When media meets tech: Why publishers need product managers

Publishers of all types and sizes are facing ever greater competition.

Start-ups in particular often use the Internet as their primary channel to reach a larger audience. In fact, even an individual blogger or YouTuber can spread news and personal opinions from the bedroom. Think of Rezo with his video “The destruction of the CDU”.

On the other hand, many of the world's biggest publishers — such as The New York Times — have already realized how important it is to accept the current change and get involved with the Internet and the various platforms.

In this context, many publishers are already seeing that there is an interesting new Must-Hire exists to remain competitive and agile. A must-hire that has been omnipresent at many technology startups for a long time. However, some companies in the publishing world are still reluctant to fill this important role.

What am I talking about? Of course from Product manager. Product managers are becoming increasingly important for the competitiveness of media companies.

But why is that actually the case?

The role of product manager didn't just come out of nowhere. In fact, product managers have been around for many decades.

But one step at a time. First of all, we should agree on what we mean by the term digital product understand.

What is a digital product?

In general, a digital product “a software-supported product or service that provides a benefit to a person.”

These products or services So provide a solution to a problemthat a customer or a specific target group is confronted with. In other words, a digital product is a collection of digital features and features that make your users' lives easier.

Following the definition of a digital product above, it's pretty easy to give a few examples. A mobile app such as Instagram or even digital courses on MasterClass These are, for example, digital products that create added value. You also solve problems in users' lives.

Let's take a look at the publishing world: With this far-reaching definition, it's not that easy anymore. Because a few decades ago, this discussion would have been different. 20 years ago, the product was simply a newspaper, a radio program, or a television program.

This definition has changed with the advent of the Internet and the digital economy. In the publishing world, a digital product covers a wider spectrum. For example, interactive stories can be digital products. Or even bots (such as the Quartz App), which connect readers to news.

In summary, in the publishing industry, digital products include tools and applications that inform, entertain, or notify readers.

The origins of product management

Now that we have defined the digital product, let's talk about product management.

Good to know: Product management is not a completely new concept.

The idea of product management was born in 1931 at Procter & Gamble. Neil H. McElroys famous 800-word memo describes the responsibilities of product managers at P&G.

These included tracking sales, advertising and PR as well as managing the product. In the end, McElroy decisively helped P&G transform into a brand-oriented organization. He let his product managers become the internal voice of the customer.

While this new idea of product management helped P&G achieve success, it didn't exactly spread like wildfire away from the company.

However, a significantly higher demand for product managers was later accompanied by the impressive rise of another industry.

Which industry am I talking about? The technology sector, of course.

Product Management in Tech

Today, the product manager is most common in offices of technology startups. They are bustling with Internet giant Google as well as fast-growing startups.

Product managers from the P&G era were special Part of a company's marketing function. The same applies today to product managers in the fast-moving consumer goods industry.

However, that is not the case in the technology sector. After all, product management in tech is not just a task of marketing communication. Rather, it is linked to the development and production of the product itself.

In technology, product managers can't simply rely on messaging, pricing, or even packaging an item to be successful.

Instead, product managers in this industry must above all be agile. They must have a deep understanding of customers and their needs.

Interesting: This focus on agility is achieved, for example, by Agile manifesto clarifies. It provides fundamental principles why product managers should focus primarily on customers.

In addition, the product manager in the tech sector is essentially a Mini-CEO. He or she must keep many game balls in the air at the same time. In addition, they must bring cross-functional teams together to develop and update products.

As a result, the product manager in the technology industry must, among other things, collect and analyze data, iterate frequently, identify key partnerships, and manage developers. Die quick market launch is always a decisive success factor.

The need for project managers in the publishing world

Product managers are becoming increasingly important as the publishing world is becoming more and more complex.

For example, an ordinary publisher has multiple websites for desktop and mobile devices. In addition, they often have their own team to handle video production. Plus various subscription options. And last but not least, there is more than one ad product that requires regular updates.

Today, publishers are highly complex companies. The business model has changed. Publishers can't just create content, publish it on a website, and wait for traffic.

“Generally speaking, the vast majority of publishers still have a long way to go. ”

Anita Zielina, visiting researcher at Reuters Institute and former Chief Product Officer of Neuen Zürcher Zeitung Media

In essence, the role of product manager in media companies has become increasingly important.

In publishing houses, too, product management combines the company's products with the mission and values. While product management in the 20th century focused on sales, promotion and distribution, product management in today's digital economy is more focused on customer needs.

Thanks to digitization, media companies today have virtually no limits when it comes to their audience. However, in order to fully exploit this potential, a number of changes must be made.

“If media companies don't improve and drastically change their vision and capabilities in product management, they will be eaten by software companies and new players. ”

Espen Sundve, Chief Product Officer at Colonial.no

According to Sundve, media companies must prioritize one thing in particular: They must find product managers who can successfully bridge the gap between journalism and technology.

These product managers should be responsible for the product strategy, prioritize what to write about next and which features should be built next. And they should also keep a close eye on the quality of content, design, and code.

Smaller publishers are just now considering moving traditional job roles towards product management. But there is still a great deal to do. The big challenge for product managers is to act as an interface between journalism, user experience, technology and business.

Many major media companies, on the other hand, have already dared to dive into the world of product management.

Bloomberg Media, for example, recently launched its first digital head of product discontinued. It will manage products such as Bloomberg's desktop and mobile website. Vox Media also now has 10 product managers. The Washington Post also has the number of its product managers triples.

All in all, says Eddie Koller, Managing Partner at Koller Search Partners, a great headhunter,”Is there a great need“to product managers in media companies.

Rethinking product management

The role of the product manager, as mentioned above, is becoming increasingly important.

Key decision makers must not only understand the importance of the product manager, but also give them a leap of faith and withdraw.

In my opinion, the frequently prevailing way of thinking should be”Only publish when it's perfect“Change rapidly. Instead, product managers in publishing should publish faster and test more often what works and what doesn't. Because in the digital age, that is exactly what matters.

Even more important: Instead of focusing on results, product managers in publishing should focus on the process.

In doing so, publishers should Value on thorough research and data analysis lay. Relying on guesswork when it comes to what the audience really wants isn't effective. Only with data can publishers learn what users really want.

Data analytics is rightly the pole star that deserves the undivided attention of product managers in publishing houses and media companies.

Conclusion

Even media companies that have already understood the importance of the product manager can still improve. Moreover, from my point of view, if you are currently just watching this trend instead of being at the forefront, you should definitely, quickly catch up.

To improve the relationship with their readers, publishers have many new tools at their disposal. But to use these tools properly, publishers need to invest in product managers. This is the only way publishers can achieve both their editorial and financial goals.

Also, if you'd like to learn more about text-to-speech technology, watch our free webinar, "How Amazon Polly is Changing the Publishing Industry," here.

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