Overview
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The publishing conundrum
Traditional media and publishers writ large are struggling to maintain high-quality experiences while balancing the need for advertising revenue.
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From ad-based to hybrid-based
Running a quality media website with ads as the primary revenue source is no longer a safe bet. Subscriptions may also leave money on the table. Publishers need to balance content and ad experiences to excel.
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Customer data provides a path forward
First-party data provides publishers with the context they need to craft experiences that are unobtrusive and seamless with a visitor’s experience.
Few industries have been hit as hard as the media and publishing industry. Newspapers, trade journals, magazines and more have lost circulation or closed. Book publishers battle over e-books and distribution rights. Streaming is now standard and Blockbuster, famously, is no more. Most everyone knows what happened: digital technology provided an easier, faster, and cheaper medium to relay the same information.
Still, the media and publishing industry lives — even if it has drastically changed. But how has the industry adapted to today’s digital-first world? In 2019, we surveyed our media and publishing customers for their opinion on the state of their industry. You can find the results of the survey and data on the use of webinars within the industry in our report, “ON24 Webinar Benchmarks Report: Media and Publishing Trends.”
What we found is an industry growing more agile and resilient. Still, there are some problems — from subscriptions and ads to digital experiences — that publishers must solve if they’re to remain competitive.
Here’s a brief recap of our findings:
The Subscription-Ad Conundrum
Many companies in the media and publishing industry made revenue from paid advertisements in printed materials. But the ad-based revenue model doesn’t translate well to the digital world.
For one, the cost of advertising online is much, much lower for one. Ad buyers, for another, have a cost-effective — and data-rich — alternative with auction-based media buying outlets. For another, consumers can, easily and cheaply, find the information they’re looking for without paying for a subscription and — in some cases — without having to view ads.
Some models offer consumers the opportunity to pay a flat fee for an ad-free experience. While this is a popular option — 44% of respondents cited “no ads” as a top reason for paid subscriptions — industry analysts suggest subscriptions alone are not sustainable in the long run and that a blended model — one with subscriptions and ads — could succeed if the company extends a customer-first approach to ads.
For publishers, that means incorporating ads into the overall customer experience — from cutting back on the number of ads to blending them into the overall digital experience. A challenging task, to be sure, but not impossible.
The Customer Comes First
Digital audiences have high expectations, especially when it comes to interacting with an outlet or brand. Search and discovery on a site should be simple. Ads should be absent or unobtrusive. Desktop and mobile sites should provide equally high-quality experiences.
For the media and publishing industry, developing high-quality, seamless experiences that balances both content and advertising needs is a challenge, but a necessary one. To navigate this shift, outlets need to take advantage of one critical type of data: first-party data.
By using first-party data, media and publishing companies can sift through customer engagement data, gauge interests, segment ads, and provide a consumer with a digital experience that feels crafted for them.
The Future of Ads in Media and Publishing
One potential area lies in the use of native advertising and commercial partnerships. As Margaret Sullivan remarked while at the New York Times:
“Advertising and news content have always run side by side in printed newspapers. Now, with most readers seeing The Times on digital platforms and with print advertising in a long-term, irreversible decline, the company is seeking new revenue sources… The close collaboration between news and advertising, though, comes with a need for particular care. And sponsorships – which closely tie a particular advertiser to a particular piece of journalism – come with their own special set of concerns.”
Bringing a Seamless Experience Together
The media and publishing industry has a twofold task to remain competitive in a digital age. First, it needs to provide consumers with the content they want when they want it. Second, the industry needs to provide a unified, seamless experience that anticipates the consumer’s needs. To do this, industry organizations must focus on experiences and how customers/visitors interact with both content and advertisements.
That means making ads and content both distinct and seamless. Ads must be targeted and relevant while unobtrusive; it should be easy to discern between content and ads on a website. Finally, put together, the two elements need to become a part of a brand’s identity — one which puts the consumer’s wants first and adapts to them in an agile fashion.
