The Future of Publishers Shaped by Decentralized Media

As online content distribution methods diversify, a strategy known as "distributed media" is gaining attention. This involves publishing articles not only on owned media but also on third-party platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

For publishers (media operators), this can feel threatening as it creates competition for audience attention. For brand marketers, too, developing a strategic approach to online content distribution is becoming essential. How should publishers and brands approach distributed media? We spoke with Junya Tanaka, who oversees the DIGIDAY business at Infobahn, and Keisuke Konishi, Consulting Director at Dentsu Consulting Inc.

Understanding "Distributed Media" from a Publisher's Perspective

-- First, we're hearing the term "distributed media" more often. I understand this is a term unique to Japan.

Konishi: Overseas, it's referred to as "Distributed Content" or "Platform Publishing." In Japan, it seems to have gained traction after a blogger translated BuzzFeed's strategy of "Content Distributed" as "distributed media." However, I believe the essence of distributed media lies in the separation of content and media.

An editor at The Huffington Post wrote an editorial stating, "It's 'Platform Publishing'—delivering content using the optimal method to reach users across various platforms, rather than expecting them to come to owned media."

Over the past year or two, mechanisms like Facebook Instant Articles, Snapchat Discover, and Twitter's News tab have proliferated, allowing users to consume content within the platform without leaving the site. Google's AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages), which speeds up mobile site display, follows the same trend.

Because everything is contained within the platform, this is sometimes called a form of walled garden strategy. We want to discuss how publishers and media outlets should respond to this.

Tanaka: Overseas, the idea of delivering information to users gathered on specific platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Vine is becoming established.

Since where and when users consume content is changing, media must shift from expecting users to visit their own sites or click social media links to delivering content directly where users are.

While we might not strictly need the term "media" in "distributed media," the reality is that content won't reach or gain recognition unless it's distributed across platforms. Moreover, it's not just about distributing content; we need to adapt content to fit each platform's specific format.

Konishi: From a publisher's perspective, it means the traditional elements of publishing are being dismantled. From a platform operator's perspective, it could mean becoming a curation media that aggregates dispersed content.

Meanwhile, from the brand's perspective, it's about delivering content where the users are. While this might seem obvious, traditionally, placing ad content on media matching the target audience was sufficient. However, as control over information has shifted to the users, that alone is no longer enough to ensure the information reaches them.

Does content decentralization dilute media value?

-- DIGIDAY [Japan Edition] often covers decentralized media. What are the characteristics of overseas media?

Tanaka: Take Quartz, an international news media outlet. They formed a dedicated video team of three people and released 130 videos in just six months. The total video views reached 45 million, but zero of those views were on their own website.

The secret? They distributed all videos exclusively on third-party platforms, not their own site. Incidentally, most of those 45 million views came from Facebook.

Reference:Economic Site "Quartz" Bets on "Distributed" Video: Half-Year Results Surpass 45 Million Views! (DIGIDAY [Japan Edition])

Another example is the news site NowThis. Visiting the site reveals a homepage design that says nothing more than "Home page. Even the word sounds old. We bring the news to your social feed," featuring only links to each platform and absolutely no content.

Readers can simply view content on the platform they engage with most. NowThis delivers content optimized for each platform's format. Even with the same story, they tailor the presentation for each platform.

Konishi: The shift in how consumers engage with media from a global perspective is undeniable. Around 2011, Coca-Cola proposed a content strategy called "Liquid and Linked Content." This strategy moved beyond traditional one-way media advertising to proactively distribute content that flows and spreads organically among consumers. This trend has accelerated further. Now, platform operators' distribution power has grown so strong that users complete their information intake entirely within the platform they use most frequently—without searching or even following links.

For media companies, decentralizing content distribution dilutes the value of their own platforms, posing a significant business challenge. Traditionally, media had readers, enabling advertising revenue. Now, platform operators hold the users and their data, enabling large-scale targeted distribution, making the media business increasingly difficult.

Furthermore, the brand value of media itself lay in the unique experience of consuming a curated series of content edited on that platform. However, as content becomes unattached to specific media outlets and is consumed in isolation without awareness of its source, building media brands becomes difficult. Platform operators have prepared models to share revenue with decentralized content providers (i.e., media), but these have not yet replaced traditional media revenue models.

Contextual content only media can deliver

Tanaka: Digital Content Next (https://digitalcontentnext.org/), an industry group of top publishers, released survey findings stating that "43% of social media users don't know the original site of the content they encountered." That means nearly half aren't even aware of the content's source site.

Users encounter content on SNS, skim through it, share it, and move on—it rarely sticks in their minds. While the sheer volume of such content is problematic in itself, publishers still must keep producing content.

Recently, Gizmodo Japan underwent a complete redesign to mark its 10th anniversary. We implemented a flat design optimized for smartphone viewing, content delivery compatible with Facebook Instant Articles, AMP support, and other decentralization-focused mechanisms. However, we grappled with the question of what to do with the main site itself.

