Although not physical products, various forms of media are sold every day. From movies to software to books to magazine to television to online videos are all consumed by people all over the world. Some of the same principles for sales can be applied to media.
Media has to be careful not to spill its candy in the lobby. Just like too much information about a product can push people away, too much information about a movie can lead people to not want to see it. I believe they call those spoilers. Imagine if your local news tells an entire story in a promo then tells you to watch that story at 5:00. What’s the point? You know the story now so there’s no need to watch. Trailers and promos should ask questions: “Can Arnold Schwarzenegger stop the terrorists in time?” “What are doctors saying about a new over-the-counter medication?” “Will the Steelers ever go to another Super Bowl?” Then, they should shut up, or, in their case, the ads should limit their exposure and also not give too much away. That gets people interested.
Just like with e-commerce, the media can also proliferate in the niches. The pain of needing to be entertained has many paths leading from it. With a simple search, people can find many super specific forms of entertainment. With local news and newspapers, the niche is in the location.
In order to get people interested, media has to find pain. Finding pain for a medium is rather a niche job. Primarily for movies and online videos, the pain is to be entertained. For the news, more pains can be explored. Headlines can cause an array of pains to need to be satisfied like worries about health problems to what did so-and-so celebrity or politician say.
Sometimes it isn’t so much finding the pain that is there but more like creating the pain like I need to know what happens in that movie or book or whatever. However, this can come off as manipulation which can lead to disconnect and mistrust.
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