Harvard in Tech Feature: A Conversation with Marcus Brauchli, North Base Media Founder and Pulitzer Prize Winner
On Friday, May 8th, Harvard in Tech hosted a webinar with Marcus Brauchli, co-founder and managing partner of North Base Media, a partnership that invests in media and technology companies in growth markets. Before establishing North Base, Mr. Brauchli was a vice president of the Washington Post Co. and executive editor of The Washington Post, overseeing its news and content operations, including new media, video and digital innovation. During his editorship, the Post won seven Pulitzers. Before joining The Post, Mr. Brauchli was editor of The Wall Street Journal, where he also was responsible for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and MarketWatch.
Here are the key takeaways.
Consumers in emerging markets have no relationship with existing media when they get a phone for the first time. Because emerging markets are so frequently mobile first in their technological development trajectory and corresponding consumer behavior, consumers use their phones as a means of discovering new media rather than a way to find their existing sources of media, as is the case in the developed world. With people creating new relationships with media, there is an opportunity to educate consumers about media based platforms.
Every market has different preferences for media format. For example, in Mexico, short, illustrated graphics shared via social media channels have become quite popular.
Broadband is a major hurdle for emerging markets on the path to mass media consumption. The development of satellite technology and its deployment to the developing world will be a determining factor in the speed of adoption of media.
Censoring TikTok may lead to a slippery slope. While there has been discussion around the security concerns from China-founded TikTok, explicitly censoring or banning TikTok may lead to negative downstream impacts on free speech.
Ad share will be eroded as other media platforms figure out self-serve products. Google and Facebook’s ad share is double mindshare. There will be a greater focus on news based content with advertising fatigue. Traditional media platforms have more engaging content and with the right product structure can take consumer attention and market share away from tech giants. Google and Facebook have focused on value capture while traditional publishers have been the source of value creation. With greater consumer time spent on content and focused on finding high caliber content, the tides may turn.
Content will ultimately be demand determined. We have had waves of webinars, interactive media, and OTT entertainment. Consumers are in control, and companies skating to where the puck of consumer attention will be will ultimately be more successful.
Media structure will mimic consumer lifestyles. Quibi was created for commutes and constrained schedules in a pre-COVID world. Podcasts in general were also more tailored for people on the go and have thus seen a decline in consumption (although Europe has actually seen podcasting grow so the trends do vary by market). Consumption of long form content through Netflix shows, for example, have and will continue to grow during quarantine.
Emerging markets may take advantage of fake news to regulate the media. During COVID-19 in particular, governments in emerging markets may use fake news censorship as an excuse to censor valid media to be able to control communications their constituents see.
China’s media market is largely saturated and more mature. Media opportunities in Latin America, Africa, and elsewhere in emerging markets may have more interesting opportunities for growth.
As digital information grows, there will be more opportunities for AI to provide analytics support, insight, and value around this wealth of content based data.
