Brian Fuller’s blog on the state of media and communications

News review and the Grocer Analogy

Posted on | October 18, 2006 | No Comments

I’ve been knee-deep in a months-long reorganization and suffering from attention deficit on this blog. Internally, we’ve gotten leaner and meaner and more unified as a media team; externally the media world has not collapsed.

All of which brings us around to a central point: the driver here is Wall Street. Returns have been rather awful in general since 2001 but there’s money, and that money is burning holes in pockets looking for some ROI. You’re not going to find it by squeezing the life of publishing houses. More valuable customers shop at Whole Foods, on average, because they buy the quality and consistency. They’ll come back consistently and create a wonderful revenue stream. A store that relies on pricing and just good enough products (Albertson’s for example) has a totally different type of customer–one that would bolt the moment a cheaper alternative appeared in the neighborhood.
Odd analogy, to be sure, but hang with me on it. (Truth in advertising: I actually straddle both. I’ll shop at Safeway because it’s near and inexpensive but when you’re prepping a big meal and want the best ingredients, that’s not where I end up shopping).

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