At Gizmodo Japan, we wanted to provide the best user experience and hospitality for site visitors. Our editorial team and engineers spent months discussing "experiences unique to owned media." As distribution becomes more decentralized, visitors to our site are our most loyal readers. We need to consider the entire post-read experience – whether it's useful, applicable to their work, or shareable.

Konishi: I believe the challenge of enhancing media value lies with the media itself. We must specialize in forming our own media identity to the point where a single title photo or video for a distributed article can embody our brand.

Another key point is content categorization. On platforms where content is re-curated for users, context—the timing and interests relevant to the individual's life—is more important than category-specific content. It's about enabling encounters not just with explicit interests, but also with adjacent, new information.

Nowadays, even with music, listening to an album from start to finish is a luxury; listeners efficiently pick and choose only what they want to hear.

Information is the same. If it's interesting, it doesn't matter if it's from a famous media outlet. What's important is how well it aligns with the times and the user's context. We need to think about content from the user's perspective—their timeline, community, relationships—rather than a media-driven approach.

Tanaka: As for the role of media, even light articles must evoke changes—whether uplifting users' spirits or helping solve problems. This is an era where content won't be consumed without that kind of "after-reading feeling."

Konishi: Media needs to shift towards designing content centered around the lives of users. Previously, we tended to be trapped in the mindset that if we just produced good content, it would be enough. But for users, information they find interesting or personally relevant isn't necessarily the same as what the media thinks is good. Brands have already started shifting towards this perspective.

Therefore, we should focus on the ability to create content within contexts relevant to users—to create contextual content. When readers share it, the information spreads, creating new opportunities to elevate the media's value. NewsPicks is one example; its system works by increasing an article's value as it gets picked up and commented on.

Additionally, publishers must consider how much they can elevate the value of their media as a community directly connected to users. Cultivating passionate fans who perceive the media's information as valuable and relatable will become the lifeline.

Tanaka: While communities come in many forms, if a media outlet can't create an atmosphere where fans genuinely resonate with the information shared—a sense of participation—it won't survive. If personified, Gizmodo Japan aims to be that "enthusiastic friend, the person right beside you who's incredibly knowledgeable in a specific field."

Targeted media like Gizmodo Japan differ from news media in their role and content creation methods, but even news media must be meticulous about how they create and present their content.

Konishi: Lately, I'm interested in hashtags as a form of expression. Things like "hashtag essays" are a kind of collective intelligence of everyone's feelings, or creative works that expand the context of interest. It's also very sensory. Recently, MERY published a magazine where the entire table of contents was in hashtag form, and I thought they really grasped a context they could share with readers. As Tanaka-san said, they're consciously considering the reader's context and changing how content is conveyed within the community.

Tanaka: We're moving beyond just getting people to read articles; it's an era of showing them. We need to devise ways to emotionally engage and visually present content. This isn't limited to the web. Even newspaper TV listings conveying messages through vertical reading are, in a sense, visual presentation techniques. Hashtags also come across visually and convey meaning, so we must consciously incorporate these aspects when creating content.

—How should publishers measure the effectiveness of distributed content?

Tanaka: We need to understand how much content is being viewed across which media. From a measurement perspective, our company has contracted with Simple Reach in the US to develop new analytical metrics. Simple Reach provides publishers with metrics and analytics for brand content marketing.

I believe this new tool was born from the concept that "the relationship between publishers and brands should be reevaluated," with its core focus on adapting to the new information consumption behaviors of consumers in this distributed environment.

When operating multiple media outlets, reporting and analysis can become extremely time-consuming. My personal view is that we should prioritize the purpose of measurement—even if the granularity is somewhat coarse—to grasp trends and make quick decisions for next steps. Reports should be as simple as possible, allowing us to see the data and connect it to the next action.

Content itself becomes the media's brand

—How can media survive going forward?

Tanaka: The content you publish becomes the media brand itself, so it's about how well you can convey the media's unique perspective and worldview. Ideally, even light-hearted content should carry a message.

As I mentioned earlier, readers often engage with content without knowing who produced it. Understanding this, publishers must still embed their brand within the content itself.

Konishi: Regarding distribution formats, viral media are really good at this. They understand that, for example, on Facebook, a single image can become killer content.

Tanaka: Images don't just represent the article; they become a factor in whether readers decide to engage with the content. Even for sponsored advertorials, if the eye-catching image effectively conveys the content's appeal, readers will engage.

Konishi: Also, video content has surged recently. From the perspective of expressing a media outlet's worldview, video is highly effective, and companies are focusing heavily on it.

Tanaka: Our company has also launched a media platform called geneTV. We're adopting the current trend of using time-lapse videos. On Facebook, we're starting initiatives like introducing content solely through video, then supplementing visitors to our site with more detailed information via text. Our editorial team is also shooting videos themselves to explore their effectiveness. We're experimenting with how to communicate through video, not just text and photos, aiming to break beyond traditional boundaries. Going forward, all publishers will likely intensify their focus on video.

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In the latter half, we'll discuss how brands should respond to media fragmentation and whether they should maintain owned media.
Part 2: The Future of Brands Shaped by Decentralized Media