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Source:
As reported in “Think Ad Revenue Is All Going Online? Think Again” by Melissa Campanelli, Noelle Skodzinski, Publishing Executive, May 2008, Vol. 23(4), p. 26.
Type of Promotional Material/Activity Tested:
Magazine publishers’ online and print advertising revenue predictions
Sample Population:
3,401 recipients of Publishing Executive magazine with e-mail addresses on file who list their position as either president, CEO, owner, publisher, executive management. The sample was restricted to B2B magazines, association publishing, consumer magazines, and others ( e.g., city and regional magazines, government publishing). Sixty percent of organizations publish 1-4 titles, 40% publish five or more titles.
Methodology:
E-mail survey sent between March 25 to April 4, 2008. The survey was closed for tabulation with 254 usable responses. Usable responses equaled a 7% response rate. The margin of error for percentages based on 254 usable responses is +/-5.9 percent at the 95% confidence level. This means that 95% of the time, Readex was confident that percentages in the actual population would not vary by more than 5.9% in either direction. The margin of error for percentages based on smaller sample sizes will be larger.
Top-Line Results:
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Nine out of 10 respondents report their organizations' current online revenue (websites, e-newsletters, and webinars) does not currently exceed print revenue.
2007 Average Ad Revenue Streams by Publishing Segment:
| . |
B2B
Publishers |
Association
Publishers |
Consumer
Publishers |
| Print |
$4.8M |
$1.8M |
$1.7M |
| Events |
$2.1M |
$560K |
$180K |
| Web |
$1.24M |
$130K |
$180K |
| E-newsletter |
$1M |
$30K |
none reported |
| Webinars |
$900K |
$30K |
none reported |
Print Revenue Predictions for 2008 by Segment:
| .. |
Increase |
Remain the Same |
Decrease |
| B2B Publishers |
48% |
28% |
23% |
| Association Publishers |
47% |
22% |
15% |
| Consumer Publishers |
31% |
40% |
16% |
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Mid-size companies (revenues between $1-4.9 million) are least likely to expect online revenue to exceed print revenue—76% say print will remain the largest revenue generator. Two-thirds of publishers at smaller companies (less than $1 million) say print will remain the largest revenue generator, and 61% of larger companies (revenues of $5 million plus) state the same.
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The majority of respondents (60%) expect to see increased web revenue in 2008. Twenty-six percent expect web revenue to remain the same, 12% said they did not know, and none expect a decrease.
Predicted increase in web revenue by segment:
| B2B: |
74% |
| Consumer publishers |
54% |
| Association publishers |
49% |
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Take-Away:
Given the much-reported double-digit growth in online advertising dollars, and the hype of online advertising “as the future”, what might surprise many are the publishing revenue trends forecasts by those in the know. Yes, magazine publishers and executives expect online revenue to increase, yet 68% of those surveyed do not expect to see online revenue exceed print revenue for their organizations – not now, not ever.
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