The media organisation’s group chief commercial officer talks Covid-19, ad revenue and storytelling.
This week, Inpublishing released a podcast with presenter Ciar Byrne and News UK’s Dom Carter.
Discussing the impact of the coronavirus on News UK’s business, is it clear that innovation is the key to resilience. The publisher’s digital-first approach has created opportunities to reach audiences wherever they are.
He concluded: “Ultimately advertisers want to reach audiences and we reach our audiences on multiple platforms.”
When asked to sum up his commercial strategy, Carter replied “driving innovation… and encouraging collaboration”. He added that in isolation, media owners cannot compete against the platforms.
At the same time, Carter reminded listeners that News UK is in the business of trusted content, something that coronavirus has really shone a light on. A significant rise in the consumption of news over the past months, has seen consumers turning to credible sources of information to get the latest updates on the pandemic.
But what does this mean for advertisers? With increased demand for news, going forward Carter’s message is clear: “Advertisers should take the opportunity to be seen in appropriate trusted media environments.”
Giving the industry a competitive advantage, he went on to talk about The Ozone Project and how it brings together audiences across Reach, The Telegraph, News UK and The Guardian. For advertisers, it makes buying at scale easier, offering them a larger premium audience reach than any of the platforms.
At the start of the year, no one could have imagined what was ahead of us. The pandemic has accelerated the digitalisation of readers and with-it businesses and what has been achieved in just a matter of months, would have taken two to three years.
One thing is certain, Carter is positive about the future.
