The newspaper industry has evolved from the conventional printing to the digital format. On this basis they explain how marketing strategies evolved with respect to digital or internet-based newspaper when compared to the traditional newspaper. Content, delivery and advertising are the three major elements in both the forms of a newspaper. Internet is the major and by far the most used medium to integrate these key elements in a digital newspaper. Interactive multimedia plays a vital role in presenting the content in digital newspaper.
Palmer and Erikson identify that product, price, promotion and place as the factors that identify the marketing strategy for digital newspapers. Product deals with display and portrayal, price is decided upon the charges incurred and profit margin, promoting can be achieved through service information and place refers to the convenience in delivering the product. The authors cite about a research conducted in summer of 1997, where 48 newspapers web sites from all the corners of the world were analyzed. Content, marketing, advertising, pricing and delivery systems are the key characteristics that were observed during this research.
From the findings of the research it can be concluded that only 30% of the newspapers analyzed are making revenues from sources other than advertising. “Subscription fee, enhancing distribution channels and charging for archive access are ways of generating additional revenue beyond advertising”. Interactivity, versatility, information filtering and retrieval are key technology features that must be adhered to achieve supreme marketing through digital newspapers or media.
References:
Palmer, J. W. and Eriksen, L. B. 1999. Digital newspapers explore marketing on the Internet. Commun. ACM 42, 9 (Sep. 1999), 32-40. DOI= http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/315762.315769