Abstract

Newspaper companies have extended their brands through new media. Brand equity is their main competitive advantage. However, most of them do not manage that asset. On the one hand, this article analyses the literature on brand management in media companies. On the other hand, it studies the brand equity of a very reputable newspaper: La vanguardia. We did an extensive survey of nearly 1,200 users. The results show the need for products and corporate behaviour that clearly reflect the editorial principles in order to generate greater brand equity. This article proposes as one of the appropriate means to achieve brand equity the implementation of a comprehensive and strategic communication system. It also encourages the study of other similar cases to verify how newspaper companies manage the value of their brands and to identify methods to help them strengthen it.

Abstract

Newspapers have been affected by a progressive loss of readership over the last decade, especially among those under 24 years old. This group continues to stay informed about topics of their interest, but through social networks. For this reason, the press has incorporated a playful, immersive, and participatory journalism based on technologies such as virtual reality or 360 videos. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis of data obtained from eye tracking, and by subsequently performing semi-structured interviews, this research verifies the attention paid by Spanish and Portuguese university students to violent, immersive, journalistic content. Students’ understanding and awareness of this informative material with violent events is analyzed. The capability of immersive journalism to capture the attention of the public under 24 years old and to raise awareness about social problems based on visualization of violent content is highlighted.