Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe Jim Bilton, Managing Director, Wessenden Marketing
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Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe
Jim Bilton, Managing Director, Wessenden Marketing
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 1
What would Jeff Bezos do
to your company
if he bought it?
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 2
What Jeff Bezos has done to the Washington Post
o A new vision: from local to national & international.
o A drive for scale: promotions, platform, price & bundling.
o Invested in headcount: editorial + engineers….
o …. but kept staff costs very tight!
o Invested in tech: CMS + analytics…. and offered it externally.
o A test structure & test mentality.
o A new culture: confident, customer-driven, product-focused.
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 3
Amazon is also very interested in magazines
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 4
Project background & methodology
The industry tracker survey (11th year)
The “near future”
o Industry insiders benchmarking, not external observers commenting.
o Projecting only two years out with real budget forecasts.
International for the first time
o UK, USA, Europe & Asia Pacific.
o New partners: FOLIO & Flashes & Flames.
Self-completion online questionnaire + selected interviews
o Jul-Sep 2020 fieldwork.
o A self-selecting sample of the more proactive & smarter companies.
o A record number of participants: a real desire to benchmark in volatile times.
177 European + 154 USA media companies participating
o Consumer Enthusiast & Lifestyle Media
o B2B & Association
o Events, Conferences & Exhibitions
o Customer Media
o News Media (national & regional)
A practical, diagnostic Performance Accelerator
o Benchmarks as the basis for a structured review of any media company.
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 5
The three key modules
5 key revenue variables Headcount Turnover growth
PERFORMANCE
REVENUES
ORGANISATION
Ads versus audience
Print skew Marketing budgets Profitability
Digital skew
Diversification Productivity
Volatility Rate & scale of change
Confidence
Key revenue streams Change assets & toolkit
Advertising
Audience
Live events Action plan
Digital
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 6
The three key modules
5 key revenue variables Headcount Turnover growth
PERFORMANCE
REVENUES
ORGANISATION
Ads versus audience
Print skew Marketing budgets Profitability
Digital skew
Diversification Productivity
Volatility Rate & scale of change
Confidence
Key revenue streams Change assets & toolkit
Advertising
Audience
Live events Action plan
Digital
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 7
Revenue map: advertiser revenue dependence versus digital skew
100
Revenue Map: Consumer Magazine Media
Ad Average = 38%
90
80
70
Digital Skew %
60
50
40
30
Digital Average = 20%
20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Ad Revenue Dependence %
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 8
The key audience areas
Digital
Retail
Subscriptions
Free distribution
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 9
1. Digital content distribution
Priorities: Content Platforms (Consumer)
Websites
enewsletters
Branded social
Distributed content
Video
Apps
Virtual events
Digital editions
Audio
Archive
Whitepapers
VAAs
AR
VR
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0
Investment Focus Score (1 to 10)
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 102. Retail opportunities & challenges
The pandemic impact on retail
o Big sales drops, but….
o Shifts in retail channel shares
o Reducing magazine space & range
o Streamlining supply chain processes
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 112. Retail opportunities & challenges
The pandemic impact on retail
o Big sales drops, but….
o Shifts in retail channel shares
o Reducing magazine space & range
o Streamlining supply chain processes
Primary Retail Opportunities
o The ongoing creativity of print products
o Publisher consolidation
o Broadening out the retail distribution
o More creative & targeted retail promotions
o Better copy management & use of data
o Streamlining of supply chain processes
Secondary Retail Opportunities
o Growing overseas sales with digital editions
o Digital newsstands growing audience and profile
o Retail subscriptions & home delivery
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 122. Retail opportunities & challenges
The pandemic impact on retail Primary Retail Challenges
o Big sales drops, but…. o Reduction in the number of retailers
o Shifts in retail channel shares o Pressure on the range & space in retail
o Reducing magazine space & range o Viability of the wholesalers
o Streamlining supply chain processes o Consumer trends
The shift out of print into digital activities
Primary Retail Opportunities Changing shopping patterns
o The ongoing creativity of print products Growing reluctance of readers to pay for content.
o Publisher consolidation o Socially-distanced shopping
o Broadening out the retail distribution o Escalating costs
o More creative & targeted retail promotions Retail display costs
o Better copy management & use of data Logistics, transport & print production.
