Media Management Scholar Describes Management Strategies to M&M TIPsters

Article By Lena Ray/ Photos by Dan Weitzman

M&M Staffers

Jiran Hou came Thursday to the University of Georgia's Miller Learning Center to teach the Media and the Message class in the Duke TIP program about the business side of media and journalism.

Hou (pictured), a doctoral student in the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication, gave a presentation teaching the students about different media management strategies and the role they play in journalism.The students have spent the past week learning about media and basic journalism. Hou’s talk was the first in the class on the business side of media and journalism.

“When you become a media manager, the first issue is know your market,” Hou said to begin her speech. “That’s why you have to know your media management structures.”

By this, she means that you have to know your product, your competitors’ products, and the hard facts about your competitors. In Hou’s talk she highlighted 10 different strategies for companies to get a leg up on competitors in the public market. By eliminating competitors, having greater product diversity, or developing a specific niche, a company can get ahead:Consolidation is a strategy where larger companies buy smaller companies, and the larger company can deliver better service to consumers and eliminate competition.

Globalization is when a conglomerate (a company with different products for various audiences), becomes a global entity and markets their products worldwide.

Horizontal integration is a strategy in which a company buys many or all of the companies in one certain area of production. It is not to be confused with vertical integration, where a company buys other companies in each part of the production process. This allows a company to exist independently, whereas horizontal integration eliminates competitors.

Convergence is a movement to a common digital standard for technology. It results in using multiple technologies to distribute content, like using a newspaper and using television broadcasts to distribute the same information. Convergence is often a partnership between companies.

Clustering is when a company controls many other companies in a small geographic area.Marketing synergies are used to sell the same concepts across different media channels. Synergies are more economically efficient than other ways of distribution, but they allow for less content diversity and independent producers.When a company brands their merchandise, the company develops a strong product identity with consumers. When the consumer is shopping, there will be less of a chance that consumers look for other brands since they already know the company name.

Specialization is intended for specific community niches. Companies can be focused on a narrow media section, like a specific ethnic group, or they can develop their own niche audiences with their products.Finally, companies can diversify their product to spread out the risk. Instead of catering to just one group of consumers, the company would cater to many different consumer groups.

If one product began to fail, then the other products would still be steady.

Hou taught the students four strategies for media management using the tactics above. The students had to put the strategies to use in a “real life” situation.

All of the groups successfully revived or promoted their fake businesses, but Hou decided the Silver Team should be the winners.

Hou will teach a "Media Management" course to university undergraduates in the fall, so not only did the students learn marketing, but Hou took away some knowledge from the students as well.