One of the recurring series of the Future Media Lab. blog are posts that include short interviews with representatives of different media or related sectors to gain a glimpse of the future of media through their eyes. We continue this series with an interview with Jean-Jacques Deleeuw, Head of New Media at RTL Belux (Luxembourg).
FML: Representative of the Future Media Lab.
JJD: Jean-Jacques Deleeuw
Who will pay for quality journalism in 2050?
I hope a lot of people. If they don’t pay directly, they can pay indirectly – using a “freemium” way to monetise content. But I’m sure people will pay in some way. We have to invent a new business model.
We are already looking at new ways to monetise content – pay walls, transactional methods, sponsors, advertising. We will find a new way.
What will advertising campaigns look like?
In the year 2050 I think they will be one-to-one more than one-to-many. There will be really targeted advertising, which isn’t too intrusive. Advertising as an industry engine will stay.
Will mobile be the only media of the future?
No, I don’t think it will. It will be really big – we are already seeing it grow every day – but I think like every media in history, it’s just a case of adding one to another. So mobile will be the most importance – but we will keep other forms of media, including paper, as a niche.
How will brands connect and where will be the growth?
The brands will connect like they do today. Each brand has its own DNA – there is an evolution in platforms, but the DNA stays unchanged.
Services will provide the growth. If you give content – that’s the first service, but you can also give specific, customised content and make content and ecommerce work together.
Who will disrupt the disruptors?
People move from one thing to the next really quickly. What we see on TV is the big use of the second screen – social TV; so people have a lot of devices and they are using them together. You have to think of the media differently, see them operating all together – companies working on content are always full of imagination and try to find new ways to touch the customer.
What will the media landscape look like in 2050?
I see big companies and lots of little ones working on niche subjects and areas. Both can work together.
The journalists will follow the devices – you will always need people to be the curators, to get good information. You will always need journalists – but they will have to adapt.
