OPINION: How media brands can adapt to the tablet format

By providing a good user experience, as much as by controlling that experience, Apple has reduced the operator share of the mobile content pie to a sliver.

It is a given that operators want to compete more effectively in the mobile content space, especially as they already have the assets to do so – massive customer reach and existing billing relationships.

But the question is, how can they go about doing so?

One answer is by learning the lessons of the ‘old media’ world. Put the consumer in the room and aggressively remodel your strategy around what that consumer wants: what  they want to consume, when and how frequently they want to consume it, and how they want it presented.

Once you’ve done that, you need a mobile content editor to maintain the unique personality of your offering as suggested by that consumer.

If you want proof that consumers want a uniquely curated mobile experience, you need look no further than the huge success of apps like Flipboard and Pulse, neither of which originated with today’s media powerhouses.

So what are today’s media giants doing in the world of apps to curate the mobile experiences they offer? The Guardian’s app makes use of the specific hardware of the iPhone but has a content strategy along the lines of ‘make it the same as the website’.

Ditto the Telegraph. Its app  was crafted after ‘analysing the feedback from 130,000 people’ who downloaded its predecessor and concluding that all they wanted was a digital edition of the existing paper. That suggests to me that they didn’t ask the right questions.

Only my old boss, Rupert Murdoch, a consistent, successful innovator, has truly embraced the new medium, with his iPad-only newspaper, The Daily.

Based on the advice of Jobs himself, the paper is dedicated to a single platform, giving its management and editorial teams the best chance of finding out how the readers of a mobile device prefer to consume content.

Even as you read this they’re gathering the information they need to stay popular and relevant in a world soon to be dominated by tablets.

But media brands and operators aren’t the only ones who need to consider the rhythm of app publishing when they formulate their digital strategies – all brands do.

Consumers have come to expect digital updates; Microsoft Windows service packs and the like have made sure of that.

Brands with apps need to work out when, where, and how users want to interact with them before they can take advantage of having that connection; failing to do so is the easiest way to ensure your app sits unused after the novelty has worn off.

Ultimately, when it comes to apps, you’ve got to find the rhythm before you can dance. 

* Mike Anderson is the former MD of The Sun, News of the World, Evening Standard, and Metro newspapers. He is now CEO of the Chelsea Apps Factory, an app development and consultancy house based in West London.