Seven media leaders on the future, and what excites them about it

There will be much more from them and more than 60 other international speakers confirmed for the Congress, taking place on 13-15 October 2015. Register here to join them and an expected 700-800 high-level executives from around the world.

Al Zikovitz, founder and CEO, Cottage life Media, Canada

“What excites me? Brand extensions. We’re still looking at a lot of other brand extensions. Those in this industry who are just publishing magazines are going to have problems. We’re now into websites, social media, YouTube, books, digital books, digital copies of the magazine, branded and licensed merchandise, e-commerce, consumer shows and a television channel. We no longer rely only on reader and advertiser revenue. We have diversified sources of revenue. That’s how you stay in business. You have to have a brand that people trust and love and then you expand it into all of these other areas. You have to think big about your brand.”

Aroon Purie, chief executive and editor-in-chief, India Today, India

“Brand extensions across print, TV, digital, experiential have already become a reality. We have recently launched a 24-hour news channel under the India Today name and also have a website of the same name. An integrated newsroom will help synergise editorial and business operations and help reduce costs. That’s already happening at our India Today Mediaplex. Regional language markets are showing good potential – and native advertising and survey-led content are showing strong growth. All in all, there is a lot to be excited about.”

Carole Beaulieu, editor-in-chief and publisher, L’actualité (Canada’s leading French-language current affairs magazine)

“New technology has made it possible for a magazine living on the margin of the media empires to reach audiences it could not reach before. We could, for instance, decide to grow to the European market — not trying to cover France in the French market, but perhaps becoming the voice of North America for French-speaking audiences outside of North America. We would have to create a whole new business model to support it, but it does open up new possibilities. The frontiers are falling and we can create new products, develop new ideas, reach new readers.” 

Frederic Kachar, CEO and chairman, Editora Globo, Brazil

“[On the future:] I don’t see the future as bleak. I see it as challenging. Native advertising, big data and targeted media are some of the tools that can help us out during this testing time. We face an uphill struggle when it comes to monetizing digital content of course, and this is getting even steeper with the introduction of schemes like Facebook Instant Articles and Apple News. It’s still too early to say how they’ll affect our business. But we’re dealing with a situation where we no longer have a monopoly on the distribution of our content. It’s up to us to find alternatives.”

Michael MacMillan, CEO, Blue Ant Media, Canada

“The Internet video tsunami will be a big deal, and it is very exciting. The world we are in right now reminds me a lot of the 1980s when satellite enabled cable upgrades and we went from 40 channels to 200. It allowed for narrow targeting of audiences, it created upheaval, it shifted the relative importance of the international marketplace and the ripple effect was gigantic. There were winners and losers. Today, the established, incumbent companies have resources, audience relationships and in-house skill. But smaller, nimble companies can see and seize opportunities and change course quickly. Because we’re relatively new and small, I think we can take advantage of the opportunities that are emerging, to get directly to new audiences beyond our traditional borders, and to develop new markets.”

Simon Hung, general manager, Studio Classroom, Chinese Taipei

“No matter what the future of media holds, we will be growing and developing and changing with the times. Studio Classroom has a strong team with strong passion and a clear mission to serve the needs of our audience. We’re a group of people with educational hearts and creative minds that will keep us going for another 50 years. And yes, we will be watching closely what the next new technology will be and how we can use in our business!”

Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, chairman, Kadokawa Corporation, Japan

“[On the future:] It’s not possible to stop Internet and digital media trends. With the exception perhaps of magazines that lead in their genre, the business environment for print magazines can only be expected to become harsher. However, we now have other, new emerging distribution channels such as smartphone to utilise in this IT-dominated world. I think that the capabilities that publishers have cultivated through their magazine businesses in the past – capabilities such as curating, editing and other skills – all of these will see will increasingly be needed, with more and more opportunities into the future. But in this sense, magazine publishers are at a turning point too: how do they continue to create a new business model based on their existing skills and how do they tackle the challenge of transforming their type of business. I think the keyword in that transformation is ‘un-physicalization’ and added ‘services’ of magazine media.”

Join these and more than 60 other international speakers and some 700-800 delegates for the FIPP World Congress in Toronto, from 13-15 October 2015.

• Find our more at fippcongress.com

• Read more Congress stories here

• To register, click here

If you have questions regarding the FIPP World Congress, contact Claire Jones and/or Natalie Butcher.

Don’t forget to visit FIPP.com and subscribe to our newsletters for regular updates on the Congress and more from the media world. 

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