By Matthew Stanton, Metromemetics LLC
(first posted 11/14/2004)
A three-tiered way to look at commercial mass media websites.
Audience Tier One: USERS
The people in this tier generally act like consumers: they want to most value and satisfaction they can get for the least amount of cost. They want to find information, save money, save time, and be entertained.
The largest segment, without which the above tiers have nothing to build on.
Measure based largely on time spend at one site versus time spent with competitors. (Occasionally measure with money for subscription-based sites.)
Audience Tier Two: ADVERTISERS
The people in this tier generally act like salesmen: they want to move products and services to market. They want message exposure to audiences, measured response from ads (either info about users, immediate leads, or direct orders).
The second-largest segment, without which the above tier cannot continue to operate.
Measure by perception of impact (in terms of branding campaigns) tracked results on clickthroughs or fulfillment (in terms of direct e-commerce transactions).
Audience Tier Three: OWNERS
The people in this tier generally act like managers: they want business operations to succeed. The simplest metric here is profit margin, but less tangiable benefits must include business flexibility, the ability to respond quickly to changing markets, and global reach of the company’s brand.
The smallest segment, yet the one most short-term influence over the media product.
Measure by profits and market position.