REPUBLIK – The media brand with the Apple effect
As Wilhelm Busch said: “As soon as someone has a bit of something, there are those who are annoyed by it”. REPUBLIK’s crowdfunding record provokes the Tages-Anzeiger and the NZZ. The “Tagi” writes of “pack euphoria” and the “NZZ am Sonntag” is impressed by the “marketing coup” but is sure: “The saga of the broken media system is a nice little advertising lie”. The conclusion of the NZZ article is somewhat perfidious, wishing “a good start”, even though such a start would completely contradict the objections formulated.
What the newspapers don’t want to understand is that, for the time being, the initiative offers everything that makes a brand desirable. Nothing more, but nothing less either. REPUBLIK presents itself as authentic, relevant and distinctive. Authentic because the brand is backed by journalists who gave up secure jobs to pursue a passionate vision. Relevant, because the brand creates a high emotional value even before the product launch – something that Tesla and Apple from Silicon Valley usually manage to do, but which is rather rare for a start-up from Zurich’s Langstrasse. Differentiation, because the journalistic community is good at bemoaning the decline of the fourth estate but lacks the courage to do anything about it. And when was the last time that Tagi or the NZZ actually created a media brand that received as much approval and money right from the start as REPUBLIK did even before its launch? Exactly.
But professional cynics can hope. The near future is tricky for REPUBLIK for several reasons. Firstly, rapid success does not necessarily lead to humility. It’s hard not to think you’re great when hearts and francs are flying your way in unexpected numbers. But in journalism in particular, the doers who are plagued by constant self-doubt are usually the best. Journalists who are very sure of themselves are more likely to move into PR, where they can finally get paid what they think they deserve. So success can make them lethargic. Secondly, so many more resources suddenly make so much more possible. There is a risk of diluting the clear brand positioning. REPUBLIK is already showing signs of this: It was launched to contribute to a functioning democracy and to “provide clarity and an overview of the big issues, questions and debates”. Now its creators want to use additional funds to buy texts from prestigious sources abroad. But even the “Weltwoche” can do this, and it is neither in the spirit of the brand promise nor really differentiating. And thirdly, success makes you blind. It is easy to forget that every start-up has to pay a lot of dues after the first product launch. This is particularly true for media products. The first issue of a new publication has always been the worst, and none of the founders want to remember it. The core journalistic service for which REPUBLIK is receiving so much attention and money today will probably take much more time and resources to develop than is currently thought.
The best thing to do is to for REPUBLIK is to completely mistrust the initial success and save the extra money for difficult times. And hopefully stay true to the current brand promise. Truly successful brands resist the temptation to expand their brand core and remain focused. Clear positioning is a prerequisite for building brand trust. Trust that, in this case, must lead to a loyal readership willing to pay. If this succeeds, the chances are good that this new media brand will prevail and enrich our country as a “lean, powerful magazine” with “journalism without bullshit”.