(Michael P. Smith)

One of the recommended strategies from our teen Internet study, called If it Catches My Eye, is that if media companies want young readers and users, the companies have to go where the teens are in their own media usage.

One newspaper, Goteborgs-Posten in Sweden, has adopted that as a strategy to grow their brand with young readers. Assistant News Editors Anders Golinger and Cecelia Lonnehed gave examples at the Young Readers Round Table of the 61st Congress of the World Association of Newspapers in Goteborg.

The "old strategy" of Goteborgs-Posten might seem pretty progressive to many newspapers. It included creating print and online products for young readers around specific age levels: Younger than 10 years old, 10 to 14 years old, 15 to 19 years old, and 20 to 29 years old. The idea under this strategy was honorable – introduce young people to a branded print product and, once they are in the door, migrate them to the main brand.

The problem with this approach is that increasingly young people find the brand irrelevant to them.

The new strategy – to go where the young people are – began with the newspaper hiring five well-known bloggers who already had their own audience. The bloggers were expert in topics that were relevant to teen-agers. They write on love, shopping, sports, music and entertainment. These were bloggers who brought with them their own underground social networks. The enthusiasts of these networks lived the life-style of community. They embodied the spirit of "we are what we do." In effect, the newspaper built credibility by associating themselves with the credibility of those who had it. The content of this site is then repurposed into a Friday print publication.

Another example of "going to where the young people are" is the acquisition of a fan-produced social network around Swedish sports that features fan TV – fan produced sports videos. When asked why the newspaper did not just produce its own fan site, Golinger explained that was the old way of thinking – we build it and they will come. Instead, we had to go to where the fans already are.


By Michael P. Smith (m-smith3@northwestern.edu)
Michael P. Smith is executive director of the Media Management Center.