Media Product in a Dual Media Market: Media Marketing Interpretation and Distinction of Exchange Products in the Attention Economy

Innovative media environment, new platform media, and complex monetization models require media products to be interpreted within the duality of the media market and the attention economy. This article clarifies the concept of media product within the logic of media marketing. It is different from the service of providing advertisers with access to prospective audiences within the duality of the media market and the attention economy. The authors developed a media marketing interpretation of media products as audience market goods and substantiated the distinction between exchange products in the dual media market. The research methodology relied on an interdisciplinary comparison of marketing and media communications approaches, as well as conceptual and structural-functional analyses of empirical cases of Russian and platform media. Media products and advertising services were described as distinct products of media companies targeting different markets, i.e., audiences and advertisers. This approach made it possible to identify the key attributes of a media product and its commodity status in the audience market. In media marketing, a media product demonstrated informational, engaging, economic, and mediation functions. The article introduces a model of media marketing interactions that consists of attention brokers and recipients’ attention. The findings expand the analytical capabilities of media market research and can be used in media marketing and media management.