Simon Waldman of the Guardian, who spoke at our Good Ideas Salon London recently, has a lengthy piece on his blog on British media brands and the reasons for their success. He identifies brands like the Tate, Guardian, Economist, NME, The Office and Penguin and argues that he’s not just doing a bit of nationalistic “trumpet blowing” but says that we can learn from these brands as they are are striving to survive by taking advantage of a smaller world by thinking internationally which ultimately makes these brands better. Waldman writes:
What, you might ask, makes a Great British Media Brand? There are three things I think are often important.
Brand history helps. If only because it means that when people come to work at the BBC, or the Guardian or the Economist, or the NME – they have more than likely grown up with it; the understand it as a consumer and they are committed to taking it forward, and make it relevant for their word.
At the same time – I should add history can hold you back, if you allow it to. Tate could easily decide it was just a gallery. But it wouldn’t be the same organisation.
Being great on the web helps – not just in terms of distribution and publishing, but in using it as a tool to engage with your audience – and vitally to let them engage with each others.
I should stress that online is not the end game – but it is the easiest way for a media brand to realise it can be more than a local publication.
And finally – success breeds success. The more things people get right, the more they keep getting right. Simon Cowell (unfortunately some might say) is the perfect example of that. So is the BBC, but then so again is the Tate, Haymarket’s licensing programme and the Economist’s podcasts…
Actually, this is just about survival. The world is getting smaller – so we have a chance to get bigger.
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