A long time ago, I read a book where the main character tries to persuade his dad that he should subscribe to some magazine. He explains to his dad that the magazine aims to educate their readership and to give them insight into blah-blah-blah. “Nonsense!” says his dad,

“The aim of the magazine is to sell more magazines. Same as all magazines.”

This was an epiphany for me. It explained all kinds of things that I had not previously understood.

Whenever you see the media doing something that seems counter-intuitive – something that is not in the customer’s best interest – ask yourself :

“Who is the real customer for this product?”

If the product is media-related, there is a good chance that the customer – the party who pays money for the product – is not the consumer, it’s the advertiser.

[Thanks to Jeff for this last insight]