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Publishers are the New Revenue Alchemists

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July 8, 2016 | 6 min read

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Publishers are no longer detached entities in the content ocean. They are emerging hubs of a rapidly evolving content industry. Positioned where consumers, content and advertisers intersect, publishers are poised to have a profound impact on the industry’s future as facilitators and revenue alchemists.

Publishers are the New Revenue Alchemists

Paul Jacobson, Content Marketing Specialist, Imonomy Interactive.

Elements of publishers’ success

A publisher’s monetization strategy is usually focused on increasing eCPMs (or RPMs). Publishers use a number of tactics that include –

  • Attracting relevant traffic to the publishers’ sites;
  • Publishing good quality, relevant content that consumers want;
  • Well-placed and highly visible ad inventories;
  • Compelling ads that consumers will be more likely to engage with; and
  • Great user experiences from start to finish for consumers.

Publishers, advertisers and consumers aren’t just three strangers who pass as they go about their business, occasionally interacting. They are intrinsically linked and interdependent, as much as they may prefer not to think of their relationship that way.

Creating value for advertisers

Advertisers usually assess value by measuring CTRs. More clicks on ads means more consumers visiting brand pages and converting into paid customers. Achieving this requires a few critical elements:

  • Highly viewable ad inventory to ensure ads are actually seen;
  • Relevant traffic (that is, consumers who are interested in the brand); and
  • Good sources of Big Data that give deep insight into who consumers are and what they want so advertisers can deliver more relevant ads.

We need to consider what is important to consumers before we can see the big picture, so bear with me a little longer.

Serving consumers better

Consumers are crucial partners in the overall mix. Without consumers, there would be no content industry. It sounds obvious, but this is important to bear in mind when the tendency to commodify people in the race to higher revenues.

The growing ad blocker trend is proof of the power of the audience and it highlights the importance of paying closer attention to what matters most to consumers: great content and great user experiences.

One of the biggest incentives to use ad blockers is a poor user experience and much of the blame is heaped on advertisers and publishers who face diminishing revenues due to increased ad blocker adoption. At the same time, publishers and advertisers can do a lot to address consumers’ frustrations:

  1. Use ad products that don’t detract or distract from the surrounding content. Examples include in-image solutions and a variety of native ad products.
  2. Choose ad placements that complement the site’s content, not interfere with it.
  3. Offer relevant ads that consumers are actually interested in.

Blending common themes

When you consider the elements that determine success for all three stakeholders; publishers, advertisers and consumers; you’ll notice common themes: relevance and engagement.

Relevance

Just as publishers strive to attract relevant audiences to their sites, advertisers seek relevant audiences to present their ads to. Consumers are increasingly averse to ads but are much more receptive to relevant offers that can help them solve challenges or meet their needs.

One of the keys to greater relevance is Big Data; large sets of data about audiences that help advertisers identify which segments of those audiences would be most interested and in which ads. Big Data also holds the key for publishers to better understanding the consumers who engage most with their content.

Engagement

Like relevance, engagement is a multi-faceted theme. To advertisers, engagement means relevant consumers interacting with relevant ads (typically, clicks). Publishers that really nail engagement deliver superior content combined with great user experiences. The result is a growing and loyal audience and increased eCPMs (or RPMs).

One of the major contributors to this theme is high viewability which goes hand in hand with good ad placements. Once the publisher attracts quality traffic to its content, ads sourced from the advertiser must actually be visible or the formula for success breaks down.

The new revenue formula

Publishers’ are well positioned to take advantage of the opportunity to deliver highly relevant, engaging ads that inform and enhance consumers’ experiences of the publisher’s content by –

  1. Attracting new, relevant consumers and retaining existing audiences.
  2. Offering well-placed and highly viewable ad inventory to advertisers.
  3. Implementing more effective ad solutions to convey more relevant and engaging ads to consumers.
  4. Delivering great user experiences to consumers that keeps them engaged.

This formula leads to higher eCPMs for publishers; increased CTRs for advertisers and more engaging experiences for consumers.

It is truly a win-win-win scenario that represents the next evolution of a vibrant content marketplace.

Learn how our in-image solution will complete your stronger ad revenue formula. Visit imonomy.com/join_imonomy.

Paul Jacobson, Content Marketing Specialist, Imonomy Interactive.

Tel: +972 72 250 0542

Email: info@imonomy.com

Web: imonomy.com

Twitter: @imonomy

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