Print publishers willing to go mobile

The Audit Bureau of Circulations recently published a study revealing the actual trends of print publisher’s Smartphones applications… And it is clear that these publishers understood mobile market is a great opportunity to expand their brands, reach new audiences and generate additional revenue. In addition, they offer advertisers a chance reach locally targeted audiences, since the public reached by Smartphones applications share several characteristics.

Some figures seemed particularly worthy of attention: for example, nearly 70 percent of respondents agree that mobile is receiving more attention at their publication this year than last. And what I think is the most revealing fact is that more than a third believe their publication already has a well-developed plan for attacking and conquering the mobile market. 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...

There are also proves of the efficiency of developing these strategies: 44 percent of respondents who track mobile's impact on their Web site traffic said the devices increased visits by up to 10 percent today. Half believe mobile traffic to their Web sites will increase by five to 25 percent in the next two years, and a third believe that mobile will have a significant impact on their publication's revenue in just three years

Nevertheless, defenders of paper publications can be reassured, publishers are not willing to abandon the print publications: while 55 percent believe that digital delivery of their publication is important to their strategic future, three-fourths believe that their publication will be available in a print form five years from now.

In addition to all the skyrocketing figures of this survey, Gartner Inc. forecasted in a recent report that spending on mobile advertising will increase 74 percent in 2009 to $913 million, and will surge to $13 billion by 2013.

Everyone can have its own opinion about these figures, but as for me (on top of being good news for the mobile applications industry, which you guess I pretty well support) it is the sign of a democratization of mobile information at short term. And when I think of having access to all information at any time in any place, I feel this will be something huge… and we are seriously getting closer and closer!