ABC: Print Publishers Believe in the Power of Mobile Marketing

Print publishers are looking to mobile devices, such as e-readers and smartphones, to expand their brands, reach new audiences and generate additional revenue, according to an online survey conducted by ABC.

According to “Going Mobile: How Publishers Are Preparing for the Burgeoning Digital Market,” nearly 52 percent of respondents are distributing content for viewing on a mobile device with newspapers leading the way at 57.5 percent, followed by business and consumer publications at 44.7 and 42.2 percent, respectively.

Forty-four percent of respondents who track mobile’s impact on their Web site traffic said the devices currently increased visits by up to 10 percent. Half believe mobile traffic to their Web sites will increase by five to 25 percent in the next two years. Nearly a third believe that mobile will have a significant impact on their publication’s revenue in just three years.

Among senior executive respondents, 56 percent said their publication has plans to develop a smartphone application in the next 24 months, in addition to the 17 percent of respondents who already have an app in production. Among those who responded to the survey, 22 consumer magazines and four business publications have already developed apps for smartphones.

ABC publisher members, however, do not plan to abandon their print publications in favor of a digital-only product in the near term. While 55 percent believe that digital delivery of their publication is important to their strategic future, three-fourths (76 percent) believe that their publication will be available in a print form five years from now.

More than half (52 percent) of the survey respondents believe that the future business model of mobile content will be supported by both advertising and subscriptions. Publishers are planning to use an all-of-the-above approach when it comes to the types of mobile advertising they’ll utilize the most. Respondents anticipate that sponsorship (41 percent) will be the most successful followed by search (40 percent), video (39 percent), banners (35 percent) and pop-ups (12 percent).

More than half also believe that content generated by mobile devices should be audited. Fifty-seven percent think an independent third-party should audit and report the number of digital editions accessed by a mobile device, while 56 percent think Web site traffic generated by mobile devices should be audited. Two-thirds (67 percent) believe that advertisers will demand independent third-party verification of key mobile metrics once they begin to spend more money in the marketplace.

ABC surveyed 375 print publisher members between June 25 and July 10.

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