A decade ago, print media faced an existential crisis. Across the spectrum – from the media itself, advertisers, futurists and employees to our shareholders – commentary was gloomy. Transforming a dyed in the wool traditional media business was viewed as a mountain too high to climb, and a positive outcome unlikely.
Fast track to 2022 – remembering we had to deal with the impact of Covid-19 – and Media24 has radically transformed to become a customer focussed, data driven business with media executives primed to deliver tailor made advertising solutions, backed by trusted brand platforms and across multiple consumer touch points.
Our approach was to agree a strategy that focussed on the future – this involved a deep dive into global trends including where to for marketing and advertising, declines in print media against the impact of rapid growing social media and thus impact on our audiences and revenue streams, and lastly evolving consumer media and purchasing patterns, needs and wants. More specifically how to take what we had and pivot to become a media business of choice for all stakeholders.
As a consequence of our deliberations – supported by a collective of specialist skills and data – the Media24 businesses, its media platforms, years of experience and reputation were now perfectly primed to take the business forward by establishing a single touch point for consumers.
Your vision, our platforms, one solution
From an advertising revenue perspective, we view our purpose as understanding the shifting media and marketing landscape and devising tailor made advertising and marketing campaigns that deliver value. This meant combining our previous sales teams (Ads24 and The SpaceStation), into a collaborative team with the necessary skill sets, an attitude that puts clients first and the ability to develop bespoke advertising solutions.
The era of silo selling is long over, replaced by a holistic mind set that seeks to deliver against client strategy. We offer a service that covers our broad reach, integrated media solutions, access to mass and targeted audiences, supported by credible insights and data.
Trusted brands and key messaging – an award-winning formula
It is always good to back our marketing messages with supportive facts and figures. Both News24 and Adspace24 have excelled on the global stage, receiving a number of prestigious awards.
News24 was named the Reuters Institute’s most trusted news brand for a fourth consecutive year; City Press and Absa Money Makeover won global accolades for its integrated marketing campaign, while Adspace24’s internal research platform, Forum24, found that readers’ trust in Media24 News brands is high across all titles, with News24 scoring 83%, Netwerk24, 90%, and Sunday printed titles Rapport and City Press, 90% (to highlight but a few).
In times of great uncertainty – and we have certainly experienced much uncertainty over the past few years – consumers place their trust in brands that deliver against promises. Our platforms are no exception, and are tested via public opinion on a daily basis. Our mainstream and local news brands carry weight as do our digital and television channels.
After a period of introspection and stakeholder interaction, we are proudly a digital first, audience driven, integrated media platform solutions provider of news safe environments with high viewability and scale.
It’s a new world we find ourselves in, and we are prepared and determined to tackle it with a strong belief in the future of our brand positioning and the support and commitment of our people.
Tasmia Ismail is General Manager: Adspace24. During her 18 years at Media24, she gained invaluable experience in driving sales and building successful revenue models across Media24’s brands.
