University of Minnesota - (CEMBA) UMN Executive Leadership Insights
C-Scape
Book

C-Scape

Conquer the Forces Changing Business Today

Larry Kramer
HarperBusiness, 2010
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Editorial Rating

7

getAbstract Rating

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Recommendation

To a carpenter, a hammer fixes every problem; to a media mogul immersed in TV networks and digital technologies, better use of media can solve every marketing issue. That’s the framework for Larry Kramer’s book, which explores the constantly shifting forces of the digital age. Kramer, founder of MarketWatch, Inc. and former president of CBS Digital Media, calls these forces the “four C’s” – “consumers, content, curation and convergence.” This “C-scape” endows individuals with the power to increasingly call the shots and constrains companies to focus more and more on media for their ultimate success. Kramer’s front-row seat in constructing the current media landscape provides the book’s rich anecdotes and illustrative case studies, but readers outside the media business will have a harder time figuring out how to harness the four C’s. Nonetheless, getAbstract recommends this look at how digital technology has altered business to marketers and executives. Learn about the C-scape from someone who had a hand in creating it.

Summary

It’s All Media

Businesses conduct almost every aspect of their activities in the media. Advertising, marketing, sales, customer service, product design, employee recruiting and development all have media components. But traditional media formats are in trouble. Print newspapers are losing subscribers; major music, film and broadcasting networks are struggling. Most people attribute this to “technological convergence” – the coming together of different media types onto single devices like smartphones. While that’s true, it doesn’t go far enough in explaining how businesses can make practical changes to incorporate new digital technologies into their operations.

Four forces are altering the way people respond to media in general: “consumers, content, curation and convergence.” These “four C’s” affect traditional business models because they each reshape how individuals obtain news and information. These forces work in conjunction with each other and are constantly evolving. In the process, this “C-scape” gives consumers extraordinary power, elevates the quality of content, makes information management critical and demonstrates that media convergence is a constant...

About the Author

Larry Kramer teaches media management at Syracuse University. He was the first president of CBS Digital Media, and is the founder and former chairman and CEO of MarketWatch, Inc.

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