ESCP Europe Alumni Magazine - n°149 - Juillet/Août 2013 - 21

FoCus

By Christophe AGNUS (MSI 89)

Speed and risk
Involved in online media since 1994, Christophe AGNUS, a former
reporter, has founded some of the main sites of the French online
press. He is now CEO of Elteg (Walabiz, Sopixi), a consulting and
technology firm specialized in the digital transition, and of
sopixi.com, a website for small businesses.

We live an era of unprecedented change, and
unprecedented challenges: recession, financial
crisis, digital revolution, pick the one you prefer.
Or pick them all: they might be linked. And you
better be used to new terms like mobility, cloud
computing, business intelligence and social media. Those terms are globals. Forget the old world
vision. The new world is digital, and global. What
does that mean for executives? Speed. And risk.
Speed
Take a specific business: media. And look how
deep is the impact.
First, the marketplace has changed. Yesterday,
the Dail Mail, in London, was this cheap daily
sold at the metro exit. Today, it is also the third
online daily… in the United States. Just after the
NewYorkTimes.com and the WashingtonPost.
com. The Daily Mail teams have to keep that in
mind when they choose their subjects, as well
as when they write. And new players are arising,
challenging the old players very quickly: five years
after its birth, Mediapart, in France, is an important
player in the french news. In The US, you cannot
ignore Huffington Post, a brand that is expanding
worldwide now. If you sell something, you better
also think of the rising middle classes in countries
like China, India or Brazil. Online, the entire world
is only a second away.
Numerous supports
Secondly, the industry has changed. Yesterday, the
media publisher chose for the publication support
(paper, voice, image?) and the distribution circuit.
The Web first, then the Smartphone and the digital Tablet have created a new paradigm. Today,
it is the reader, the client, who decides on which
support he wants to read the brand he trusts. It is
no longer a «Print», «Radio» or «TV» business, it’s

a «brand» business. And, for the
news, the first channel is the Web.
They also have to become experts
in new domains: SEO, CRM, Data
analytics, in order to anticipate
rapid global market shifts.
Readers’infidelity
Thirdly, the pace has changed.
You no longer have years to make
strategic decisions, betting on the
natural inertia of the readership.
People used to be very faithful to
their daily or magazines. Now, they
skip from one information site to
another very quickly, and discover
new media brands every day. So
media has to cope with very rapid
changes, and they have to take
risks to, not follow but lead the
readership. Example: the mobile
(Smarphone or Tablet).
Adaptation
Some competitors were doubtful when the german media group Springer bought pure players
for huge amounts of money in 2007 and later.
Today, its digital revenues have surpassed its print
revenues. And with a 5,8% raise in profit, 2012
has been a very good year in a globally depressed
market. The ability to change is a survival skill. Old
organizations will die if they can’t evolve. And it
is not an easy task. As Einstein said: «we can’t
solve problems by using the same kind of thinking
we used when we created them». In the media
business, the same teams that have ruled for the
last 30 years are asked to reinvent themselves in
a digital world.
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ESCP Europe Magazine N° 149 - Juillet/Août 2013 -

http://www.sopixi.com http://www.NewYorkTimes.com

Table des matières de la publication ESCP Europe Alumni Magazine - n°149 - Juillet/Août 2013

Couverture
Zapping
Sommaire
BUSINESS
Personnalités du mois Cyril ZIMMERMANN (94) : Un avenir prometteur
Focus
L'appel du numérique
E-learning
Innovation, innovation…
Data is gold
Speed and risk
La fin du e-commerce
Photo réussie !
Managing queues
A win-win situation
The fabulous box
A gateway to Brazil
Itinéraires
Changez vos ampoules !
Grands crus
Manger bon, frais et sain
Entretiens
Maroc
Nouvelles technologies
Cloud
NEWS
Vie du réseau
Etienne PREVOST (MSE 94), Directeur du Who's Who in France
Nominations
Alumni Forum 2013
Groupe Centre
Groupe ESCP Europe au Féminin
Groupe Normandie
Groupe Seniors Actifs
Premier week-end de ski
Agenda/Carnet
À lire
Carrière
Réseaux sociaux, nouvel outil de votre carrière
Managing people remotely
Voyages En voiture !
CAMPUS
École Launching a business in the digital area
Fondation Soutenir les nouvelles générations
Vie étudiante
Toutes voiles dehors !
Changeons nous-mêmes l'éducation !
Let's celebrate curiosity!

ESCP Europe Alumni Magazine - n°149 - Juillet/Août 2013