MEDIA COMPARISON PAPER

Media Comparison Paper

Media Comparison Paper

Introduction

ACME Publishing is a leading global technology company, operating in over 30 countries on 6 continents. The Group provides solutions and services that optimize and manage the performance of IT infrastructures to enable businesses to build a competitive advantage. (Mintzberg, 1999) ACME Publishing Australia was first established in 1987 and provides Plan, Build and Support services that can reduce cost, decrease risk, remove complexity and improve productivity. With a strong national presence, ACME Publishing Australia can service the IT needs of Australian corporate and government organizations both locally and internationally.

The Online Development (OD) line of business is a major part of the ACME Publishing strategy for IT solutions. The primary focus of the OD team is to develop a roadmap for our clients that provides a methodology and toolkit for identifying, structuring, and building successful solutions. The technological media boom helped the OD team soar to massive heights in profitability and revenue, even though there were major weaknesses in methodologies and management. The past year has seen some major restructuring within the OD team which was deemed necessary to sustain the business. (Howarth, 2003) These effects of these changes have now been stabilised and it appears that staff morale and productivity have risen to industry benchmarks.

The focus of the next upcoming years is to not only streamline these defined processes but also grow the business. It is envisaged, that by implementing the changes defined in this plan, the business can grow by 20% in the next 3 financial years. This increase is in keeping with industry predictions and will secure the future of the OD team. (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel, 2000)

Current Marketing Situation and Media

The Market Situation

The internet and technological revolution was considered over after the bursting of the .com bubble which led to myriad companies filing for voluntary administration. It was followed closely with the attacks of September 11th which further hindered the restoration and growth of this industry. However, this is a revolution that refuses to die, and has now developed to being critical and integral to our lives and businesses.

According to Howarth (2003), "IT companies have a strong optimism for 2004, including a willingness to invest in new applications and infrastructure." (Howarth 2003, 3) Cost cutting, a big feature of IT departments in the past three years, is still important for many companies, but is no longer the sole imperative. Companies are finally lifting their investment in security technology, e-business applications and communications infrastructure. While nobody in the industry expects IT spending to surge, there is cautious optimism that spending will, at least, return to normal levels in 2004.

The OD team is participating in a $14 billion a year market in Australia alone. It is also envisaged that this market will have a growth rate of 20% over the next three years.

The Product Situation

The OD team markets two primary products, custom consulting service and packaged offerings. Custom consulting services are client specific and unique to each ...