The Problem of Media Brand Expansion

Some large media companies, faced with the crisis associated with the emergence of the Internet, gradually came to the idea of extending the media brand. They sought to create revenue models that would go beyond charging for content and selling audiences to advertisers. Their goal was to use the value of the media brand, expanding it to new products and services. The purpose of this paper is to study how media companies use brand equity with positive, strong and unique associations to facilitate the launch of new, non-traditional media products or services. The subject of the study is the influence of the media brand on the commercial viability of media activities in the context of digitalization. The object of the study is the problem of expanding the media brand. The article examines the experience of foreign and Russian companies in the field of horizontal (media) and vertical (non-media) expansion of the media brand. The study for the first time focuses on the experience of the media holding "Komsomolskaya Pravda", which took initiatives aimed at developing other sources of income to expand the boundaries of the business. Using the method of in-depth interviews conducted with an employee of the online sales service of a media holding in 2019 and 2025, the author studied the long process of creating a full-fledged book publishing house based on the Komsomolskaya Pravda media holding. The experience of this media outlet can be used in the practical activities of editorial offices of Russian media companies. The author came to the conclusion that in the 21st century, media companies began to actively use brand equity with positive associations to facilitate the launch of goods or services on the market. The sale of non-news products is more complex and is only advisable for strong brands with a strong image. It can have a great influence on the attitude towards the additional product, since consumers rely on their impression of the original brand. Strong media brands are positioned in people's minds even when they do not consume them. Media companies are in a unique position in creating and expanding their brand equity. The fact that they own and control communication tools that reach a huge number of consumers every day is a huge asset.