NBC has redefined its “core” to fully leverage key forms of online and offline media, and has consequently seen its reach boosted astronomically, even as individual elements such as the TV stations decline in overall figures, noted ILM:09 Keynoter Brian Buchwald, Executive VP, Local Integrated Media and NBC Everywhere.
While media companies (and their associations) have previously tried to kluge their online and offline numbers together to mask declines, Buchwald makes the case that radio, PC, mobile and TV really are complementing each other based on different day parts and accessibility. Consumers seek mobility and a seamless content experience,” he says. But TV still owns the evening. “It is increasingly about escapism.”
Buchwald also makes the case that consumers are increasingly “poly local.” They grab local information about their own community and others from a wide range of media. “The distinction between national and local is eroding,” he said. “There are thousands of places I can go to in LA to find out what’s going on in New York. Given the circumstances, it is up to local media to redefine the local experience with deep context. “Local matters less unless there is pull for me in the local community.”
“Local lifestyle needs are under-served,” added Buchwald. NBC’s answer is to “explore areas of high interest and low satisfaction. What people want in San Diego is different than in New York City.”
NBC is especially orienting itself around “social capitalists” between 25-44 years old, with high social demographics. They enjoy “discovering new content, their love for the city and being a key influencer that makes up the pulse of the city,” said Buchwald. “They love to try new thinks, and what’s new. Anything that keeps them ‘in the know’ is a keeper.”
Online, NBC is taking this guidance and building out NBC Local. The company has dedicated 140 people to the division, up from 20, and include a wide range of “functional experts,” including ex-staffers from other prominent media properties, such as The New York Daily News and Valley Wag. “People who actually get it.”
NBC is also negotiating partnerships with valuable content providers and curating unique information and stories from reliable sources. “We understand what we need to own and what we do not.” The ultimate goal is to build “families of products, rather than focus on a single property,” he said.
“Local online is a highly immature space,” concluded Buchwald. “We are a huge work in progress. Echoing others in the room who said that the era of any one company dominating local is over, Buchwald added that “we’re all in this together. It is a very, very nascent part of web. Nobody has yet conquered or mastered it.”
