What do an astronaut, Pussy Riot and Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, have in common? They were amongst the most highly anticipated speakers at this years re:publica, and even though their backgrounds could hardly be more different, they might agree on one thing: If it hasn’t already happened, we are soon to be governed by the Internet. And just like the Internet, the issues which are dominating this digital age are constantly changing.
After attending three days of talks topics such as future implications of big data, privacy and new online media formats, we collected our four key learnings of re:publica 2015 concerning media and PR:
1) The border between journalism and PR content is becoming blurrier
Most blogs and magazines fail to state whether readers are being exposed to a sponsored post or an article that was produced from scratch. This article for example, how can you be sure that we weren’t reimbursed by re:publica to write it? Because if that were the case we would clearly have to point it out at some point – in Germany at least.
Blogs often rely on sponsored content but for users the intention behind this content is often not transparent enough. Honest media is user-friendly media, even if that means that you have to admit that a piece of great content was produced thanks to a company or brand. Your readers will thank you for it, because classical types of media are facing the challenge of good and often great paid content or advertorials.
2) Brands are becoming media brands
Brands aren’t just brands any more: They employ editors to fill their corporate media with enticing content, and they have social media experts develop content strategies for their social media sites, which lends a high level of professionalism. Storytelling is now possible on several channels and easily accessible to users and target groups.
3) Trending: branded content, native advertising and product placement
You’ve probably heard it before, but having social media and producing great content isn’t enough. In order to tell great stories and engage with your audience it is necessary to combine all available assets. Several speakers at re:publica mentioned that a mixture of branded content, native advertising, and product placement – especially on television and Youtube – will become even more relevant in future. Why? Because…
4) Users will continue to determine content
Media formats where users and the audience create content and stories – instead of just editors – are on the rise: Whether it’s the integration of social television into more traditional TV formats such as Heute + the new interactive news format by ZDF Heute, or the German Correctiv!, a non-profit investigative newsroom which wants to grant citizens more access to information by researching stories with the help of readers and viewers.
These key learnings were taken from various panels at re:publica. Amongst them the following, which you can re-watch online: