CEOs say mobile will be responsible for most growth in 2015

Fabrizio D’Angelo (FIPP chairman) and CEO Burda International, Germany

Are you optimistic?

By nature!

Do you feel that the industry has got to grips with the technological challenges?

I see more and more companies that are coping profitably with the digital challenge. B2B Publishers are still far more advanced than B2C publishers, but consumer publishers are rapidly catching up.

What developments and trends do you foresee?

Two trends are clear, in my opinion: the transformation of all CPM based advertising business models in something performance based, and the overwhelming relevance of “rich” consumer data.

Duncan Edwards, CEO, Hearst International

Are you optimistic?

Yes, the future is in our hands.

Do you feel that the industry has got to grips with the technological challenges?

There are pockets of excellence and real innovation.

What developments and trends do you foresee?

More mobile consumption of content.

Matthew Stanton*, CEO, Bauer Media, Australia

Are you optimistic?

Decline will slow and I am a little more optimistic.

Do you feel that the industry has got to grips with the technological challenges? 

Yes, although it continues to change and we are creating some of the change rather than following it.

What developments and trends do you foresee? 

Mobile continue to grow, decline of portals and continued discovery of content through social media.

*Matthew Stanton is leaving Bauer Media Australia to join Woolworths in the new year.

Mary Berner, president and CEO, MPA, USA 

Are you optimistic?  

The Magazine Media 360° Brand Audience Report, a new cross platform measurement that MPA launched in September (see pages 18-13), gives everyone reason to be optimistic. Despite the handwringers’ predictable doom and gloom, magazine media audiences are actually up nearly 10 per cent in the most recent quarter. Now we have to work together to spread the word, particularly among advertisers.

Do you feel that the industry has got to grips with the technological challenges?

For the most part, the industry has successfully turned the “challenges” into “opportunities.”  We had forced disruption, but by adopting and adapting new technologies, we are seeing some of our biggest growth. These are still early days, but our expanded eyeballs will convert to dimes and dollars. After all, consumer demand is the ultimate proxy for future success.

What developments, trends or challenges do you foresee?

At the risk of tooting our own horn, I think that other countries and other industries are going to follow the US magazine media industry’s lead and start measuring consumer demand across platforms. Why would you not want to measure your ENTIRE audience? We have ringing endorsements from advertisers. The New York Times now uses this data to measure our success. It is only three months in, and Magazine Media 360° has already begun to change the conversation.

Ruud van den Berg, senior vice president, Magazine Publishing and Advertising, UPM Paper, Europe and North America

Are you optimistic?

The graphic paper demand in Europe is still expected to decline moderately, but we also see positive signs on the media publishing landscape. Cross-media strategies have proved to be effective and publishers are looking to how content users will engage with the different platforms on offer – be it print, digital or a combination of the two. We at UPM strongly believe in the future of print and its effective coexistence with digital media.

Do you feel that the industry has got to grips with recent challenges?

In addition to successful communication methods, the publishing houses, as well as the magazines, remain committed to responsibility. Readers are increasingly better informed about environmental issues and actively ask for information. Paper is a true Biofore product. It is made from renewable and recyclable materials. UPM’s high performance paper products are the result of efficient practices and continuous improvement.

However customers expect cost efficiency from paper deliveries. Printed publications can become more competitive by making savings in mailing and delivery costs and by supporting the sustainability of customer operations. To meet these expectations, we have launched UPM Valor, a new revolutionary paper grade, after several years of development. The airline Finnair, for instance, has reduced tens of thousands of euros per year in fuel costs by using this lighter paper grade for its in-flight magazine. Although this performance paper is light, it feels the same in your hands as heavier grades and has, furthermore, improved the quality of the magazine. 

What developments and trends do you foresee? 

There are several good examples of digital brands going to print. One is Europe’s biggest cooking website which became a magazine recently. Despite its countless benefits, the online platform suffered a disadvantage: more than 250,000 recipes made the offering confusing. The volume of data was simply too big for just getting inspiration. Now a printed magazine delivers this function perfectly by means of the recipes taken from Chefkoch.de. This concept is a prime example of successful and integrated 360° communications.

Any other comments?

