BtoB Media Business - April 2011 - (Page 15)

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Audience Development Does registration hurt online circulation? BY MARK J. MILLER W hether or not publishers should ask website users to register for content is now a hotly debated topic among audience developers. Abraham Langer, VP-digital media, audience marketing at 1105 Media, said, “Gating content always leads to a significant decrease in page views. Given that most b-to-b online models rely on page views to drive advertising revenue, I don’t see a significant shift toward gated models in the immediate future.” However, John Rockwell, VP-marketing and e-media at Access Intelligence, disagreed. “I think subscribers assume they need to register but that the standard issues apply,” he said. “If it’s difficult to register, they will abandon…. Unless you’re The New York Times, site users will not ‘fly away’ merely because they needed to enter their work email.” Kim Clothier said she sees it becoming more common, but does not see it ever becoming the norm. “It may in some specific markets where there is great value on the data and it’s something not readily available elsewhere. UBM Electronics’ VP-marketing Felicia Hamerman said that there needs to be some content available for free “to ensure visitors can grasp the value of our site and the content we are offering,” but that content that is deemed high-value should require registration. “Data is today’s currency and, by registering, users are in essence ‘paying’ for access,” she said. “In general, from a marketing perspective, mandatory registration would be great in terms of identifying all site visitors and opening up more opportunities to engage them relative to your brands/products,” said Randy Renner, VP-sales and marketing at Omeda Communications. “However, this is not so much a media/publishing industry-specific decision as it is a vertical market and/or publisher-specific decision. It could vary based upon a particular vertical market [such as construction, electronics or retailing] and the availability of other Web content in that market, [for example, free or paid]. It could also vary based upon each publisher’s revenue model; requiring registration could drive down overall site metrics and revenue, plus you run the risk of losing future engagement opportunities with these anonymous visitors somewhere down the line.” Emelda Barea, VP-circulation and distribution at Jobson Healthcare Information, said that in order to request registration, content should be valuable and the registration page should be short. Whether publishers ask users to register or not, BPA Worldwide President-CEO Glenn Hansen said, details like that can be very important to marketers. At the Matesz Digital Audit Conference in Budapest in February, Hansen said: “Marketers are moving away from just the fact that someone subscribed to a product. They are now starting to look at how the product is used, and that’s a big shift. Up until now, it’s always been about the number of copies pushed out; but now it’s more about engagement.” CIRCULATING UBM Canon’s data a work in progress andra Martin’s first job in magazine publishing was as ad coordinator at Argus Publishers. Now she’s the group director-strategic community and audience development at UBM Canon, overseeing 14 titles. Media Business: What challenges are at the top of your list ? Sandra Martin: Managing email protocols within our integrated database and reporting audience engagement metrics in a way that is meaningful to our sales and editorial teams. MB: What are you doing to address those issues? Martin: Regarding the email protocols, we are implementing a new automated program within SANDRA our email deployment system and also preparing MARTIN UBM Canon to educate both internal staff and advertisers about smart email marketing. Regarding the audience engagement metrics, we are currently working on more comprehensive reporting which will show the engagement and behavioral metrics across all media channels. MB: What’s happened in the last six months that you are most proud of? Martin: Our companywide integrated database continues to be a work in progress, but we have made great strides over the past 12 months adding all channels, including behavior metrics. —M.J.M. S The world of digital media delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday. Each edition of Media Business’ Digital Directions features news and analysis, case studies and interviews with thought leaders, as well as new product information. Read everything you need to know about the diverse and fast-changing world of digital media. Subscribe today at: www.btobonline.com/digitaldirections Advertising opportunities are available. To advertise, contact David Bernstein at Dbernstein@crain.com or 212-210-0782. mediabusinessonline.com | April 2011 | Media Business | 15 http://www.btobonline.com/digitaldirections http://www.btobonline.com/digitaldirections http://www.mediabusinessonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BtoB Media Business - April 2011

Btob Media Business - April 2011
Contents
Down Is Up
Farm Journal Media Takes Home the Grand Neal
Publishers Step Up Investments in Lead-Gen Capabilities
Tapping New Technologies
Sales & Marketing
Carving a Niche
Registration Conundrum
Events
People
Benchmarks
Powerful Media Brands, Powerful Industry Advocates

BtoB Media Business - April 2011