Dive summary:
- Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos announced recently that he has become the new owner of The Washington Post for the price of $250 million.
- Speculation has been flying around as to why Bezos would want the struggling, yet well respected, publication; most likely the purchase is the first step in developing a large scale model for promotional content.
- For years, there have been two main staples to monetize publications: advertising and subscriptions; this buy from Bezos is another testament to a third avenue emerging: content as a promotional tool, and with Amazon's e-commerce, affiliate marketing, and video behind him, the results could be a game changer.
From the article:
"Amazon’s purchase of The Washington Post represents the next logical step in 'owned media,' the purchase of a major media outlet by a major marketer in order to sell directly to the public.
In effect, e-commerce is starting to play the role once solely reserved for advertising, monetizing content through promoting the sale of products and services."
