The Newspaper Association of America recently invited SonicRim CEO, Uday Dandavate, to organize a panel discussion on Consumer-Driven Product Development at its 2008 Marketing Conference at the Orlando World Center Marriott, February 24-27, 2008.
Over 2000 representatives of the newspaper industry attended this panel discussion. The audience had a great interest in the future of digital medium and the media consumption habits of the younger generation. The newspaper industry wants to use generative methods to explore the future of media products and to identify appropriate marketing/advertising strategies that align with emerging behaviors and aspirations of the audience.
The panel of speakers was comprised of Mike Seery of The Economist Group, Anna Kirah of Future Alliances, and Uday Dandavate, Founder and CEO of SonicRim.
During his presentation, Uday presented an overview of new tools, new rules, and emerging opportunities for the newspaper industry in a convivial society. Dandavate emphasized that people need new tools to work for them rather than tools that force them to adapt. The three new tools he highlighted as part of the emerging convivial society included Wikipedia, YouTube, and the Web. He explained that the rules for delivering content have changed; people want to configure content the way they want it when they want it. He proposed that newspaper companies could develop innovative products and marketing strategies by harnessing people’s curiosity, imagination, and creativity.