Monetization of digital newspapers: Experimentation with brand extension and buying influence

Abstract

With digitization, journalistic companies tested out different ways of creating value through the capabilities that technology provides. Online newspapers applied the experience they had with their print versions to brand extensions, aiming to build revenue models that went beyond the classic models for advertising and charging for content. Their goal was to leverage brand value by expanding their name to a new product. This study focuses on Unidad Editorial, which undertook various initiatives testing the power of the digital brand elmundo.es and expanding the boundaries of the business. We use information obtained from 23 semistructured in-depth interviews with executives from the early days of their online business to the present, providing a comprehensive picture. Elmundo.es’s experimentation with brand extensions and other non-advertising revenue sources helps us understand digital media’s shift towards charging for content –which the Covid-19 pandemic provided a favorable environment for– in their search for alternatives to compensate for the decline in advertising revenue. New brand extension projects, for which brand strength and consistency with the original product are determinative, remain open. In addition, these new practices will be subject to the journalistic companies’ investment capabilities.