Digital Lifescapes

According to the latest market study by Juniper Research , annual revenues derived from eNewspapers that are delivered to portable digital devices will exceed $1.1 billion by 2016 -- with publishers increasingly adopting subscription-based applications to counteract their falling print publication sales. The Juniper market study noted the surge in Apple iPad adoption led a number of newspaper publishers to move beyond standalone smartphone apps towards more integrated digital media strategies. Companies such as News International have begun offering a single subscription price enabling access to The Times across all digital platforms. It observed that transitioning to a paywall-based model would almost certainly result in a substantial decline in the digital media user base. Despite this, for many publishers the revenues that accrued from a moderate user base paying a modest subscription charge would outweigh the initial loss of CPM (cost per mille)-based advertising rev...

To date, the traditional publishing industry has been negatively impacted by the shift from print to online distribution -- it's a disruptive market transition that has been very challenging for the majority of legacy print media companies. Moreover, consumers have resisted paying for most content on the web, and the soft economy has taken a toll on the online advertising-based models that many publishers embraced -- in the hope that it would become a replacement for their declining print revenue. The arrival of eReaders and media tablets comes at an opportune time for publishers. But there's a key question, yet to be answered. Are they fully prepared to embrace the apparent trends in the marketplace and adapt their business models? An accelerated plan of action is essential, not optional. The Amazon Kindle and Apple iPad clearly established new device categories and the customers for these products have responded by buying more digital content. eMarketer estimates th...

There are numerous proven alternatives for marketers to reach and engage their target stakeholders in the marketplace, yet many still choose to invest their marketing budget primarily in traditional media -- regardless of the underwhelming results. What's the forward-looking trend for U.S. advertising spending, and is that insight likely to influence the behavior of those schooled in legacy marketing methods? Will status-quo marketing practices prevail? eMarketer reports that after plunging by 18.5 percent in 2009, ad spending on traditional media is on a slow rebound. They estimate spending was up 2.1 percent in 2010, to $127.2 billion. But rather than making a true recovery, spending is forecast to fluctuate in coming years, hovering under $130 billion through 2015 -- far from the $165.94 billion recorded in 2007. "As advertiser spending continues to more closely reflect the amount of attention consumers give to individual media, each will fare differently," s...