Revenue for Content and Mobile Apps

Recently the media world has been abuzz about Rupert Murdoch’s decision to charge for the content on his News Corp websites. Discussion on this topic is not new, however Mr. Murdoch has been the first to make the big leap for a company the size of News Corp. Publishers that once saw revenue streams from printed products dream about being able to charge for their online content. But how many of them can actually charge for content? If you can’t make money for your content (outside of advertising), how can publishers bring back revenue beyond advertising?

I believe the Wall Street Journal is one exception on a very short list of publishers that can get away with charging for their content. In order to charge for the information you put online, you need to be pretty sure it’s exclusive. The Wall Street Journal is regarded as one of the top publications for business news. I believe that many people would pay for their content as there aren’t many other sites out there that bring the same level of credibility and business expertise. What about the other sites included under the News Corp umbrella? Dow Jones and NY Post don’t look to me like sites that will rake in revenue from subscriptions. What can you get from the NY Post that you can’t get from the Times? I applaud Mr. Murdoch for the bold approach he’s taking with his news sites. I hope that he’s successful, but I fear his ambition is stretched a bit too far.

If most publishers can’t charge for content on their sites, what can they do to bring in additional revenue? The first is obvious (and has been done for a long time), charge for advertising. Okay, now that we’re beyond that, what else is out there? Can publishers charge for a portion of the content on their sites? Maybe subscription to a single writer or critic, archived articles, or exclusive interviews? This might work, but I don’t believe it’s the big answer many are looking for. I believe that the answer lies in mobile. With mobile technology growing at a rapid pace (thank you Steve Jobs), mobile applications can give publishers tools that other websites cannot yet offer. Perfect example: CNN. CNN just recently launched a “paid” mobile application. While the NY Times, USA Today, and WSJ are all offering their mobile applications for free, CNN is selling their app at $1.99. What does this marginal price get you? Some pretty cool features; streaming video of programs and interviews, real time weather forecasts, alerts, social media integration, and my favorite, the ability to follow topics that are most interesting to you. Mobile is my answer to publishers looking to increase revenues. Build an innovative, and dynamic mobile application that allows users to interact and share your information. The more you can offer that others aren’t yet, the better chance you have at getting back that revenue lost from subscription models.

Finally, a Google Challenger Emerges

There has been a lot said lately about the long awaited merger between Microsoft and Yahoo. Some believe that this new search partnership will rival Google, others think it doesn’t stand a chance. What I am attempting to identify are a few things that have not been discussed as much; some points that I think are worth considering when analyzing this new merger and what it means in the big picture of search marketing.

Habits & Ease of Use

People are habitual. How did Google grow to being the behemoth that is currently is? Well without writing a 250 page synopsis, I think I can safely say that strategic partnerships bolstered it’s usage (okay, not to mention an incredible search tool, clean interface, and revolutionary ad delivery system). How do you use Google? I think of the search bar that’s built within my browser. Whether I’m on Safari at home or Firefox at work, guess whose search bar is built into my browser? You guessed it, Google. It is this kind of convenience (among many other things) that has made Google a preferred, trusted, and the regularly used search engine. When you start factoring in the ease of Google toolbars, Chrome, and the fact that Google is the predetermined browser for mobile devices, you can truly see how Google continues to dominate in market share.

Timing

So if so many people use Google on a regular basis, how can the new Microhoo compete? Well I don’t think the timing could be better for this search partnership. With the launch of Bing, Microsoft has successfully grown market share (and taken from Google specifically). Their latest percentage is at 9.4 percent. Now when you combine that market share with Yahoo, you’re looking at a parnership that achieves about 20% market share overall. For Yahoo, again the timing could not be better for this partnership. Yahoo recently launched a completely redesigned homepage. Some of the features include access to your favorite sites and social networks (while still staying on Yahoo’s homepage). The timing really couldn’t be better to combine Microsoft’s new search tool with Yahoo’s redesigned homepage.

What’s Next?

I imagine we’ll start seeing many new developments with this merger. Microsoft will be able to focus on technological advancements (what it does best) and Yahoo can focus on selling. Most important I expect to see innovation to come from this merger; something that I truly believe will enhance the user experience for whatever search engine you decide to use.

Eye Tracking – Social Media Sites – User Behavior

Despite being an area of continual growth, innovation, and entirely unique capabilities, online advertising is still burdened by inherent challenges. The biggest perhaps has been here from the beginning; getting users to see ads. While many sites now deliver interactive rich media ads to capture user attention, social networks are still lagging with engaging advertising (facebook primarily imo).

I found this particular study interesting because through some fairly scientific research, it seems that users actually scan the right rail of social media pages – the exact position where ads appear. Couple online user’s attention with some incredible targeting capabilities, and you’ve got yourself a pretty sound model for effective advertising.

http://tinyurl.com/npxq

Engaging Banner with A Little Humor

Pringles recently launched a branding banner in an effort to engage online users. With a miniature logo, Pringles’ objective was clearly not direct response (not to mention the ad doesn’t even click through to their website). Nevertheless, I believe that brand advertisers can learn something from this stab at creativity from Pringles. Will you see an immediate lift in sales from this kind of promotion? Most likely no. But you will see viral impact (as indicated with my post), improved brand perception, and ultimately a long term sales return if these kinds of promotions continue. I may not be interested in buying Pringles products currently. But these kind of unique promotions could certainly alter my decision making in the future. http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2009/06/pringles-banner-ad-worth-a-few-dozen-clicks.html

OPA Sites and Bigger Ad Units

+The OPA (Online Publishers Association) recently announced that 37 of its members will start to use much larger ad units. In an effort to “brand” advertisers aligned with rich publisher content, the OPA believes these ad units will offer premium placement on their sites. http://tiny.cc/rOubI #fb

Layoffs at MySpace

+MySpace announced layoffs for 30% of its’ staff while Facebook is stealing marketing share. No shocker.. but what changes will MySpace have to make to maintain and grow their audience?

http://tiny.cc/ewpaU

+Interesting read on online behavior by gender.

http://twurl.nl/rxtlyr

Great study on the impact of “branding” online banners. Time to think beyond the click.

http://www.online-publishers.org/media/1059_W_TheSilentClick_OPA.pdf