Traditional Media and Their Internet Spin-Offs: An Explorative Study on Key Levers for Online Success and the Impact of Offline Reach

Abstract

This study examines factors that account for the success of traditional media's Internet spin-offs in terms of attracted users and the page impressions they generate. Based on empirical data pertaining to the German market, we derive a model explaining online success through the reach of the parent offline medium regarded as given, and the varying degrees to which 5 key levers are employed by the Web site management. The analysis demonstrates that differences in offline reach, considered as one of the main assets of traditional media to leverage online, account for only about a third of the differences in the number of users and for about a tenth of the differences in page impressions. Although the argument for the importance of offline reach (i.e., the brand equity to be leveraged online) is theoretically convincing, this analysis illustrates that the large differences in page impressions and the number of users still are predominantly due to the considerable disparities in manageable levers, inherently independent of offline reach. By benchmarking these levers, the analysis elucidates that managers of online spin-offs are far from maximizing online success.