No data strategy: Newspaper publishers neglect their data

Accordingly, only 14 of the 33 decision-makers surveyed have basic data on their users, and only eight can draw on an extensive database. One third of the respondents stated that the biggest problem in collecting user data was due to a lack of data strategy. Lack of expertise was cited as a reason almost as often. Another six of the respondents named insufficient evaluation of the data as the biggest handicap.

Despite the insufficient data, publishers are clearly focusing on users. The primary goal is to generate paying online subscribers and further registrations for the online offering, as well as a more precise understanding of the readers, according to the top three priorities of the decision-makers surveyed. Better tools for analyzing website visitors, however, land only in the middle of the priorities. New advertising space and better performance measurement are also seen as less of a challenge.

For half of the publishers surveyed, personalization is the most important trend. Around one-third are still taking a wait-and-see approach, and only four of the 33 respondents do not attach any great importance to it. However, in order to be able to offer readers personalized content and address them in a targeted manner, a precise understanding of users is necessary. This is precisely where action is needed. Nine of the 33 decision-makers surveyed said they did not know their users well enough to be able to offer them regional advertising offers.

The way they handle their own data shows that many have by no means completed the transformation to a digital media company. Publishers have recognized this problem and, in addition to developing new business models, cite the transformation as the greatest challenge at present.

Shahab Hosseiny, Managing Director, MSO Digital: "Daily newspaper publishers are not nearly as well positioned digitally as they should be. Above all, the neglect of data-driven business models is a problem. Working according to gut feeling is everyday life in many publishing houses. In the print sector, it is difficult to measure the interests of readers, and opportunities in the online sector are either unknown or insufficiently exploited. In many cases, data is still seen as an attack on editorial freedom. Media companies must finally adopt a numbers-based approach. That's the only way they can make the leap to relevance in digital."

About the study

The performance marketing agency MSO Digital, together with ZMG (Zeitungs Marketing Gesellschaft), has launched a think tank on the future of publishers. A hand-picked group of 300 decision-makers from newspaper publishers was invited to address the topic of "Digital Potential for Publishers". Initial results were drawn up on the basis of a survey of 33 experts between July and September 2016. The study volume can be downloaded from the following website: Mso-digital.com/report-tape