Introduction
In an age where electronic data is regarded as an all-time high due to the convenience, consumers receive through their smartphones/Ipads, etc. The gradual shift from paper to electronic copies has given a different experience to consumers in which information has been accessible and abundant with a wide variety of topics a user can experience with electronic coverage. In this project, we are aiming to create a media application/website that will be a reliable source of information about key activities and current political events, international affairs, business news, sports news on current topics. Our media site will give readers an absolute understanding of what’s happening in all news forums as well as up to date news that we hope to deliver to the Sri Lankan audience in Sri Lanka and abroad before any other media site.
Target Market
The target market we aim to provide this service to will vary from 18 years onwards. Due to the media site covering all three languages, we aim to target all three ethnic groups in Sri Lanka. We have understood that majority of Sri Lankans have access to smartphones and laptops. Therefore, this project is commercially viable. Also, Sri Lankans all over the world, especially in countries such as Australia, Canada and Italy can only stay in touch through electronic media coverage. Therefore, we hope to provide an excellent service for larger target audiences who want to feel connected with their motherland.
Our Aim
The purpose of establishing an online media site is that more people can be reached regarding large target audiences as the shift from hard copies has diverted to digital media in the last decade, this has paved the way for a more convenient and efficient way for people to be updated with news even when they are on the move.Currently, the media site Daily Mirror is the perceived market leader. However, the primary reason behind their success has been due to the lack of creative edge in competition and their independence in reporting.
We believe that Universal Media Networks will help consumers in Sri Lanka understand the true and unbias picture of what is currently happening in Sri Lanka. We hope to give an exact representation of the political ongoings in an unbias manner favouring no one. We will not only be targeting political news but also many other categories that will differentiate us from other sites, examples are as follows:
Business news – Currently in the market, there is a missing gap in which other media sites do not cover international finance news and only dwell on the domestic. In our case, we will focus on both areas.
Events – The latest local shows and upcoming international performances in Sri Lanka will be featured, as well as the events hosted by neighbouring regions such as India and Maldives. Also, domestic business, political and social events will be accessible for users with an option of live stream.
Reviews – Due to the demand in customer reviews nowadays, we take this opportunity to be innovative amongst the competition, therefore Universal Media Networks will have hotel/restaurant/nightlife reviews that will give locals and tourists precise information regarding prices and quality of services.
Political news – On the spot, fast and reliable political news will be our priority. We hope to give viewers the facts with our ethical approach to news, an independent approach will be taken at all times.
Lifestyle – With a rise in income levels and a new trend of living healthy, we aim to provide readers with exercise techniques, dietary plans and physical workout routines (using the services of an industry expert who is widely accepted). Also, we will establish ourselves as the preferred portal in Sri Lanka with new features such as Healthcare, beauty tips, fashion. Once again; we are establishing ourselves amongst competitors with new features such as lifestyle, whereas existing competition do not have any of the mentioned features.
Sports – With the rise of cricket in our nation, and Sri Lankan cricketers participating in curbing a way to bring the sport to a higher level, we at Universal Media Networks will provide live streams on all the latest matches as well as performance reviews and highlights of the recent games.
Market-driven approach
Around 75-80% of people in Sri Lanka own a mobile phone now. Although this is higher in comparison to South Asia (30%) and the developing world (40%), mobile ownership in Sri Lanka is on the rise. Over the last five years, subscriber growth in Sri Lanka has been driven by a combination of three factors – (i) increasing household incomes, with GDP per capita increasing 12% per year from 2009–14, (ii) expanded mobile network coverage with as much as 90% of the population now covered by 2G networks and 70% by 3G, and (iii) increasing competition between the mobile operators which has had a knock-on effect in lowering prices for consumers which has given majority low income groups opportunity of using smartphones. There is still headroom for subscriber penetration in the country. On the face of it, the bulk of this growth would come from closing the urban-rural divide – current mobile ownership is around 73% in urban cities as compared to 42% in rural areas. Given that the majority (85%) of the population resides outside of cities, even if rural ownership plateaued at 50%, this still implies an incremental rise of 1.2 million people based on current levels which strongly indicates that there is a large potential in this market to profiteer if the correct strategy is implemented.
From the diagram above, it is evident the Sri Lankan mobile network market has increased in the recent years with free WIFI and 4G connections being readily available for users. Therefore, an increase in the free internet will be a dominant factor in releasing our media site as the target audience may have increased as well as the accessibility of internet and smartphones have increased in the low-income groups in the recent years, which means that our site will apply to anyone in any income category.
Our Unique Selling Point (USP)
Our USP is clear and evident; we would be the first news media site that would be covering not only political news but also will be highlighting local and international business news, leisure news, events, reviews and many more sub-categories which will be formulated in due course. Our competitors have not taken advantage of current market conditions, which we have identified. Sri Lanka is now positioning itself as a tourist hub for internationals, therefore not only will be providing services for locals but also will be a useful platform for tourists to compare prices for hotels, restaurants and events. With the rise of digital applications such as “trip advisor” and “YAMU” giving ratings for places of leisure, we at Universal Media Networks hopes to combine political news with other categories of readers interests, which has not been implemented by other rival sites. Universal Media Networks hopes to provide an all round service of accurate, non-biases and independent news for hourly up to date readers. On the succession of the website a prospect, a mobile application will be developed in which consumers of smartphones can be notified with each news update instantly as well as having access to live streams on many categories ranging from political debates, social events, technological advancements and sporting events.
Download Universal Media Networks – Company Profile
