Wait a minute. What?
I think a light bulb went on in the head of a marketing VP I was talking with today. He's started implementing measurement of his marketing programs (now THERE's a great idea) and started talking about how they are going to track how well their programs are doing by seeing how many more articles (as opposed to news release postings) they are getting. "If we do our jobs well, then we should be able to see coverage increase."
Hold on, I told him. "The number of publications covering your industry are shrinking as are the number of journalists they employ to cover your industry. That means you will see less coverage of the industry and, as a result less coverage of your company"
"Wait a minute." he said. "What?"
So I again explained the history of the death of media since 1999. "That means we can't expect better coverage in the near future?" No, I explained, that means you can expect to see less coverage generally, even if you start investing more in the current process. There was silence for a while and then.
"Oh! That's what you've been talking about."
Just in case you've been in a coma for a decade, let's go over this one more time.
1. Technology companies have been cutting marketing and advertising budgets for 10 years, some eliminating virtually all expenditures except for trade shows and minimal publicity.
2. As advertising revenues started dropping, magazines started cutting news staff and magazines got smaller or discontinued.
3. 90 percent of the publications and journalists covering the electronics industry have gon away in the past 10 years.
4. About 35 percent of those remaining in 2007 are now gone in 2008.
5. Most of the small to mid-size companies in the electronics industry now rely solely on reprinted press releases that say exactly the same thing as their previous news release said, and what is more, exactly the same thing as their competitors say.
6. The customers and investors have no way to know how you differentiate yourself anymore other than their own research... which primarily consists of reading really bad news releases.
7. Because of all that your industry market is either flat (no more than 3 percent growth) or shrinking
Is any of this sinking in?
Lou,
ReplyDeleteI was with you until items 6 and 7 -- which have sparked three comments.
1) Customers and Investors aren't limited to just reading "really bad news releases." They also talk with one another. If the simulator doesn't work, they share their thoughts via email. If the router takes three days to route a chip, only to crash right before it's finished, they bring it up in conversation. In EDA, companies "evaluate" software, preferring to take new software through existing designs before plopping down a few hundred grand for the tools. The difference between 1999 and today is that these groups have much better ways to communicate their pleasure or displeasure. They have email, blogging, user forums, or even those pesky trade shows that you mentioned. These are all valuable channels for objective, third-party research.
2) Citing items 1 thru 6 as the reason that the industry is struggling with its growth is a very large leap. If there is a tool out there that can help engineers get their jobs done; they'll find it. In addition, the industry is maturing. Engineering is becoming a commodity. Worldwide competition is driving down prices. This natural progression has happened to every industry since the beginning of time, which brings me to my last point.
3) Technological innovation has no conscience. The automobile didn't care about obsoleting the horse & buggy, the refrigerator didn't care about putting the ice man out of business, the Word Processor didn't care about killing the typewriter, and television didn't care when it snuffed out the Golden Age of Radio. But every one of them created economic booms for people who could figure out how to use them. Even though these technologies caused anguish within their respective industries, people began using the new technologies in innovative ways. NewTechPress is an example of providing a valuable service through the same technology that dented the traditional trade press business. Does NTP have the right recipe to meet the needs of the industry? Only time will tell. But history is on my side. The innovators will figure this mess out. And I see you as one of 'em.
Lou, 5 years from now we'll look back on this time and say to ourselves, "The answer was right in front of us. Why didn't we see it?" I just hope it's one of us gray-hairs who figures out the puzzle -- ya know, as opposed to some snotnosed kid.