The high trust in the printed word, the strong advertising and brand performance of paper products and the strengths of the medium in readability all this makes me committed to paper – now and in the future.

Young Chull Kim, CEO, Kaya Media, Korea

Are you optimistic?

Cautiously optimistic.

Do you feel that the industry has got to grips with the technological challenges?

Not necessarily in this region but we must find a solution or will to overcome the ever decreasing paper magazine sales trend, both in newsstand sales and ad sales. 

What developments and trends do you foresee?

The smart phone will be reluctantly accepted by advertisers as an ad platform, provided technology for it is improved and developed further.

Rolf Heinz, president Prisma Media, France

Are you optimistic?

Yes, especially as far as my group is concerned.

Do you feel that the industry has got to grips with the technological challenges?

The marriage of journalism and technology remains a major opportunity for the industry.

What developments and trends do you foresee?

The potential for new brands and products differentiating themselves through an innovative offer, both in terms of editorial concept and user functionalities.

As for ad monetisation, I see further significant growth in real time advertising, tailor made media solutions, mobile and video.

Terry Adamson, CEO, International Publishing, National Geographic Society, USA

Are you optimistic?  

Very. Powerful impactful storytelling has always generated demand, over the span of history – the Bible, the Gutenberg press, the camera, radio, television, the internet, and whatever comes next. People have always thrived and longed for well-told impactful stories, and visuals are a primary manifestation of that, and we, as media professionals, will continue satisfying this thirst of knowledge no matter what medium or platform.

Do you feel the industry has got to grips with the technological challenges?

The industry will adopt and adapt the technology, but we as media companies must come to terms with how to value it fairly and thus monetise it, as we continue to invest in new technology and modern ways to engage and tell stories. There are large transformative technology giants like Google, Facebook, Instagram, and others who challenge legacy media in their restructuring, shedding businesses, consolidation, and domination. The drive to Mobile and Clouds is powerful.  Some trends favour a company like ours built on powerful photography, where we at National Geographic are currently the number one brand on major consumer engagers like Instagram. 

What developments and trends do you foresee?

Clearly, companies interested in massive consumer engagement globally must realise that all things are mobile. We need to make their experiences more natural and user-friendly. The issue of monetising mobile is enormously challenging.  There is some advertising, but rates are low.

We must pursue more partnership in media and the IT sectors. Partnerships with competitors like those mentioned in the previous question are essential.

We are deeply invested in the Cable TV business through our partnership for the National Geographic Channels, which is a hugely successful business model today and an important part, along with publishing, of the global reach of our single brand – National Geographic; but it too is challenged with consumer demands and choices.  We must be responsive.

We remain convinced that expert content curation among those with valuable and appreciated content is essential.  We love the response to NG’s Your Shot on-line community that permits thousands of user-generated favoured photographs to be narrowed each day by skilled NG photo editors to a stunning daily dozen.  Our News site is another example of rapidly expanding content offerings and consumer engagement.

The other major trend for us is education, both as a genre and as a marketing channel.   Don’t underestimate the value of the appeal of education and educational enrichment for sons and daughters globally. We consider education and the appeal of educational and entertaining content a huge priority.

Any other comments?

Transition is upon us every day and it is not always easy.  For example, as we enable “native advertising” to engage advertisers in our brands, we must maintain the integrity our consumers expect of powerful and independent content.

The other common drive for National Geographic is the global experience.  Our international expansion has been fairly remarkable in the past decade plus, and we pride ourselves as excellent partners who are interested in not only our success, but that of our partners. But there is so much more than we can do around our single brand in international markets.  Our challenge is to introduce and better coordinate internally these opportunities.  That is a priority. We consider international growth a watchword and a guiding principle.

Barry McIlheney, CEO, PPA, UK 

Are you optimistic?

Of course! Did you really expect me to say anything else? But it’s with good reason. 2015 is an important year for magazine media in the UK as it will see the official launch of our new marketing agency with an exclusive remit to promote magazines in all their formats and all their glory to the advertising world. The core PPA operation will maintain its traditional key services to publishers in areas such as lobbying, events, retail, and encouraging new talent into the industry, but this new agency will operate independently, allowing it to focus exclusively on the vital job of delivering quality research and key messages to agencies and advertisers. I’m really excited about the fresh energy this will bring to magazine media in the UK so, yes, that makes me very optimistic indeed. 

