Overview
The world of news, publishing and information services is exploding in many directions, causing huge disruption and opportunity. Print advertising is evaporating at 6% to 10% per year, a trend that will continue. Consumers are moving to digital platforms for reading, and revenue models for digital yield less revenue. Gatekeepers like Google and Facebook take a lot of the advertising value.
However, the good news is that there is more and more demand for information. Netflix, Spotify and others have trained consumers (even the iGen) that it is cool to pay for subscriptions. New approaches are unlocking new revenue sources and rescuing profitability.
How we help
L.E.K. Consulting helps companies understand new consumer behaviors and develop new revenue streams to replace declining streams. We also help clients address challenges and answer questions in the following areas:
- Commercial case development
- What is the core value proposition of our service offer?
- How do we manage contention between digital platforms and traditional print channels?
- What is the audience/subscriber potential for our service offer?
- How does revenue potential break down by audience segment?
- What mix of business models and bundled pricing should we employ?
- What level of investment is required?
- What range of revenue and cash flow can we expect?
- Content and feature planning
- What set of content and features should we prioritize for development?
- What it the relative value of content and features to prospective subscribers?
- What is the ROI of development?
- Pricing and packaging
- How do we price the service given our target consumer base, the value we are providing and the competitive landscape?
- What pricing tiers, with what differential benefits, will maximize revenue?
- Tactical subscriber growth support
- How much runway do we have to further penetrate our target customer base?
- What levers can we pull to drive incremental subscription and reduce churn?
- International expansion
- How do we take our domestic service international?
- Which markets do we prioritize?
- How much and in what localization should we invest in, by market?
Example of our work
Our work has had a meaningful impact in driving the revenue of our clients. For example:
- For several major national news organizations, we provided a deep understanding of the new opportunities and helped develop new revenue streams
- For major magazines, we developed new ancillary consumer products such as digital products, events, books, community services, swag, etc.
- For many digital information services, we optimized pricing to achieve higher revenue
- For many financial sponsors, we evaluated the potential for new revenue streams under likely scenarios
- For many publishers, we provided an understanding of recession vulnerabilities while developing strategies to deal with future recessions
