read case, complete assignment (overall 4 questions)
read case, complete assignment (overall 4 questions)
Attention:
After Read Case, complete 4 assignment questions!!! Do not use reference! Use your words.
Case:
You are the research director for The Blitz, a magazine that covers the music scene in Waterloo, the capital of the state of Mind and a top 20 market. Last week, the publisher insisted on meeting with you to discuss the magazine’s strategy regarding social media and tablet readers. He thinks the magazine should be developing a strategy so that it can create a new, viable revenue stream in 2 years. You’re skeptical, so you’ve put your staff to work on several questions:
—-What are the user issues surrounding social media? What added value could you produce for something like Facebook? Are publications making any money in that medium? How much use could Facebook users have for a music publication within a Facebook setting?
—-What kind of 140-character messages (like those in Twitter) would emanate from The Blitz? What use would followers have for such short messages? How would you market such messages in The Blitz itself? Could actual journalism occur in such messages or would they be more of a headline service? To what degree would Blitz staff writers use this tool? What’s the added value that you could provide readers?
—-What would you do to separate yourself from competing national magazines in using Facebook and Twitter? How would you position the local music scene? What type of storytelling would this tend to foster and does it fit with what subscribers would want in the actual print magazine? How would you get buy-in from the reporting staff?
—-What would social media add to the magazine’s brand? Currently, this is what you have on your website: “Mind is known for its rareness—not just Minders but the Mind way of life. Most folks can’t explain Minders, but they certainly notice them and their singular Mind conceit. It is in the rich Mind history. There is something different about Mind. Minders, when it comes to music, are especially pleased. Although some non-Minders associate us with rock icons only, Minders know that Mind inculcates a wide variety of music; our music echoes the culture. Today, the Mind music tableau is bigger, more lively and rising swifter than ever. We feature Minders’ incredible role in and for music. Our hue-full, lustrous journal is a Minder’s start for all things music in Mind. We inform and amuse our readers. We inform them about great Mind bands, as well as dish up a heaping helping of music history. We amuse them with funny anecdotes about many of the state’s flamboyant characters, as well as cover music events from around Mind, like mud in the water.”
—- How would you sell advertisers on the social media products?
Assignment (Just answer those 4 questions according case above)
1. Pick one of the questions above, research it, and report back to the class.
2. Which is the greater concern or unknown with this product now—technology, audience, branding, strategy, competition, or consumer behavior—and why?
3. What would it cost to finance testing and development of this technology?
4. Is this technology more likely to be developed by a journalistic-oriented organization (e.g., The Blitz), or by a technology-based group? Which would have the most trouble managing the product once it’s developed?