o Streamlining of supply chain processes
Secondary Retail Challenges
Secondary Retail Opportunities o Low cover pricing
o Growing overseas sales with digital editions o Intense competition among print publishers
o Digital newsstands growing audience and profile o Growing environmental concerns
o Retail subscriptions & home delivery
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 133. Subscription opportunities
Primary Subscription Opportunities
o Adding value to the subscription package
Membership offer
Varied packages
Audience segmentation to shape personalised bundles
Focus on content-driven added value
o Making the sub more flexible and lower-friction
o Smarter acquisition
o Smarter use of data
o Selling-on insights about readers
o Ecommerce activity
o Improving quality & targeting of the editorial content
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 143. Subscription opportunities
Primary Subscription Opportunities Secondary Subscription Opportunities
o Adding value to the subscription package o International expansion
Membership offer o Improved retention
Varied packages o Better customer service
Audience segmentation to shape personalised bundles o Some potential (in pockets) in auto-renew
Focus on content-driven added value
o Site licences / corporate subs (B2B)
o Making the sub more flexible and lower-friction o Paid content for events companies via a sub (B2B)
o Smarter acquisition
o Smarter use of data
o Selling-on insights about readers
o Ecommerce activity
o Improving quality & targeting of the editorial content
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 153. Subscription challenges
1. End-User Pressures 3. Internal Constraints
o Pressured incomes & employment uncertainty o Unsophisticated data tools
o More pressures on their time & attention o Rising acquisition costs
o The shift from print to digital platforms o Reducing acquisition response rates & renewal rates
o Digital distractions (notably social media) o Longer acquisition journeys / conversion processes
o A reducing willingness to pay for content o Rising cost-to-serve
o Simple information overload o The investment to create robust membership services
o Reduced marketing budgets (money & headcount)
2. Competition o Stricter profitability targets
o Direct publisher competition o Staff skills……data analysis skills
o Brand-owners & advertisers, vendors o Department structures
o Other media subs services
Subscription model accepted
Subscription overload?
High consumer expectations of customer service
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 164. Free Distribution
Respondents fall into three distinct groups in terms of their usage trends
1. Increasing usage (equally balanced Consumer / B2B)
o Sampling tactic & free trial periods.
o Discrete content blocks (individual articles, whitepapers, webinars, videos, etc.) rather than open access.
o Hybrid paid + free business models (e.g. permanent freemium tier or where elements of content bundle are free.
o Occasional examples of complete paid-to-free conversions – normally as a last, desperate resort.
2. Steady usage (skewed more to B2B than Consumer)
o Free, controlled circulation of print issues under intense pressure.
3. Reducing usage (skewed more to Consumer than B2B)
o Two key drivers……
(1) a change in strategy to place more value on content by restricting free access
(2) simple cost reduction by cutting out waste or lower-value readers/users.
o Many publishers are trying to build paid membership models, so are also cutting back on free distributions.
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 17The key audience areas
Digital: websites & enewsletters dominate.
Retail: managing decline? Or getting ready for implosion?
Subscriptions: moving to “Subscription First”.
Free: the future or the past?...depends on the model.
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 18What could Jeff Bezos do
to our industry
if he wanted to?
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 19About….
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wessenden Marketing owns & runs the mediafutures project now in its eleventh year.
Wessenden Marketing is a leading UK-based marketing consultancy with an international range of clients across the media,
membership, distribution, retailing, tech, direct marketing, finance and business service sectors. Services cover five key areas:
Consultancy & Project Management, Newsletters & Reports, Market Research (consumer & B2B), Training/Workshops/Facilitating
and Peer-Group Networks.
CONTACT. Jim Bilton, Managing Director, Wessenden Marketing, Five Stones House, Tuesley Lane, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1SE
Email: info@wessenden.com I Telephone +44 (0)1483 421690
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
InPublishing is the UK media partner for the mediafutures survey.
InPublishing serves the UK newspaper, magazine and online publishing community, through its bi-monthly magazine, weekly email
newsletter, website and regular webinars. (www.inpublishing.co.uk)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Folio: / Access Intelligence is the US content partner for the mediafutures survey.
FOLIO: is part of the Access Intelligence group, which provides clients with high quality business insights and integrated marketing
solutions.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Flashes & Flames is the international content partner for the mediafutures survey.
Flashes & Flames is the award-winning weekly newsletter for media company CEOs, senior executives and entrepreneurs
throughout the world, written by Colin Morrison.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
VDZ Distribution Summit March 2021 I “Benchmarking the Audience Business in Europe” I Wessenden Marketing I Slide 20You can also read
