Now that we all know that it’s just a matter of time before the Courier Journal dies a long slow death, where will you be getting your local news from?
The trend towards hyper-local content shall continue but only will start taking mind share if those that do so do it right. Groups like Kentucky Sports Radio pretty much own the keyword phrase “Kentucky sports” and have several venues for content delivery.
Even with giant brands like Urbanspoon and Yelp hitting on the Food niche, local institutions like Louisville Hot Bytes, Edible Louisville, and Consuming Louisville have far richer content and more of it.
The issue remains that owners of these brands want to do more than simply dominate their niche and thus dilute a pure brand into one that’s watered down. Positioning 101 states that the marketing battle takes place in the minds of the consumers who have something akin to ladders for specific products or services.
News is far too broad. “Sports news” is closer but “Kentucky sports news” is even better.
Sites like InsiderLouisville do a better than of communicating the late-breaking, local news items in Louisville faster than any of the competition and they are divided clearly by topic.
But what I’d like to see is the Primary Brand to be something like Louisville Food Reviews by Steve Coomes with InsiderLouisville being the sub-brand. I wonder if they’ll listen to a pitch.
My own entry into this discussion can be found at on this website where I give news and analysis on Louisville real estate. Sure, there’s a taste of Louisville home improvement, Louisville mortgage rates, or Louisville interior design thrown in, but only as it relates to Louisville homes.
I’ll admit, it’s good but could be better.
Maybe that’s what I’ll work on while I’m supposed to be taking my yearly South Carolina vacation.
