The third place in media

Starbucks is often referred to as “the third place”- neither home nor work, but a neutral place in between. A place of utilitarian comfort, where urban consumers can both relax and connect. We have a growing sense of that third place arriving in the media landscape. For the last 50 years there have really only been two media strategies: service search or ambush. The former drove the establishment of classified sections, and with the advent of digital media the behemoth that is Google. As advertisers we serve consumers that self-identify by their immediate needs. The latter has been the mainstay of all other media revenues since advertising began. Whether it’s a carved graffiti directing sailors to the brothel in Ephesus, or 400 TVR on ITV, we use content to attract consumers to our “ambush” marketing messages. And consumers, with few exceptions, are happy with this Faustian bargain. But a third way is emerging within the emerging “media third place” and that is the App. Apps can have the content that entertains and engages as does mainstream media, but the functionality and detailed information that classified provides. Most of our clients have a continuity revenue model at the heart of their business. Whether its regular donation, sustained subscription or repeat purchase, each has a relationship with an organisation that goes beyond the merely transactional. And that third place, the App, seems to have a new role in serving that need and creating new growth. Mike Colling Managing Director