Media & Information

The definition of media has broadened, as technology has enabled content to have more functionality, and different business models have emerged. Media formats and platforms include books, magazines, newspapers, television, video games, and music, as well as pure online formats including blogs, podcasts and online games. Business models include paid data subscription models as well as freemium and other models. Events and trade shows are a tangential but important part of B2B media & selling mix.

Consumer media markets have evolved as spend on traditional formats has shrunk, while Facebook and Google have continued to gain increasing share of advertising spend. TV viewing behaviours have changed as consumers increasingly watch content when they choose, rather than when it is pushed to them, with growth in over-the-top content platforms and production companies (like Netflix), while some traditional broadcasters have struggled to maintain their relevance.

In B2B, events and trade shows have been challenged by Covid-19, although some have successfully transitioned temporarily to online formats. LinkedIn has continued to demonstrate its importance as a method of micro-targeting B2B advertising at prospects.

Fairgrove has found the most successful information providers have to continue to add value to the data they provide to their subscribers in order to differentiate themselves, and avoid price erosion. This may frequently lead to firms moving further along the value chain as they continue to evolve to maintain relevance, and to monetise their audiences.

Private equity interest remains strong in parts of the sector, particularly in sectors where businesses can demonstrate a capability in adding value to their audience, and owning and using unique pools of data.