WebProNews

More print publishers are focusing on the mobile market as a way to expand their brands, reach new audiences and generate additional revenue while offering advertisers the chance to reach locally targeted engaged audiences, according to a new survey from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).

Forty-five percent of respondents who track mobile's impact on their website traffic said the devices increased visits by up to 10 percent today. Half believe mobile traffic to their websites will increase by five to 25 percent in the next two years.

The majority (80%) of newspaper and magazine respondents believe people will rely more heavily on mobile devices as a main information source in the next three years.

Nearly 70 percent of respondents agree that mobile is receiving more attention at their publication this year than last. More than a third believe their publication already has a well-developed plan for succeeding in the mobile market.

Among senior executives, 56 percent said their publication has plans to develop a smartphone application in the next 24 months, in addition to the 17 percent who already have an app in production.

More than half (55%) of print publishers believe that digital delivery of their publication is important to their future, three-fourths believe their publication will still be available in print form five years from now.

In addition, fifty-percent of publishers believe the future business model of mobile content will be supported by both advertising and subscriptions, while a third believe mobile will have a significant impact on their publication's revenue in just three years.

ABC also found publishers believe there are many opportunities for paid mobile advertising, including sponsorship, search, video, and banner ads.

"Although the mobile market is in its early stages, it offers tremendous opportunities for marketers to reach and interact with audiences," said Edward Montes, executive vice president and managing director of Havas Digital North America.

"With text and multimedia messaging, branded mobile apps, content sponsorships, display advertising, paid search, and location-based targeting, the platform becomes an integral component of the overall marketing strategy. It has enormous potential for clients, in my view, so it's great to see newspapers and magazines embracing digital publishing."