No Bauer, Less NZME... What’s Next for Mainstream Media?
The New Zealand media has had a monumental shake-up in the past few months. Bauer, the mothership of titles like North & South, NZ Listener, Metro and Home magazine closed during the Covid crisis, never to re-open. NZME, AGM and other media outlets have drastically downsized. And Stuff was sold for $1 as a going concern in May.
All of this speaks to the unsustainability of the traditional media model, especially print. The growing gap where the words, voices and authority of skilled journalists once existed is something to be mourned and it’s difficult to see how the media will find a way to survive, let alone thrive again.
However, the shrinking space where ‘earned’ media (aka editorial) once was presents a great opportunity for brands. Thanks to online, social media and video, there’s no shortage of channels and platforms for businesses and individuals to continue to grow their own profiles, raise awareness and put themselves out there rather than ask the media to do it.
This new landscape has allowed Team Mabel to reimagine how the brands we represent can continue to earn credibility in a largely paid-for and owned content landscape, and how we can inspire connection and engagement without media reviews and coverage. Here’s what we’re thinking:
A Second Wave
The good news is, traditional media isn’t dead. New Zealand radio has a strong presence and produces some quality journalism (thank you RNZ). There’s Viva, and plenty of great print titles like Good, Dish, Juno magazine and many more that have found sustainable ways, at least for now, to stay afloat. If you haven’t already, now’s the time to talk with these niche media and find opportunities for them to discover or collaborate with your brand.
Post-Covid we’ve also seen some exciting new digital media launches, for example INDEX and Capsule, skippered by experienced local editors. We predict a new wave of blogs, vlogs, podcasts and ’grammers too, as jobless journalists and creatives pool their talents to create new platforms for sharing authentic content. There is a growing trust in this type of digital media and the benefit of ‘measurables’ and analytics. Brands should be keeping an eye out for opportunities to build new relationships in this space.
Brand-Owned Mags & Zines
One of our favourite magazines to go down with the Bauer ship was Kia Ora, the official inflight publication of Air New Zealand and a very fine example of a brand-owned magazine. It takes a large budget to produce and publish a monthly magazine of this caliber, but there are endless opportunities and great examples of brand-owned mags or zines on a smaller scale, produced in-house or by smaller agencies like ours. Some cool brands that have produced excellent zines in recent years include Allpress Espresso, Barbershop (No 1 magazine) and Barkers, and there are loads more. With the right resources and budget, this medium is a great way to deliver fresh, varied and relevant content to your audiences – content that is thoughtfully produced and published – and we hope that brands will continue to invest in this area.
More Authentic Video
Google predicts that short ‘snackable’ video content will be the way of the near future. We also anticipate that more carefully curated brand YouTube videos, IG live streams and 360° video will come to light. For brands to be seen and heard in this noisy space, they will need to focus on quality and credibility – real people, real interactions, unfiltered and genuine – and shorter formats for short attention spans. Video content could be bites of live launches, quick tips and tricks and behind-the-scenes exclusive footage.
The way each brand utilises these different platforms and opportunities depends on what they are selling and how they hustle. If you need some help figuring out the right medium for you, let us know, and we’ll be happy to give you our opinion.