UKNM: Is everyone enough?

[chas linn]

The world of media distribution whether TV, DTV, Web, PDA or WAP

is converging as different devices increasingly imitate each

other's capabilities. This is the conventional wisdom anyway and

while we may not really fully sign up to 'convergence' (I'm not

really going to watch Eastenders on my WAP screen or take phone

calls over my laptop whilst walking along the street, am I?),

there is certainly a feeling that things are moving closer to each

other, coming together.


Paradoxically, at this time of convergence the same arena is

splintering and diverging. The number of different media

'channels' is increasing rapidly and with the unstoppable rise of

DTV and mobile data access, this proliferation looks set to

continue for some time. In this increasingly diverse market

place, the need to firmly establish your niche seems self-evident.

Yet the response to this changing situation is by no means unanimous.


There are many bland offerings out there from sites seemingly

aiming to appeal to everybody, under the mistaken assumption

that this will maximise the number of users. This particularly

true of the WAP world with many of the major sites aiming for

'anyone who has a WAP phone': admittedly this could still be

called niche at the moment but not for much longer. Is it any

surprise that some of these are now experiencing a disappointing

uptake of their service?


I am currently working on a WAP start-up www.onthedog.com, which

is targeting 18-35 year old style conscious urbanites with

disposable income, initially living in London but soon to

encompass all the major conurbations in the UK. The information

we are providing is both an electronic fanzine and a guide to

getting the most out of your city, from clubbing, to drinking, to

what to do after the 11 o'clock bell sounds. Not rocket science

but relevant useful information, appropriate to the distribution

medium. Now as part of what is basically a guide to having fun we

want to offer entertainment content. However when I approached a major

online

entertainment organisation who was working on providing content over WAP,

I was told that our market was not large enough for them.


I must admit that I found this response surprising. Our projected

market for our service in London alone is 500,000 within two

years, UK wide we are perhaps talking about 1.5 million regular

users. This was considered to be too small an audience to bother

with. Clearly if you target the whole of the UK then your

potential market is much bigger than this but is it really

possible to reach them all with a more general offering?



Another example is being told by a major WAP hosting organisation, that

unless

we intend to roll out to Europe in the very near future then we might as

well

give up.  Now Europe is a highly diverse place both in culture and lifestyle

restrictions; to have a section covering bars which stay open late in London

is very useful, in Madrid it is nonsensical. Again the assumption has been

made that the more people you try and reach, the larger your readership.

What

is missing from this equation is the fact that the more people you try and

reach, the more general your content and therefore the less relevant it is

to

the individual. This scattergun approach is in my opinion not only entirely

inappropriate for delivering content over something as intimate as your

mobile

phone, but also doomed in the longer term.  Soon it is likely to deliver a

smaller response than targeting a well-defined niche;  Will everyone then be

enough?


Cheers


Chas Linn

Technical Director

www.onthedog.com


Technical Director

www.onthedog.com

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