WSJ AND MURDOCH MUST PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

The news confirms that the times are indeed changing at the Wall Street Journal!  Managing Editor, Marcus Brauchli, will be stepping down as the top editor –apparently as a result of friction with the boss, Rupert Murdoch, over the vision for the paper. Here’s the story.

Fact is, that despite the negative press, Murdoch is very, very good at what he does with newspapers.  He knows how to see value in a brand and then develop that value!  And he knows that the newspaper/media landscape is changing so rapidly that those who don’t keep up will perish!  That’s the Murdoch brand.  The Wall Street Journal brand is about solid reporting, financial and otherwise, and established, loyal readership.

What’s happening here is a classic clash of the brands, except it’s clear that Murdoch’s vision will win in the end!  And that vision is probably about making the Wall Street Journal a serious USA Today competitor while retaining its financial reporting roots and that loyal readership!

The problem isn’t so much with Murdoch’s vision as much as it is with getting there successfully!  There is bound to be conflict in the ranks of the paper as changes take place, but the key toward growing the Wall Street Journal brand is to show the readership that these changes are a natural extension of the brand and will only add to reader value!  This is tricky and by no means is success guaranteed!  After all, the readers who liked the quirky features or bought WSJ because it wasn’t USA Today or The New York Times might quickly become alienated.  But Murdoch has been studying the workings of his new acquisition and probably knows where he can push and where he can’t.

That said, in terms of implementation, the changes should not be abrupt, but happen over several years so that committed readers can adjust to them and be reassured that the old WSJ isn’t gone, but instead is being steadily improved.   I sure hope that they take a page from the packaged goods people and do a lot of market research –both qualitative (focus groups) and quantitative (surveys).  Editorial types often reject these methods, but the WSJ has got to go right to their present readers to learn what they do and don’t like about their beloved brand and makes changes based on real data!

Improvement and added reader value, must be the cornerstone of this Brandover!  In this context, making sure that everyone on the staff shares this vision (or at least doesn’t fight it) is imperative and that’s why this latest departure sounds like a necessary first step!

Stay tuned!

And, remember, it’s always easier when you keep branding in mind!