SIIA Survey: Publishers Prioritizing Multiple Platforms as they Develop Content Distribution Strategies

SIIA’s Content Division today announced results from a survey that shows the challenges and opportunities content creators have in aligning their organizations to keep up with fast-evolving platforms.

Most of the 85 publishing executives surveyed said their companies are thinking about how to publish their content across multiple platforms.When respondents were asked to name the “high priority” platforms they plan to focus on during 2012, the answers were extremely varied.

According to the results of the SIIA Content Platforms survey:

• About 60 percent of respondents classify tablet publishing, mobile publishing and/or launching new web-based products as a high priority;
• Forty-two percent prioritize licensing and syndication; • Nineteen percent prioritize video;
• Business-to-business (B2B) companies tend to prioritize new web-based products slightly above mobile and tablet publishing, whereas business-to-consumer (B2C) companies prioritize tablet publishing above all else;
• B2B companies are twice as likely to prioritize licensing and syndication versus their B2C counterparts;
• 50 percent of director-level individuals prioritize tablet publishing, versus 69 percent of C- and VP-level managers and their manager-level counterparts;
• Only 25 percent of individuals in sales roles prioritize tablet publishing, versus 70 percent of their marketing counterparts;
• 75 percent of individuals in sales roles prioritize web-based publishing—the highest of any group—versus 50 percent of their marketing counterparts.

The content platforms on which companies are currently publishing also vary. Overall, and by a fairly wide margin, companies are leveraging Apple platforms – the iPad and the iPhone. The survey found that 68 percent are currently publishing on the iPad and 58 percent on the iPhone. Meanwhile, 38 percent are publishing on Android-based phones, and 35 percent are publishing on Android-based tablets. Just 17 percent are leveraging Facebook (Open Graph), and 16 percent are publishing on the Kindle.

Large enterprise information and digital content companies are deploying more products and services on Apple, Android, Kindle and even Facebook than their SMB counterparts. And when it comes to developing apps for mobile and other platforms, B2C companies and large enterprise content companies are more likely to outsource than their B2B and SMB counterparts.

We conducted the survey to gain a greater understanding of publishers’ needs in advance of Content VIA Platforms, an all-new conference to help publishing, media and information companies design effective distribution strategies for mobile, social and other content distribution platforms. Full results of the survey will be released at Content Via Platforms, held May 9-10 in San Francisco.


Kathy Greenler Sexton is Vice President and General Manager for the SIIA Content Division.

New Content VIA Platforms Conference will Address the Demands of Publishing in a Multiplatform World

SIIA’s Content Division announced today an all-new conference for content creators who publish across multiple platforms. Called Content VIA Platforms, this new event will help publishing, media, and information companies get content effectively published and distributed across multiple  platforms such as mobile, social and even aggregation platforms.

Content VIA Platforms will be held May 9-10 in San Francisco. SIIA will preview the event during a free, one-hour webinar next week, on March 1 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern/10:30 a.m. Pacific. Members of the media are invited to attend the conference and participate in the webinar.

One of the key challenges many publishers, new and information providers face today is publishing and distributing content in real-time across multiple content platforms. These content distribution platforms include everything from mobile, tablets, aggregation to even scholarly platforms. We launched Content VIA Platforms to help publishers to make smart product and strategy platform decisions in order to help them maximize their audiences, customer base and revenue-without breaking the budget.

The Content VIA Platforms conference will feature a number of mobile, publishing and technology thought leaders and key executives from the information industry. Panels and presentations will focus on equipping participants with tools and strategies to successfully utilize a variety of different platforms, monetization strategies, devices and app distribution models, and more.

The Content VIA Platforms webinar, which will be held next week on March 1, will provide an introductory overview of key content platforms and discuss strategies for harnessing these platforms to drive visibility. The basic tools introduced during the webinar will be covered in more depth at the Content VIA Platforms conference in May. Next week’s preview will be led by two top digital content strategists-Ann Michael, President of Delta Think, and Barry Graubart, Vice President for Customer Development at Crowd Fusion and SIIA Member Chair of Content VIA Platforms.


Kathy Greenler Sexton is Vice President and General Manager for the SIIA Content Division.

The Apple iPad – A New Canvas for Publishers

Written by Gina Cerami, Director of Marketing, Connotate
Submitted by Connotate

As Apple unveiled the iPad last week I’m sure the Apple-loyalists lined up to reserve their very own precious iPad. But, what they get in return for the price is still to be seen, or better yet, realized.

The iPad is anticipated to provide a simple and convenient experience for consumers seeking high-value digital content. Already, Apple has designed an app for delivering books via the iPad (called iBookstore), but will they be able to compete with the Kindle or Netbook that’s already out there? If you own one of those other e-book readers, are you really going to put out another $500 for yet another cool tech device that serves the same function? I’m not so sure.

Publishers, Get Your Paintbrush, the Canvas is in Front of You

I believe the real opportunity may lie with the news and magazine publishers. The New York Times presentation of their news on the iPad looked pretty impressive. It had a nice layout, nice flow. Now that Apple – who has a pretty loyal following (more than 20% of Americans own at least one Apple product) — has created a canvas, it’s time for innovative publishers to start building their apps. A much larger canvas than was available via the iPhone and iPod, now might be the time for publishers to consider an alternate business model that may help and even speed the transition of consumers’ willingness to pay for digital content.

Read the rest at: Connotate’s Business Intelligence Blog