Zac Brandenberg on Future of Advertising

OurBlook talks with Zac Brandenberg, founder and CEO of Hydra Network.

Social media are transforming the way that companies conduct PR and marketing campaigns. Can you explain the changes you have seen?

ZB: In the “olden days,” consumers more or less passively absorbed ad content force-fed to them by marketers. Now, empowered by media technology, consumers are choosing, controlling and even producing the content they consume. Smart PR and marketing firms are responding by producing content and apps that facilitate people's desires to self-express and connect, and taking advantage of social media platforms to get it distributed by consumer to consumer.

How is this affecting the journalism world, particularly newspapers who have been focused on traditional, ad-supported models? While Craigslist is usually cited for the demise of classifieds, is there anything other than the economic downturn to blame for the decline in display ads?

ZB: Newspapers’ biggest problem is that the news they offer is available essentially for free online. Also, print newspapers are often late to the game on news stories that have already been posted online direct from the wire services, or blogged or tweeted about as they happen. And finally, portals and RSS feeds allow people to pick and choose what they see. All of these trends are resulting in a smaller and less loyal audience for traditional newspapers and that directly cuts into ad revenues. Add to that the fact that online advertising offers marketers the advantages of lower cost ad placements, fast and easy changes, clicks and conversion tracking and more. The economic downturn has only accelerated the pressures newspapers face.

What advice would you give newspapers that are currently trying to create a new model for revenue?

ZB: What doesn’t work is to cover broad news that’s easily available everywhere else for free. The reality is, news is now a commodity. Newspapers need to employ the same strategies as any business fighting to combat commoditization in their market. They must focus on providing unique and exclusive content and/or a premium experience that serves the needs of a particular audience. The Wall Street Journal is an example of a publication that has succeeded doing this. They’re able to charge on a subscription basis both on- and offline.

Are magazines in the same boat as newspapers? If sleek, prosperous Gourmet magazine had to fold because of plummeting advertising, is there really much hope for other publications? What can they do to retain and gain advertising?

ZB: Yes, definitely magazines face the same competitive pressures from online content as newspapers do. People used to read Gourmet Magazine largely for recipes. Well, you can get access to an enormous and searchable database of recipes at epicurious.com and others and it doesn’t cost a thing. People are not going to pay for content that they can find online for free. Magazines need to focus on what they can provide that’s different ... content-wise or experientially ... that will allow them to serve the needs of a targeted market segment better than anyone else.

Is there anything else you would like to say about advertising and print media?

ZB: I think there will always be a place for magazines, newspapers and books. They have a lot of appeal as objects and are incredibly convenient for reading on the plane, on the beach, etc. But from a business standpoint, printed media publishers are fighting a losing battle against the Internet. How can any single publication or even handful of publications compete against a vast global library ... a searchable, customizable, and media rich library... that is also largely free? They’re going to have to find a new place for themselves in the new media world order by focusing on what they can do different or better, or become extinct.

(Editor's Note: Zac has worked with numerous major brands like AT&T, AARP, Kraft, Travelzoo, etc. Combining a network of over 13,000 publishing partners with its own internal media management groups, Hydra distributes direct response online ad campaigns via search, email, display and social media to deliver millions of new sales and leads each month for many of the largest and best-known consumer product and service companies. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Beverly Hills, Calif., the company’s achievements earned it recognition as the 2009 Internet/New Media Company of the Year by the Technology Council of Southern California as well as three straight years on the INC 500.)

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