how to build sustainable revenue from digital media 2014 john barnes

Incisive (in-sy-siv) adj. mentally sharp; acute; clear and effective; cutting; penetratingDigital Publisher of the year 2010 & 2013

Sustainable Revenue from Digital Media

@JohnMNBarnes

MD Incisive Media

London | February 25th, 2014


We’ve heard the allure of digital revenue for more than a decade

Yet many publishers still report that print supersedes digital

And a majority of publishing organizations continue to structure people, processes, and tools to support a print-first environment.


But, what has worked in the past doesn’t always work in the future...


…and what we think will work in future may have serious flaws…


The three horizons of growth


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Platform

1990’

Short-term extensions /

products“Deep and narrow” strategy focusing on vertical

communities served with print publications

Brand

2000’

Reach / Platform / Brand

Focus on reach and extensions of print brands into online, and adjacent

markets

Audience / Community

2010’

User engagement/Multi-screen / Synchronous

use“Multi-screen”, web-first strategy focused on engaging communities through multiple

media – web, print, tablet, mobile

Evolution of Incisive Digital strategy over time

1995

1st Banner ad served

2014

2+ Billion ad imps served

Sustainable Digital RevenueLondon | February 25, 2014

CREATE VIABLE OPTIONS BUILD BUSINESS EXTEND AND DEFEND


Digital revenue exceeded print revenue for the first time in 2012


In the multi screen first world, we are not competing for attention between content and adverts anymore…



..but between activity and screens, and detailed knowledge of the users!

Source Google 2012


Incisive (in-sy-siv) adj. mentally sharp; acute; clear and effective; cutting; penetrating

The vast majority of our daily media interactions are screen based

10


Our online time is spent between four primary media devices

11


Context drives device choice

12


There is no secret formula for sustainable digital growth but, data

is now the key driver!


Each device has very different peak usage times throughout a typical day,

highlighting their varying use cases and value propositions

to the digitally-connected consumer.


A user day, risk.net

15



There are two modes of multi screen use

16


Smartphones are the most common starting place for online activities

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Rather than assuming users consume digital on different devices in silos, the multi screen world will:

Be based on a trusted relationship between the publisher and the user, across devices

Users will be tracked across devices to close the loop on attribution

For example a user sees a Ford ad on a tablet, they play around on the Ford site the next day on their smartphone, and book a testdrive from their desktop PC at work later that day

Agencies and advertisers cannot know they are the same person

Publishers can

Using tools like PPID (publisher provided ID) and MD5#

Our goal is multi-device and multi-channel attibution, with a more engaged and loyal customer

What does this mean to us?


Making audience the purchase, not the platformDifferent Devices – same audience – different strengths Browsers, Editions & Apps – strategic positioning

Browsers, Editions & Apps – Computing

ComputerDeskType and PointerMulti-taskLean forwardPracticality

TabletTwo handsGesturesLinear taskLean backimmersive

Smart PhoneOne handDigitMulti functionOn demandCompulsive

All have a browser, mail client, apps & digital issues!

Computing Browsers Editions & Issues Apps & Tools

Computer Computing.co.ukWill be fully responsive on unified template by

Q2

Fortnightly zMagMoving to App Studio

HTML 5.0 Browser version in Q2

chrome app

SmartPhone m.Computing.co.ukFully responsive

? Google Currents

Tablet t.Computing.co.ukFully responsive

Quark app studio produced version in Apple and Android

Stores

CTG Resources (available on IoS and Android, available in

Apple, Android, Samsung and Amazon

app stores)


Incisive (in-sy-siv) adj. mentally sharp; acute; clear and effective; cutting; penetrating20

It is now not about size, but the quality! Large circulations are less valuable than custom

audiences, and command the highest prices


This is why we needed Scout

To understand and collect:

Data on the way company’s and individuals were engaging with our content

a platform that combined engagement data with revenue

Made the insight accessible and actionable by our sales and marketing teams

Helped us to track platform use

To allow us to measure engagement data and revenue to increase retention and life time value



Understanding who users are, what devices they use, when and where in the day, and why

is now at the heart of our revenue strategy


The Most Valuable Audience: Subscribers

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JB



Prior to 2013 our complex matrix of brands, products and customers prevented delivery on our email vision at speed and at scale.

We now have a single system that automatically creates newsletters that adapt to device:

For 127 newsletter templates

Across 26 products

Built on dynamic news feeds and a library of specific marketing messages

Owning the inbox



What’s a MD5 Hash?

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[email protected]



What’s a MD5 Hash?

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=43307bb5a669b247270a4d81cce6f3ff



Dynamic templates customise the experience

Delivered to specific data sets

Pre-selected XML feeds from the CMS matched to data

Specific marketing feeds and messages

Dynamically inserted ads via DFP or Live Intent

Adapts to screen size



And MD5# allows us to create custom segments

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Retention Re-activation Supression

15% OFFJust for you, JB!

We’ve missed you, JB!

Don’t tell JB!



Daily emails require NO editorial intervention

Emails are compiled and despatched to a specified list automatically

Deployed to all brands within 3 months

More efficient



The daily update is now a vital engagement channel for Risk.net subscribers via email

More effective

51% of people read the 6am email on our mobile enabled format (and are all tracked with MD5#).



