When small really means big

Think Small.

In 1959, New York ad agency DDB created a legendary campaign for the VW Beetle with their “Think Small” tagline. One ad, depicting a small VW Beetle on a mostly blank page, remains iconic to this day.

Ad agency DDB conceived of the campaign at a time when American motoring ads focused on the size, power and style of cars. DDB’s campaign, considered by many as the best of the 20th century, changed perceptions (and sales of the Beetle) en masse and in enduring ways.

Showing that small can be big.

I was reminded of this in a recent conversation about “niche” or “specialist” media when a colleague told me about a media service provider who claimed “niche media” is too small a market to be of interest to them.

Really?

Since we launched Media Makers Meet – Mx3 (formerly Di5rupt) in late 2021, we contended that niche or vertical media offers exceptional opportunities for creators and consumer and B2B media companies.

In October 2022, our first Mx3 summit focused on this sector. In March 2024, we will do it again with Mx3 Barcelona – for the leaders, innovators and mavericks in specialist media (see mx3barcelona.com or read on for more below).

This is because we believe in media’s ability to build deep relationships around topics of interest, whether it’s hobbyists, enthusiasts or professionals. We believe in the power of media targeting products and services at well-defined, interest-based communities.

We are not alone in thinking that niches or verticals provide big and sustainable business opportunities.

Below, I:

Look at what others say
Look at what our research shows
Bring it around back to the VW Beetle
Give a very quick overview of Mx3 Barcelona
Explain how to contact us with creative speaker and partnership proposals

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What others say

In December 2020, NiemanLab’s predictions for journalism included “going niche”. Tshepo Tshabalala wrote, “The future resilience of the world’s media lies in focusing on niche audiences and verticals.”

A year later, in December 2021, media analyst, author, and publisher Thomas Baekdal wrote, “When we look at media trends, we see that niches dominate media success stories…

“However, this is also slightly misleading because niches are not really what you think they are. When you hear the word niche, most people think about it as something small, narrow and with a limited audience. And yes, that is also a niche. But, the definition of a niche is more complex.

“For instance, did you know that Facebook is becoming a niche? That all the new things that The New York Times is doing are niches? And the reason people subscribe to Disney+ is because of its niche elements?

“No? Well, let’s talk about this.”

In a report released in January 2023 by the worldwide newspaper association WAN-Ifra, the opening paragraphs read, “There’s a pattern that emerges when you look at publishers that are succeeding in the digital news environment. These tend to be companies that are committed to identifying specific target audiences, learning their needs and interests, and producing journalism that meets their expectations. In other words, providing general news to the public is no longer enough.”

Simply look at The New York Times with their Wirecutter, The Athletic and Wordle acquisitions. There is method here, and for the news sector the method also lies in going after lucrative niches.

In May 2023, Axios co-founder Jim VanDeHei wrote (in the context of AI and the future of media), “The days of gaming social media algorithms are going to come to an abrupt – and needed – end.

“Commoditised or general interest content will fade in value. Any company betting on high traffic seems doomed. The demand for subject matter expertise will rise fast.

“Prepare for a world of fewer big, generic brands – but more and better niche companies aimed at your passions.”

We already see this rise in subject matter expertise with the number of creator-led newsletters focused on interest-based audiences. One measurable example of this is Substack, where, according to Backlinko, subscribers rose from less than 100,000 in March 2020 to 500,000 a year later, in February 2021.

On 28 February this year, Substack announced that it now has more than 20 million monthly active subscribers and 2 million paid subscriptions to writers on the platform. Sure, we are not talking Big Tech-esque numbers, but then, the name of the game for all these writers is owning direct reader relationships around topics of interest, not chasing ad dollars with Facebook-inflated traffic.

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What our research shows

Earlier this year, we launched two reports (free to download) focused on media for interest-based communities.

The first one focused on Innovators in Specialist Media in Europe (B2B focus). In this report, we profiled 20 companies, surveyed 56 business leaders and identified seven ideas and strategies for specialist media businesses across audience, content, product, events, marketing, subscriptions and technology.

Our survey covered business leaders overseeing companies with turnover from €1 million to well over €50 million. The top three opportunities they identified were:

Diving deeper into niches
Exploring and implementing AI
New product development ideas

Download the Innovators in Specialist Media Europe report here.

Our second relevant report was from the FIPP World Media Congress in June, which we organise and host. The central message from several speakers at the conference is that thanks to the mechanisms of the Internet for delivery and monetisation, niche media – or media for interest-based communities – is at the centre of a publishing revival.

Jacob Donnelly, media commentator and founder of A Media Operator, put it succinctly while speaking at Congress, “The only way to success in media is through niches.” Download the Media for Interest-Based Communities from FIPP Congress here.

Specialist media is a vibrant sector with solid prospects because they develop:

Deep ties with their interest-based communities.
Deep knowledge and understanding of their communities.
Products and services that address the interests people are passionate about.
Diversified revenue models around the interests communities most care about.

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Back to the VW Beetle

No doubt many people bet against the VW Beetle succeeding in the US in the 1950s.

They shouldn’t have.

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About Mx3 Barcelona

Join us on 12-13 March 2024 for Mx3 Barcelona – for the leaders, innovators and mavericks in specialist media. There is a lot to unpack.

We follow an atypical approach with our Mx3 events. Here are five:

A limitation on the number of attendees.
All speaker conversations are strictly off-the-record.
Various round-table opportunities to dive into topics.
An easy-going atmosphere aimed at fostering connections.
An off-site get-together evening for further informal socialising and conversations.