How Men’s Health Overcomes Digital Advertising Revenue Challenges

The digital advertising revenue is there for the taking, but several obstacles stand in the way; plus, mergers & acquisitions, personnel moves, and more

Are you generating all of the digital advertising revenue you’re capable of? If so, what’s your secret? If not, join the club.

Mequoda Members know that relying solely on digital magazine advertising to pay the bills and try to turn a profit isn’t the wisest move. But as one plank of a multiplatform publishing strategy – functioning as a team alongside with subscriptions, events, products, and even an ecommerce content strategy – the benefits of online advertising can be integral to your success.

The problem is, generating digital advertising revenue is becoming more and more problematic for some publishers, largely because of ad blocking programs, ad viewability issues, and the complexities of cross-device targeting.

But as a recent interview with a digital ad exec shows, it can be done – and done quite well. Let’s take a look at his outlook, excerpted, as well as some other articles from MinOnline.

Men’s Health Exec on Steadying Digital Advertising Revenue in Turbulent Times

Highly recommended interview that will be of great interest to digital publishers struggling to handle the hurdles of digital advertising revenue. Men’s Health National Digital Sales Director Corey Rotkel gives what amounts to a stirring pep talk, choosing to look at them as motivators rather than momentum killers.

“I think the thing that’s really motivating me now are some of the challenges we’re facing like ad blocking and banner blindness. And what kind of value can we provide for our users, whether they’re on mobile or desktop? Can we provide any type of content within that ad so users say, “Hey, I can find some quick value from this big, splashy ad unit,” instead of just having big brand imagery?” Rotkel tells Caysey Welton.

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“It’s also about how we create better sponsored content or native. Right now ad blockers can’t block you from viewing native content and I think something for MensHealth.com, and a lot of other publishers in the space, are really paying close attention to how they create their native content for a few reasons. One is, of course, to kind of combat the banner blindness but also to get brands to create content that looks like edit but is really produced from a marketing or advertorial perspective.”

Mary Berner Leaving the MPA After Three-Year Term

In what definitely qualifies as big news, Mary Berner has stepped down as president and CEO of the Association of Magazine Media, MinOnline reports, choosing the conclusion of her first three-year term as the point of departure. During her tenure, the MPA launched its Magazine Media 360º Brand Audience Report, a monthly look at industry performance that has painted a very rosy picture for the future of digital magazines.

Berner’s resignation was part of a planned transition, MinOnline says, as she will move on to serve as CEO of Cumulus Media, Inc. Senior Vice President of Marketing and Digital Initiatives Nancy Telliho will take over as MPA CEO on an interim basis.

NTVB Buys TV Guide

On the mergers & acquisitions front, NTVB Media is purchasing TV Guide from OpenGate Capital, in the process almost tripling its audience with a newly combined circulation of 2.8 million, according to MinOnline.

Organic Life to Debut First Event This Month; Esquire Joins Podcast Publishing Craze

In news that warms our multiplatform hearts, two big brands are branching out with content and programming. Rodale’s Organic Life is kicking off its event strategy with the Farm2Fork Festival in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on October 24. The food and healthy lifestyles event features Subaru as a partner and presenting sponsor.

Esquire, meanwhile, just weeks after announcing online magazine archive Esquire Classic, is now trying its rugged but well-manicured hand at podcast publishing. Its first episode went live on October 5.

Publishers, is digital advertising revenue your preferred stream? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments!

To read more about digital advertising revenue in the news, visit MinOnline.com.

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