers have failed to put a stop to the free culture on the Web at an early stage in a concerted action. The payment barrier came much too late for many media companies.

thesis 15

The daily newspaper is dying, even though the national subscription titles are currently often still expanding their reach against the trend.

thesis 16

As publishers' circulation revenues decline, the dependence on the advertising market increases - and with it the influence of advertising customers on content.

thesis 17

YouTube and streaming providers are replacing the linear programs in Gen Z & Alpha. The classic television threatens to become a discontinued model. With the relevant reach, advertising spending on television will also shrink sharply.

thesis 18

The online portals of the major print media remain relevant - for readers and advertising customers. But they cannot compensate for the losses in traditional business.

thesis 19

The relevance of the newspaper as a source of information is declining - especially in favor of social outlets.

thesis 20

The paid circulation of news magazines is falling continuously. As with the daily newspaper, but this effect is currently still mitigated by demographic change.

thesis 21

Youth magazines are disappearing as well. The far bigger problem: Kids are no longer socialized with print at all. Any successful mainstream communication with Gen Z will be via digital and Out-of-Home displays. 

thesis 22

Specialist blogs and forums are increasingly outstripping the trade magazines - and making them irrelevant to more and more readers. And it becomes clear: Expertise in content tops journalistic skills.

thesis 23

Video, audio, infographics and small Social Media assets are becoming the most important communication media in the mainstream. The sales figures for books will collapse dramatically. Cultural diversity will fall by the wayside. 

thesis 24

eBooks are displacing the classic book from the mainstream. The reason: the digital version is far superior to the printed version: 1. direct availability virtually anywhere in the world, 2. low weight of the reader, 3. reading even in the dark, etc.