As both a print and on-line subscriber to The Wall Street Journal, I am occasionally asked to participate in their on-line surveys. Often, these are done for the benefit of advertisers, to get a read on how well their messages are getting through.
Other times, the surveys are about the Journal itself – the kinds of stories I like, what needs to get more coverage (or less), and other issues along those lines. But a recent survey piqued my interest and, in my mind, showed how on-the-ball the people at the Journal are.
The Wall Street Journal is available in three different media: conventional newsprint, the WSJ.com web site, and the fairly new WSJ iPhone app. If you’re not familiar with the latter, it’s a nifty little app that includes breaking news (of all kinds, not just business news), stock market quotes, video, and even WSJ radio. It can be customized to suit the whims of the user.
The survey I completed asked a series of questions about how I use their web site vs. their print edition vs. the iPhone app. How does their iPhone app compare to other news apps, including The New York Times, FOX News, and AP's "Mobile News?" What is better about one or the other? Etc. Do I ever click on advertisers' banners?
Then they wanted to know whether I was planning on buying an Apple iPad within the next six months. I’m undecided on that question, but because I was curious why they were asking, I checked the “yes” box.
Therein ensued several specific questions about how I expected to use the iPad: whether to read books, magazines and newspapers; play games; watch movies; send and receive email, etc.
Would I welcome a special iPad WSJ application? (Yes.) Would I be willing to pay extra for it? (No, I wouldn’t.) Would banner ads be okay? (Sure. Why not.) And how would I prefer the app to be formatted: like the iPhone app or like the print edition? (Print.)
The survey was striking because it shows how Dow-Jones is continuing to stay ahead of the technology curve. Remember, they were the first major player with a subscription-only web site, and they're one of the few (if not the only) media companies actually making money on web site subscriptions.
(One of their chief competitors, the New York Times, has long been struggling with “monetizing” its web site – an effort that has been marked with fits and starts the past few years. For a time, the Times tried to charge for access to certain columnists. That failed and the experiment ended. They recently announced that, commencing next year, access would be strictly by paid subscription. I’ll believe it when I see it.)
At heart, the poll about the iPad once again demonstrates why the Wall Street Journal and Dow-Jones are about the only successful news media company today. While other newspapers lose subscribers and advertisers, and grand old names in the business fall by the wayside, the Journal continues to add subscribers and grow. It’s understandable why News Corp. was willing to pay a premium for Dow-Jones.
Here is a product – the iPad – that won’t even be available for another month and the Journal is trying to figure out how best to maximize the new medium's potential. Everyone fully expects that the iPad will succeed, just as the iPod, iTunes, and the iPhone have.
Businesses like Dow-Jones would be wise to hitch a ride on that anticipated success. I look forward to seeing which other businesses are as wise as Dow-Jones.
No comments:
Post a Comment