Attention fragmentation

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Attention fragmentation

Michael Sippey points us to an interesting article which, while not directly related to PVRs, should be interesting for those of us who enjoy more control over our own media consumption.

Backchannelmedia, who is in the business of selling direct-response tv advertising (bias beware) has compiled a lot of data showing the fragmentation of attention due to new platforms and technologies, be it the Internet, game consoles, DVRs, etc. Media companies, according to the Financial Times, have responded with either, "horizontal integration, vertical integration," or, "the search for new sources of revenue." The article argues that the marketplace is moving towards a mass customization future, an argument that Sippey disagrees with due to the costs involved (and I would agree.)

The combination of atomized consumer markets and digitized media technologies are spreading and speeding this process. When tens of millions of consumers live individualized lifestyles, and utilize individualized media and technology (PCs, PDAs, DVRs, iPods, cell phones, etc.), we are well on the way from mass markets to mass customization - markets of one.

DRTV Connected: 1 - the Mass Market is Dead

Sippey says:

The technology and culture trends point towards more customer control, not more marketer control, so anyone who wants to play in this game is going to have to give up the ghost of one-to-one marketing and instead enable customers to do their own media mix creation. Smart brands will give customers information and services that are easily syndicated, time-shifted, remixed, reused and repurposed.

via sippey

by Gen Kanai July 29, 2004 in News

Comments

Nice post. Integration strategies are ways to exert more power over the market. After a market's been disrupted, and competition for revenues increases, integration races often start. Think about the aftermath of previous technological disruptions and you see integration strategies writ large.

Take a huge example from the early 20th century - cars - and think about how Alfred Sloan at GM used integration to exert massive power over an accelerating number of competitors (and suppliers) via scale and scope economies. So it's a natural response from a media industry that's under assault from nearly every angle.

I think the interesting question is - the costs of integration are pretty steep. First, you've gotta pay coordination costs to get the integration to work. Second, you've gotta make the right bet on the future value drivers (in this case, mass customization or not). Are these costs even worth it to begin with for the media industry? Put another way, is building scale and scope to grab more advertising dollars (and increase their efficiency) a smart move?

I think this is just another form of protecting a dead business models, and the media industry's digging itself an even deeper hole. In fact, AOLTW tried it a looong time ago, and it sucked even then. Forget integration; try some innovation (for a change).

Uhhh...ok. Geekitude out.

Posted by: umair at Aug 3, 2004 4:16:11 AM

Attention fragmentation

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