By any measure, 2021 has been an unpredictable and challenging year. Amid societal upheaval, economic shifts, and a global pandemic, there’s essentially no such thing as “business as usual” – yet the online publishing industry continues to thrive.
Recent revenue figures from AOP and Deloitte show substantial year-over-year growth for publishers in the US and UK. Innovation is at the heart of this success, as publishers continue to leverage data, insights, and technology to improve the quality of their content and diversify their revenue opportunities.
But staying on top of new developments is no small task. That’s why we’re excited to share Media Moments 2021, a new report sponsored by Sovrn summarizing the most important developments of the past year.
Launched today and developed by What’s New in Publishing and Media Voices, the report offers news, analysis, trends and case studies across all aspects of publishing, including:
- Email newsletters, including the fight for writing talent and the impact of Apple’s new mail privacy settings.
- Social media platforms, from Facebook’s tumultuous year to rising channels like TikTok and Snapchat.
- Advertising and the unprecedented recovery of ad spending worldwide as the pandemic wanes.
- Audio platforms, from paid podcasting and premium audio subscriptions to the rise and fall of Clubhouse.
- Data and privacy, including the impact of far-reaching privacy moves by tech giants Apple and Google.
- eCommerce and the big boon for publishers with strong ecommerce and affiliate capabilities.
- Emerging technologies like NFTs and the metaverse, plus the rise of blockchain and crypto payment options.
The Media Moments 2021 report offers critical insights to help publishers keep up with the most impactful new developments of the year and to innovate even during a time of huge societal and economic upheaval.
Want more? Check out the launch event webinar for a summary of the report’s key findings and a panel discussion with industry experts on the challenges and opportunities for publishers heading into 2022.
Ready to start capitalizing on ways to earn more revenue? Sovrn has made significant investments in new products and services this year, empowering publishers to diversify their revenue and maximize earnings, including:
- Advertising: We’ve upped the game for ad yields by optimizing every ad placement via “Engaged Time,” which lets you learn when an ad has the chance to be seen and when a user is actively engaged with the content. Using engaged time allows publishers to identify and price their most valuable ad inventory.
- Commerce: We’ve incorporated price and merchant comparison technology in Commerce, helping you generate more from every click by diversifying merchants, improve conversions, and boost revenue. Some clients have seen as much as a 200% increase in CTR’s from price comparison widgets.
- Data: We are actively working to provide publishers a standardized and scalable way to transact their first-party data by participating in the Prebid’s Taxonomy Taskforce and IAB Tech Lab’s Addressability Working Group. We also are helping publishers with engagement and page level data about their readers that can be leveraged to create engaged audiences or an engagement taxonomy.
To learn more about these innovations – and all the other ways Sovrn supports publishers – email us at sales@sovrn.com.
