This spring 2022 saw the roll out of a number of NWE Academy initiatives. A highly successful study tour in Germany was followed up by an extremely well received training program with more than 20 newspaper managers profiting from our seminar “Giving meaning”.
The modern media environment demands a more responsive culture. Traditional publishing needs to transform from a rigid, siloed organization, where decisions are made from above, to a flexible organization with a culture rooted in performance.
These new organizations must also be transversal, which brings with it the need for a keen understanding of how to allocate the right resources to enable growth sectors. Which means mastering the skills and attitudes needed to lead innovative projects deploying multidisciplinary teams.
All of which means complex, multi-layered, and often daunting projects for media outlets looking to adapt. These projects entail profound change that is challenging, even impossible to take on without the benefits of external support. Based on years of helping other organizations going through the same process we would like to present our solutions.
Study tours as tools to inspire executives and project managers
Study tours have a number of powerful benefits; by allowing your team to meet other managers involved in digital transformation they reap the rewards of real-world experience at first hand.
The objectives of a study tour are exposure to new ideas, a better understanding of likely problems and pitfalls, and of course a range of answers and advice from peers who have already gone through the same process.
Our study tour to Germany, entitled “Best of Local”, was organized for a French press publisher and proved the perfect opportunity, after two years of pandemic, to meet professionals “speaking the same language”. We would like to thank them once again for their warm welcome of their French colleagues.
There was no shortage of topics for discussion; including how to develop the acquisition and retention of digital subscribers, positioning the quest for performance at the heart of processes, creating dashboards adapted to objectives, and increasing data expertise.
Research trips help drive positive change by enabling:
- Comparison at all levels: offers, organization, skills, results, etc. to focus management awareness.
- Bringing home the fact that transformation is possible.
- Asking the (real) right questions.
- Identifying the keys to success.
- Providing inspiration before testing.
- Exchanging and asking your own questions.
- Building new ambitions through a common vision.
Teach your editors to manage teams and content… by focusing on the real implications and results of change
Developing digital subscriber acquisition and retention has become a priority. Getting the best out of your team of journalists, in a digital-first environment is the way to achieve that.
In order to meet these challenges, we believe the solution is to target and fine tune your content to make it fit for purpose. That’s why we have designed a unique, customized training program entitled: “Giving meaning to teams and readers through content” (available in English). It is organized in 3 parts:
- Seminar 1 – Managing your team, and anticipating pain points, to better bring them onboard.
- Seminar 2 – Laying the foundations of a content strategy.
- Seminar 3 – Taking care of the digital and print work plan.
More than 20 trainees, and journalists in charge of teams, attended this 5-day seminar. The results of the satisfaction survey highlight the importance of training teams, providing them with an understanding of the issues at stake, and tools and techniques to tackle them.
Why now?
- More than ever media outlets of all sizes are realizing that successful change comes from aligning each person’s objectives within an editorial team. That in turn means knowing how to explain challenges and desired outcomes, so as to motivate and organize work in a digital-first way.
- Content strategy, including audience growth and premium products, mean more sophisticated planning and a break from legacy working practices.
- Upgrading content is a matter for the individual managers as they motivate journalists. That’s not something that can be decreed; it must be learned.
As we see, participants’ feedback from the training sessions was particularly encouraging!
Turn Marketing and Editorial into your best allies
The transformation of media companies obviously involves the organization of the newsroom and content, but also marketing, IT, social networks, data, design and developers.
We organized a 2-day workshop with nearly 20 participants from a large media group to get these different functions to collaborate with one focus; facilitating the acquisition, and improving the retention of digital subscribers.
This workshop produced a rich haul of projects, and prototypes. That led to a better understanding of the needs and expectations of everyone concerned.
Please contact us if you’d like to know more.
Why the alliance of Marketing and Editorial is the key to success
- Producing the best content is not in itself enough. It is also necessary to build appropriate promotional strategies through the site, app, newsletters, and social networks. Without a common vision, there is little chance of success.
- Short, medium and long term projects are seemingly infinite, which makes it a huge task. However, the performance demands are often short term, and deadlines are tight. Which makes it invaluable to coordinate intelligently through an initial workshop.
New World Encounters is an Upgrade Media brand. Our in-depth experience of media projects means we know there is no one-size-fits-all so we tailor our programmes to the precise needs of each client.
Do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your projects!
- Media watch: if you only read six things this month of June
- Reimagining the newsroom, making the magic happen [Part 2]
- What we learned from our “Best of Local” study tour in May 2022
- Thomas Schultz-Homberg: “There are no ready products anymore. It is a process of continual market research that we are in, and we won’t stop!”
- Develop the right skills to accelerate the transformation of your media!