Adobe MAX, Ad Revenue Declines, Native Advertising Projections, Facebook Earnings, Adobe InDesign CC 2017 Announcement, TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week, Adobe Experience Manager Mobile v2016.13 Release
Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing stories about announcements at the Adobe MAX conference, the fallout of sharp declines in print ad revenue, a new report projecting a big increase in native advertising, Facebook’s quarterly results, and more.
- Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen (pictured) kicked off Adobe MAX, attended by more than 10,000 creative professionals—the largest crowd yet. With the theme of “closing the creativity gap,” Adobe’s major announcements focused on new cloud capabilities in beta apps Adobe XD, Project Felix, and Adobe Spark, along with a new framework for Creative Cloud using artificial intelligence, called Adobe Sensei. Among other highlights were new features in core CC applications and updates to Adobe Stock, including a partnership with Reuters to bring more video and photography to the Stock library. Check out our blog (see below) for updates in InDesign CC 2017.
- We also followed continuing coverage of the fallout from plummeting ad revenue across news organizations—the biggest declines since the Great Recession, according to a Columbia Journalism Review report (see TFP CEO Margot Knorr Mancini’s post “Surviving or Dying in the Brave New World of Digital News Media“). The Wall Street Journal, for one, announced editorial layoffs and buyouts, and consolidation of newspaper sections, among other measures. The New York Times is faring no better: Its just released quarterly earnings report shows print ad revenues dove 18.5% compared with the same period last year—a situation it expects will only get worse. And it’s not just print taking a beating: According to a post on Recode, digital ad revenue is shrinking as well. For everyone except Google and Facebook, that is. It reported IAB numbers showing the two tech giants “accounted for all of the growth in U.S. digital advertising in the first half of this year.”
- For a growing number of media companies, native advertising is providing a life line. A new report projected it will jump from 11% of ad revenues at news organizations today to 25% in 2018. It also found 48% of media companies are now producing custom ads in one form or another, and 38% more are expecting to do so. Poynter said native is fast becoming an attractive format because it pays considerably more than traditional ad formats, though as the market matures, rates are expected to come down. Among other findings, 66% of survey respondents consider content expertise a top strength, with 42% using in-house editorial teams to create custom ads versus 26% using external agencies.
- Back to Facebook, its earnings report stood in stark contrast to those in the news business: Business Insider said the social platform’s quarterly results far exceeded expectations, with a reported 1.78 billion people logging in each month and two-thirds of those users active on a daily basis. Mobile, it said, is driving that number, with more people using Facebook exclusively on their phones than ever before. And of course its financial results reflect that growth, with an estimated 70% increase in profits, according to MarketWatch. However, BI added, Facebook also warned that “the amount of ads it can squeeze into all those users’ newsfeeds is reaching its limit.” A good problem to have.
On the Technology for Publishing Blog
- See what’s new in InDesign! Adobe’s latest release, InDesign CC 2017, includes OpenType enhancements and new features like straddling footnotes and scalable arrowheads. To learn about these and other updates, check out our newest handbook, Using Adobe InDesign CC 2017. We bring you step-by-step instructions and new tips to get you up to speed quickly!
- TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week focuses on the potential of live video streaming—and why publishers are testing the waters.
- AEM Mobile Update: Get all the details on new features, enhancements, and bug fixes in the just released Adobe Experience Manager Mobile v2016.13.
- In case you missed it, TFP CEO Margot Knorr Mancini’s latest article examines disruption in the digital news business, what it means for media companies, and how they are responding to it. And Monica Murphy’s most recent InDesign CC Tip shows you how updated Mobile Intent page size options make it easier to create layout renditions for multiple devices.
Photo: Adobe MAX
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Posted by: Monica Sambataro
