iMarketing2.0

So the new Vegemite spread has finally been named. And what a hum dinger it is.

iSnack2.0

Anyone else feeling a little overwhelmed and annoyed by products starting with i and ending with a decimal number? It means nothing. The idea of putting words together it to communicate a message, but all I can hear is "I'm not creative enough to think of something original, so I'll piggyback on the success of another company." The worst part is, from an entry pool of almost 50,000, this was the best Australia could come up with. A 27-year old daddy from WA received nothing for winning a competition that offered 50 pounds in 1923, according to an article on 7 News. With 85 years of inflation, that figure might have become a hefty prize today.

I'll give Kraft the benefit of the doubt for coming up with the idea to have a new and improved Vegemite, because as a non-Vegemite eater, I'm now hooked on this new product. So from a marketing standpoint, they have clawed their way into a new niche of money spenders, who were originally disgusted by the taste, smell and idea of their salty spread.

What is even more disheartening to me, however, is that when I went to Google to research further about this historic event, not one article could give me any new information. These articles gave me word for word the same story: The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald (both owned by Fairfax digital to be fair, The Western Australian, iPrime Newcastle (this one in particular should have done SOMETHING creative!), NewsTin, just to name a few.

I'll blame that on our reliance on media releases in journalism today. This can be attributed to the increase in technology which has led to a decrease in employees in the business. And this I find ironic when considering the topic of the articles.

There have been some severe reactions to not only the new name, but Vegemite and its little brother on this LiveLeak blog. A prime example of poor blogging etiquette toward the middle of the page. At least the blogs give a different opinion than the news sites. Maybe this is another contributing factor to the downfall of traditional news.

Another blog, itpints, has a collection of tweets of fairly humorous reactions to Kraft's announcement. Apparently it got more attention than the grand final today? I find that hard to believe. And to be honest, I dont know which is worse, tweeting about Geelong beating St Kilda or iSnack2.0?

Coming soon: iCrap and Crap 2.0

Design in Newspaper: Can it help?

Maybe there is hope for you yet, Mr. Newspaper. Although the internet may be faster, more convenient, and infinitely better in so many ways, perhaps newspapers have some life left in them after all. The key, according to Jacek Utko, is design.

We are accustomed to newspapers coming in a certain shape, size, colour, texture, and basically any other description you can think of. Newspapers have been essentially the same for hundreds of years, give or take the invention of colour ink and recyclable paper. You expect a few big, square images on the front cover, which is folded over once, then to open up into a 2 page spread which varies little from the basic grid, and continues for approximately 20 pages, and repeats over 5 or 6 sections. Colours are always muted, images are similar in format, size and content, and typeface is the same size, colour and font throughout (besides headlines).

According to Utko, many of the solutions suggested o save newspapers, such as making it free, smaller, more niche focused or opinion driven are viable options, but in the long run they can only buy time. His answer is to recreate our image of the newspaper. We need to take something that is very text heavy, and content driven, and bring the appeal from the outside in. Utko believes that a newspaper has untapped potential for creativity, and that will ultimately be its saving grace.

He says, “the secret is that we were treating the whole newspaper as one piece, as one composition. Like music. And music has a rhythm, has ups and downs…flipping through pages is the readers experience, and I am responsible for this experience.”

I agree with his ideas about info-graphics, which you can hear at 3:40 in the clip. I know that I am a very visual learner, and colours and large images draw me in and entice me to read dense content. His ideas about improving the entire product through function and form make sense in theory, but to be put into effect would take a change-minded individual like himself at the front end of the movement.

I’m a little bit inspired from this motivational speech. But its easy when you’re sitting on top to say “to be good is not enough.” You may not agree with everything he has to say, Mr. Newspaper, but you’re hardly in a position to be picky now are you?

The Death of the Newspaper

Its true that newspapers have taken a huge hit in recent years. But the question is does it matter?

Check out this clip from Season 5 of the tv series, The Wire, which shows the reality of many newsrooms today. The speaker comments on the current downward spiral that newspapers are caught in, and the reasons newspapers have to cut back on staff. So yes, it probably matters to journalists. And they hit the nail on the head when they point out that the internet being their main source of competition, is a “free source of news and opinion.”

Free being the operative word here. We have become a society addicted to our freebies. take the MX for example, which is much more prevalent on our trains and trams in Melbourne than any other publication, daily or not, fiction or news. Thats because its free, and its available.

And so what are the consequences of our gimme-gimme, freebie freebie attitude? The inevitable staff cutbacks mentioned in the clip. Less people doing more work. The quality has gone down, while quantity is expected to remain high. Journalists are spread thinner than ever, and now must write not only for newspapers, but also re-package their writing for radio, tv and also the web. The problem is that the internet does not make up for the work of 5 employees. It can make jobs easier, but cannot do the work itself.

There were fears when radio was first introduced, that it would put newspapers out of business, however a balance was struck between the two. The same threat appeared when tv came about, yet again there was a comfortable middle ground achieved. The difference this time, with the introduction of the internet, is the ability of anyone to publish news and opinion from anywhere at anytime. The dreaded 'citizen journalism' has become a legitimate source of facts and information.

But where does that leave the true and blue newspaper? Newspapers have been at the centre of what we know as democracy, dating back to a time when print publications were a way to voice opposing political opinions to a wide audience. Today, however, the reader is not necessarily the consumer, but rather being sold as the product. The newspaper stays in business by selling an audience to advertisers. And as the audience declines, mainly because news can be sourced from all over the internet, more quickly and specifically, the advertising dollars are disappearing as well.

The question then is, does it matter? It can be argued that the generation of newspaper readers (baby boomers and gen x) are upset, but gen y, which has grown up with and become accustomed to online news, are not bothered. This would suggest that print newspapers are merely a nostalgic comfort for some, but in reality only an inconvenient and bulky way to get news in the 21^st century.

Like climate change, the death of the newspaper is scary but inevitable unless serious changes are made. the one thing about the clip here that stands out to me, is that the boss is not open to suggestions, not asking for bright ideas to increase profit, but rather laying out the facts and just accepting there are no options.

But there are always options. Newspapers need to get creative. I'm going to have a think about this one, and get back to you with any of my suggestions for the future so, as they say, stay tuned...