Ashley Norris

The last five years has witnessed a major restructuring of the magazine media marketplace with a significant number of companies either consolidating their approach by acquiring rivals, or diversifying by buying technology, events or data businesses.

If your company is in the business of targeting millennials particularly interested in business and technology, then chances are you already know a good deal about Cheddar. The live and on-demand video news network that focuses on covering innovative products, technologies and services, launched in the US a couple of years ago with the aim of filling the void of business news for young people. 

A year after its launch Facebook is finally rolling out its new video service, Facebook Watch, across the globe. Yet its expansion arrives at an intriguing time for the video market. There are the first signs that the hegemony enjoyed by YouTube for nigh on a decade is now potentially under threat, not just from Facebook, but from multiple rival platforms.

In addition to featuring prominent and respected speakers from established media companies, DIS (Digital Innovators’ Summit) also boast its fair share of speakers from start-ups in and around media.

2018 might have been a challenging year for its parent company Facebook, but for Instagram it has largely been business as usual. The image/video based platform has posted excellent traffic and revenue figures and has continued to establish itself as one of the social media channels of choice for Generation Z.

AT DIS 2018 one of the hottest topics was the future of paid for content. As Juan Señor of Innovation Media Consulting said in his presentation, “if it is valued, if it is unique, if it is something you can't get anywhere else, and if it speaks to their passions, makes them smarter, gives them advantages, and entertains them, then much like everything else that does that, readers should pay for it.”

The rise of artificial intelligence in general, and machine learning in particular, has been an emerging theme at DIS for several years now. In 2018 the topic hit the mainstream as it was analysed in no fewer than five sessions with eight experts giving their views. The topics the presenters ran through ranged from the general impact AI will have on society, through to advice on how to harness the technology to monetise content now.

Throughout DIS 2018 representatives of companies from across the globe have taken to the stage to share their insights about how they are growing their businesses. For the mid morning segment on the second day, execs from two tech based companies, both of whom have a very strong print heritage, explained how they had adapted their business models and where they are likely to venture to in the future. They both constantly referenced premium quality content as being at the core of their strategy.

Although much of the DIS this year has focused on emerging revenue streams, advertising remains a huge industry that is vital to both brands and publishers. Bernhard Glock, senior  VP Medialink, who is also a former President of the World Federation of Advertisers, is ideally placed to offer a 360 perspective on the future of the medium.  

Blockchain, which was one of the key buzzwords of 2017, is a technology that its champions believe will transform many industries. 2018 has seen the hype around Blockchain abate a little, so now seems to be an apposite moment for publishers to take a serious look at what the technology is, and how it could impact on both the way they publish and monetise content.