Do you feel that the industry has got to grips with the technological challenges?

Technology has opened up magazine brands to a bigger audience than at any time in our history. At the same time, however, it has fragmented the way consumers access our content and disrupted the underlying business models. This disruption will only continue, but there is also a sense as we head into 2015 that publishers now have a clearer view of the shape of their businesses and their strategic direction compared with a few years ago. That’s borne out in the progress we are making in the UK on important fronts, such as multi-platform metrics. We’re not there yet, of course, but developments like this show how publishers are managing some of the change driven by technology.

Equally, I think there’s a risk in thinking that technology is something we can ever “get to grips with”. Innovation and change have instead become a constant, and technology is fundamental to how magazine brands communicate with their audiences. It’s more a case that publishers are adopting a mindset of continual invention and reinvention – harnessing digital innovation and marrying that with the incredibly powerful brands and the wealth of creative talent within our sector. Publishing today is like gardening – it’s never done and it never will be, so get used to it and enjoy the digging. 

What developments, trends or challenges do you foresee?

We are seeing a continued trend for diversification. There is a sustained demand for print – and even a resurgence in certain sectors, such as high-quality independent magazines – but that is against a backdrop of growth across digital channels, particularly mobile. Digital editions of magazines have established themselves as an important and growing part of the market and I think we will continue to see innovation in the format of digital magazines and their ability to engage audiences with different types of content, such as video, and provide new and exciting environments for more interactive advertising. Live events will also continue to grow as consumers seek out “real” connections with their passions and the magazine brands that reflect them. With all these developments, publishers are having to juggle doing more and more with finite resources, so company structure and culture remains an ongoing challenge.

Other comments?

Personally, I think there has never been a more exciting time to be in magazine media. Which makes running the PPA such an incredibly exciting – if sometimes challenging – experience!

Aroon Purie, chairman, India Today Group

Are you optimistic?

In one word, Yes.

With strong central government, positivity in international relations, clear focus on driving more investments to industrial and infrastructure development, the country seems to be on the right path in terms of reviving the growth story. This, combined with the positive industry sentiment gives us all the reasons to be optimistic.

However, it is imperative to add here that the positive sentiment is yet to see business conversions – overall as well as in advertising spends. 

Taking into consideration all the factors, we view this positive outlook to be more robust than the earlier growth bubbles, thus, it will take longer to build up but is going to last much longer. So, we are sailing in steady trade winds.

Do you feel that the industry has got to grips with the technological challenges?

Technology is a double-edged sword, while it simplifies the present it makes the future more complex. Managing these challenges is an ongoing process for the industry. While technology brings faster turn-around time, quicker, better graphics, more measurement metrics and more accountability, it also makes media consumptions patterns, as well as the platforms of consumption, change at a fast pace.

Specifically in the magazine parlance, while the magazine content remains at the core the consumption patterns are changing fast. While we are gearing up to meet the ever increasing challenges, the industry is fighting the technology battle by equipping itself with better technology solutions for the same product.

Industry is yet to come to grips [with technology], but a strong battle is on.

What developments and trends do you foresee?

Industry metrics are changing faster. The Indian Readership Survey (IRS) revalidated, Television Audience Measurement (TAM) to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), Google analytics to Comscores, there is going to be more accountability in the media space. Fragmentation is another reality which media is facing. Niche vertical specific micro targeted content is another reality. News is becoming news plus, General Entertainment Channels (GECs) is moving from fiction to reality. Music is gone beyond movie music. We are in interesting times and catching the fleeting eyeballs span on your screen is going to be the biggest challenge.

Despite growing with double digit Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in the luxury space, the country’s per capita consumption in Lifestyle and Luxury is far too low as compared to the global averages. Tier 2 towns are becoming the new hubs of consumption and the growth story is going beyond the metros. We see a substantial upsurge in advertising and consumption in these verticals. Special interest titles in magazines are going to gain with this trend and will augment revenues.

Read this and more in the latest edition of Magazine World.

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