2016 Publisher Outlook
Monetizing in the Age of Mobile & Video
State of the industry
As consumers increasingly turn to mobile and video, publishers are faced with the biggest challenges yet around creating, distributing and monetizing content. We know—we’re a publisher, too.
To understand the changes at play, we talked to more than 300 premium publishers in the U.S., identifying the challenges and opportunities they see and how data and automation are empowering them.
Here’s what you need to know:
73%
of publishers increased their mobile inventory in the last year
Video is projected to be the #1 revenue driver this year
>90%
believe off-platform monetization is crucial
The Tech Tax continues to plague them
Meeting the Mobile & Video Demand
Consumers are in control when it comes to what they’ll watch, on which device and when. They demand more flexibility across platforms, expect more personalization in content and crave more inventive experiences. Publishers are hyper focused on meeting those demands on mobile and video, areas in which they anticipate to see the most growth in the next 12 months.
Mobile
Ad blockers, quality creative and quality experiences top the list of challenges publishers face, while better audience metrics, engaging ad units, mobile-first video and faster ad loads present big opportunities.
75%
of publishers expect to increase mobile investment in the next 12 months
Nearly half plan on increasing up to 25% more
>10%
plan on 50-100% more
>50%
of publishers expanded inventory this past year
Mobile saw the greatest increase
Even video and display growth were primarily in mobile
70%
of publishers saw up to 50% mobile traffic growth in the last 12 months
30%
saw 50-100%+ growth
Accelerate your mobile growth
Start HereConsumer Snapshot: A Mobile-Led World
Globally
87% of the population will be mobile by 20191
563M+ mobile devices and connections were added in 2015, most of them smartphones2
In the U.S.
Audiences are spending 3+ hours a day on mobile, 87% of that time in-app3
87% of millennials say they always have a smartphone on hand4
The average person uses 27 apps per month, but spends 79% of time in just five apps5
Video
Publishers expect digital video to be the #1 revenue driver by next year, fueled by better creative, improved user experiences, better targeting and faster load times.
About 50% of publishers expect video and interactive ad formats to contribute more revenue in the next 12 months
30%
of publishers believe that outstream video specifically will drive this growth
Fast-forward your video program
Start HereConsumer Snapshot: Video Obsession
In one month alone, >191.5M Americans watched nearly 50.5B online videos6
70% of millennials view video on mobile first7
48% of users watch videos in-app on smartphones versus 18% on mobile web8
Globally, 35% more people watched mobile video in 2015 than 2014. Even higher in the US(50%), Canada(42%), and the UK(40%).9
On smartphones, users watch an equal number of short- and long-form videos in an hour (30% v. 29%); most videos watched on tablet are 20+ minutes long10
Distribution Revolution
Third-party publishing platforms like Facebook Instant Articles, Apple News and Google AMP still fuel the distribution debate among publishers. But what originally sparked panic seems to be paying off for many.
>90%
of publishers believe distributed media has had a positive effect; 53% deem it “extremely positive.”
A majority said syndication was essential to their strategy. Not a surprise, given that most publishers receive 25-50% of their traffic via syndication referrals.
While publishers are seeing increased traffic from third-party platforms, concerns remain around monetization control, audience data transparency and lower CPMs.
Analyze, Optimize, Monetize, Repeat
The more things change, the more they don’t stay the same. As consumer behaviors evolve, buyer approaches change, the market shifts and, as a result, media inventory values fluctuate constantly, too. But in 2016, publishers have been more aggressive in bringing greater efficiency to their businesses. The key: Data.
Now more than ever it’s critical to invest in tools that:
- Identify where consumers are coming from and which traffic sources are the most valuable
- Layer intelligence on top of execution technology to improve real-time decision-making and ensure brand safety
- Optimize constantly to assess buyer patterns and pricing so you can attract more valuable audiences
Analytics & Optimization
Publishers depend on a vast array of third-party services, the most common being data management, analytics and performance reporting. More than 66% cite the ability to access data holistically across platforms as very/extremely important.
50 million or more
20 million to less than 50 million
5 million to less than 20 million
Less than 5 million
While many publishers rely on a DMP, they do so for different reasons. Data security and cross-device management are the most common uses, followed by audience usage data to inform content and first- and third-party integration.
All this suggests that publishers realize they need to be just as data savvy as their advertisers. It also points to the costly gap between in-house and third-party capabilities.
Tech Tax Tyranny
Publishers are still prey to the tech tax—dollars lost to multiple intermediary vendors across the ad buying process.
>50%
rely on 5-10 ad tech vendors
>30%
rely on 11-16 vendors
<50%
of ad media spend goes to publishers11
Monetization
With the competition for consumers growing fiercer and ad blockers becoming more prevalent, publishers are increasingly evaluating alternative monetization strategies beyond advertising. More than 75% pursue subscription and ad supported business models. Of those focusing on subscriptions, more than 75% expect to expand their subscription options in the next 12 months.
Most publishers have seen changes to their advertising models
71%
of their media sales are via programmatic, with a substantial shift to PMPs
56%
of publishers rely on a single PMP; just 28% use multiple partners
While PMP transactions have grown, there are still challenges, with tech deficiencies and management execution costs ranking the highest. The lowest ranked challenge? Lack of demand.
Simplify your monetization strategy
Start HereHeader Bidding Is Here To Stay
Header bidding shows no signs of slowing down despite concerns about its longevity and latency.
About half of all publishers use header bidding technology
The majority use partner solutions
Of those, 75% use five or more partners
What’s Next?
While today’s media landscape makes it increasingly difficult for publishers to drive revenue, there are solutions. As you advance your content creation, distribution and monetization strategies in light of current trends, here are key issues to consider:
- Are you and your partners focused on mobile video monetization?
- How are you driving more holistic efficiency across display, mobile, video and TV?
- How do you access unified intelligence, brand safety and measurement?
- What mechanisms do you have in place to control and maximize inventory yield?
- How are you minimizing the Tech Tax?