Automated corporate emails

Content matched to behaviour

Segmented by status

Owning the relationship with the customer in the inbox and beyond

The future:



The Right Impression, Everywhere (MD5# or PPID)

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= [email protected] = 43307bb5a669b247270a4d81cce6f3ff



Hashes are Cross Device & Cross Platform

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Engagement data & revenue is combined & accessible



Scout delivers on retention and value



Custom audiences and the private ad exchange…

First stage was upgrading to Doubleclick for Publishers (DFP) premium

Single integrated platform

Extending DFP solution to include Bid Manager, Ad-X, Optimise and Audience

Adding Admeld, Live Intent and OnScroll tech to our solution

Streamlined management across platform and functionalities

This included video, mobile audience and data management

With a focus on monetisation and audience segmentation

Using concept of eCPM to evaluate and tune house campaigns

Key goals were to:

Maximise value of inventory, and Improve trafficking efficiency

Create new advertising opportunities, and Showcase our product offering



Incisive Ad operations now have clear objectives..

To maximise the opportunities and value for our advertisers, both internal and external, we have:

increased the effectiveness of our direct and house advertising in order to maximise inventory

taken full advantage of our high-worth audience on private exchanges and premium

Monetised first and third party data on our own and other networks, including audience extensions and our email inventory

And truly understood the value of our data by operating as buyers and sellers in the programmatic environment



Markets – prior to the private exchange we sold markets as verticals



Post private exchange we sell audience across verticals e.g. Lawyers

Using retargeting within our own network



Most inventory is traded on data!

3rd Party Behavioral 3rd Party assumed intent 1st Party demographic

B2B data has always been more sophisticated than B2C, it is based on actual demographics per user (1st Party)

Because of the historic lack of B2C data, agencies and advertisers think that the current levels of data are sophisticated

We think they are basic, because they are based on assumed intent and historical behaviour, NOT on the user demographics with intent and behaviour overlaid



Intent and behaviour data, the flaw!

Johnny Tim George

All three like Sport (particularly Cycling, Cricket and Rugby)

Enjoy air travel, staying in hotels and eating out

Love technology and automobiles, especially supercars such as Ferrari’s



B2B value is in the articulation of our first party data

But it is hard to detail our audiences using behavioural terminology.

Third party data is “intent” driven and generic and not of specific relevance to our (b2b) advertising clients

but it can be overlayed with existing audience segments to add a degree of targeting

e.g.Computing registered users + visitors to Autotrader + those who have viewed car ads = qualified high net worth carbuyers

Incisive 1st Party demographics

3rd Party Behavioral 3rd Party assumed intent



Intent and behaviour data – the solution!

Johnny Tim George




Johnny Tim GeorgeJohnny

Intender




Johnny Tim GeorgeGeorge

Behavioural Intender

Johnny

Intender




Johnny

Intender

Tim

Qualified Buyer

George

Behavioural Intender



Examples of Data overlays

3rd Party Behavioral

3rd Party assumed intent

Incisive 1st Party demographics



Collecting first party data to enrich the exchange with quick questions



Re-targeting: Agencies and networks don’t have audiences!

All they can do is target and buy on behaviour and intent

They cannot retarget as they do not have a first party, unique, loyal audience, therefore lacking quality

As a result they want volume to minimise risk, and maximise discount, because there is innate waste in this approach

Publishers can counter this by overlaying 1st party demographic data, with behaviour and intent

This massively improves targeting, reduces volume and increases value



Publishers do - Example Campaign – Risk.net

On Risk.net

Retargeted

On Risk.net

75,000 impressions ROS geo targeting US only = $140CPM = $10,500

Retargeted (or Audience extension)

120,000 impressions via Google ad networks targeting individuals that Incisive Media has dropped a cookie on when they have visited Risk.net and seen the CME ad = $80CPM = $9,600

Total rate = $20,100, Total impressions = 195,000



The opportunities for publishers are :

Building value through exclusivity and clarity on audiences for the trading desks

Access to budgets dedicated to automated trading and a new range of clients

Increases the value of first party data and increase the efficiency of all digital advertising

Act as a buyer of our own inventory to value and tune house campaigns

With a 400% increase (a 7 figure sum) in traded revenue in 2013

Incisive private exchange – creating value through exclusivity



Typical “Incisive” page length over 5500 pixels deep

Typical “whitespace” between end of column and footer of page over 1,500 pixels – often over 3,000 pixels

Average last position of ad within left hand column 2,275 pixels

Turning “Whitespace” into AdSpace Most pages are under-monetised



Additional Ads Delivered entirely on user “scroll”

Typically over 50% of additional ads served for over 20 second (well over the 50%, 1 second viewability metric)

Generate around 12% additional inventory on sites employed.

Click performance over 500% higher than standard below the fold placements.

Demo Page: http://www.v3.co.uk/blog/it-sneak-blog

All ads can be premium with viewability



So what have we learned?


The data of who, what, when, and why is what will be used to create

custom audience


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It is now not about size, but the quality! Large circulations are less valuable than custom

audiences, and command the highest prices


Operating as a buyer of our own audience is giving us real insight into

the quality, uniqueness and value of our data!


The desktop is the distraction!Not mobile


…oh , and that CPM is a fatally flawed metric, ‘a Crap Publishing Metric’, that rewards scale, devalues quality and does not reward specialists who spend time, money and expertise building high value audiences


THANK YOU [email protected]

Twitter.com/johnmnbarnes

Linkedin.com/in/johnmnbarnes

how to build sustainable revenue from digital media 2014 john barnes

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