Print-based digital media companies are underperforming both their digital-native and television counterparts in several ad sales performance categories, according to the new MyersBizNet Survey of Advertiser and Agency Executives on 36 Digital Media Companies. In six categories of performance, nine print-based digital media companies are rated 4/5 on a five point scale by only an average of 42% of respondents, while 27 digital native organizations are positively rated by an average of 49% of respondents.
The print-based digital companies included in the study, conducted among 360 digital advertiser and agency executives, were Conde Nast Entertainment, Gannett Digital Media (reviewed in last week's report), Hearst Magazines Interactive, Meredith Media Sales, New York Times Digital, Time Inc. Digital Media, USAToday.com, Washington Post Digital and WSJ.com. Individual company details are available by request to MyersBizNet corporate member companies.
The market leaders in the MyersBizNet study in each measured category are: | ||
Overall Performance: | Washington Post Digital | |
Quality Sales Team & Customer Support: | Washington Post Digital | |
Quality of Content Justifies Premium Pricing: | TIE: | Washington Post Digital |
New York Times Digital | ||
WSJ.com | ||
Provides Innovative & Creative Opportunities: | NYT Digital | |
Assures Advertisers a Safe & Low Fraud Environment: | WSJ.com | |
Provides Advanced Research & Market Insights: | NYT Digital | |
Supports Programmatic & Automated Investments: | Washington Post Digital | |
SOURCE: MyersBizNet 2015 Survey of Advertiser and Agency Executives on Perceptions of Digital Media Value and Sales Organization Performance. | ||
Copyright © MyersBizNet 2015. Results based on survey respondents self-identifying as being in a relationship with each company. | ||
Clearly, within the print-based digital category, newspapers are outperforming their magazine counterparts, with the exception of USA Today and Gannett, which underperform the industry in every category. Programmatic and Automated Investments are especially under-served by print-based digital sales organizations. Only 28% of digital-only media buyers and planners positively rate the performance of the nine print companies (on average) in this category. The market leader among this cohort is Conde Nast Entertainment, with a 42% positive rating. With a growing share of total digital ad investments moving to programmatic models, it's logical to conclude that print media are losing share of digital ad budgets. This is compounded by the growing shift of video ad investments to online and mobile offerings and the increasing use of programmatic services to manage these investments.
Print-based digital organizations receive their highest performance ratings for Quality of Content Justifies Premium Pricing. Fifty-three percent of respondents rate the print companies positively in this category, with the perceptions of agency executives significantly more positive than those of their clients. Among digital-only agency media buyers and planners, the Washington Post and New York Times are the dominant market leaders for content quality justifying premiums.
To learn more about all MyersBizNet Business-to-Business Market Research and the MediaVillage.com content and relationship network, contact Jack Myers at jack@myersbiznet.com