Media Week

In the dimly-lit bedrooms of sandy-haired indie kids all over Scotland, you can just about hear tearful snuffles above the mournful wail of Joy Division's Isolation.

And why shouldn't they weep? Indie station Xfm is to be no more, rebranded instead as part of the mainstream dance Galaxy network.

Whichever stations' playlist you prefer, and in truth there's good and God-awful on both, Xfm as a brand stood for far more than the blandness of Galaxy ever could.

It's true to say that Xfm has become far more commercial than it was in its ramshackle pirate beginnings, but when the music scenes it represents have been wholly co-opted by Bigco looking for a bit of scruffy hair cool, in comparison it held up well.

And what now for the London and Manchester stations? Are they, as Global currently suggests, big enough music cities to make safe an even slightly edgy station such as Xfm?

It would be a great shame for the decade-plus, dedicated work of certain Xfm staff to establish the station amongst the bland radio output of the UK, for it to be dumped in favour of a network sell more in tune with advertisers' requirements.

But we'll see. I suggest you listen while you can, because for all its flaws, Xfm would be greatly missed if it became no more.

In the latest edition of Mediaweek.tv, now showing, Mirror Group's David Emin, in discussion with TMG's Dave King about the future of newspapers, makes a point about traditional newspapers' ability to differentiate themselves from other online news sources, which he describes as "very parasitic".

It's a fair point - and a good sell. Online news is parasitic and traditional news organisations bring an air of authority, for the most part, which is almost impossible to replicate.

Unfortunately, it's immaterial. Seeing ones work plagiarised can but frustrating, but watching a story build momentum as it flicks across the web can also be exhilarating. It could be argued the "parasites" are more akin to bumble bees, pollinating stories and helping them to grow beyond the means they are capable of on their own.

Whichever argument you favour, the practice is not going to dissipate. And from a reader's perspective, who cares? Profiting from digital is proving tough. Exploiting content over which publishers have increasingly less control will make it even tougher.

You can, and we do, buy anything online, from second-hand motors, to forms of depravity that would make most of us wince.

Entire lives - shopping, banking, taxis and tax returns - can be run from a local Starbucks with a laptop and a wireless connection.

The fact that we cannot currently undertake the seemingly simple task of browsing media inventory, putting together a package and purchasing it at the click of a button is, frankly, archaic.

The British media industry is rightly lauded for its technological and creative advances. Why, therefore, is it taking so long for us to accept the inevitable?

There are a number of platforms on the verge of a UK launch, such as Media Equals and BuyNowMedia. But even taking the complex issues at play within media into account, it can only be a lack of will on the part of the industry to dip its collective toe that means we currently lag behind the average housewife from Rotherham when it comes to running our day-to-day business.

There are, of course, questions that need answering. Will centralising inventory devalue media owners' stock? Will an online platform really make us more efficient or will we have to, God forbid, add to headcount - bidding experts, anyone? Can a single platform ever be compatible with the multitude of ways in which media is bought and sold, not to mention with our quirky, individual booking systems?

Speak to the platform purveyors and they have reassuring answers. In reality, it will take time and cooperation between agencies, media owners and developers before online trading becomes a valuable, integrated part of the sales process.

Even then, product differentiation will remain key and well-trained sales staff will be more important than ever. It is possible for online trading to complement, not destroy, the intricate buying and selling skills that agencies and media owners have honed over decades, to create efficiencies and add value to once derelict stock. It can bring new customers into the market, but only if we offer compelling wares and a compelling way in which to buy them. Getting involved now gives us the opportunity to shape the inevitable

The "are we talking ourselves into a media recession?" question is one increasingly heard in the industry.

Apart from the irritation of its hand-wringing, woe-is-us quality, it is, of course, a ridiculous question. First, because to all intents and purposes we are in a media recession already; and second, because the implication is that, if only we stopped talking about it, the dreaded "R" word would be avoided. As if. Anyone who prevaricates about this is doing themselves no favours.

Agencies and media owners can help themselves by taking the difficult decisions now, trimming whatever fat there is and getting ready to bounce back leaner and fitter.

Let us all pay heed to the strategy behind our upcoming Olympic endeavour. Team GB comprises some athletes whose real medal chances lie not in Beijing - from where they are expected to return stronger and more experienced if not laden with gold - but four years hence in London.

Team Media GB can get itself in shape by putting the training schedules in place now (why, incidentally, is training one of the first lines to be cut when the going gets tough?), setting targets and preparing for the media bonanza that will surely come in 2012, if not before.

As our feature (Media Week, August 5, page 25) reveals, ZenithOptimedia predicts that the Beijing Olympics is generating an additional $1bn of ad expenditure. Nielsen research shows that ad spend in China is up 20% year on year in the first quarter, a figure expected to rise in the second and third.

Of course, 60 million portly Brits will not generate the same uplift as 1.3 billion brand-hungry Chinese and a clutch of Western multinationals desperate to serve them, but the prospects are nonetheless exciting.

There's nothing like an Olympic ad blitz to test the ingenuity of media owners and agencies. The former will seek to find new ways to engage audiences, thus tapping into advertiser cash. The latter will have to find solutions for clients, large and small, who will expect their message to be heard in a cacophony of noise.

Four years sounds like a marathon. But being fit to compete for gold when the finishing line comes into view in 2012 is a worthy goal. Training starts now.