According to the FOLIO 2014 B-to-B CEO Survey, print advertising accounted for 52.5% of total revenue last year, higher than it was in 2010 at 52.4%. That's actually more surprising when you look
at what's been expected from print advertising on a year-by-year basis, says the report.
In each of the last five surveys, respondents have underestimated the following year's revenue from
print. Last year, for example, the group thought print advertising would make up 49.5% of total revenue in 2014, three percentage points less than what it turned out to be. The gap between expectation
and reality has run anywhere from less than 1% to more than 6% since 2010, but always lower.
Digital media, while growing, has seen the opposite effect. B-to-B media CEOs are consistently
overrating its revenue potential; last year, by 3.7%.
Organization Revenue Sources (%
of Revenue) |
| Company Size/% of Revenue/Year |
Revenue Source | < $5M/ %Revenue | $5M+/
%Revenue |
| 2013 | Est 2014 | 2013 | Est 2014 |
Print advertising | 55.1% | 51.9% | 48.3% | 46.6% |
Digital Media | 13.3 | 13.9 | 18.4 | 19.6 |
Events | 9.6 | 11.2 | 16.1 | 15.6 |
Marketing
services | 6.4 | 7.0 | 15.6 | 6.1 |
Paid subscriptions | 5.5 | 5.9 | 5.1 | 5.6 |
Data/market information | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 5.2 |
Other | 6.7 | 6.4 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
Source: FOLIO, May 2014 |
8% of those surveyed invested
$500,000 or more in technology last year, while 44% crossed the $25,000-mark, both 5-year highs. Just 9% didn't make significant investments in tech. A majority of those investment dollars are aimed
at bolstering digital media capabilities through upgrades to websites, CMSs, webinars, social media and video, claims the report. And, a quarter of the CEOs surveyed say they're planning to add
digital media staff in 2014.
It's a different story with print. Respondents' companies will not make anything more than a minimal investment in print products this year. A quarter of them
will shift resources away from ink and paper, says the report.
Digital's growth potential has been consistently and overwhelmingly labeled the fastest growing part of respondents' businesses
since 2010. Digital media has also been the most profitable piece of business over that period, reliably generating margins above 16%.
Not surprisingly, CEOs are expecting digital media to
continue driving growth in 2014. More respondents are expecting increased revenue there than from any other source, but their enthusiasm has been tempered. Revenue forecasts are close to 3% lower than
they were last year. There's evidence B-to-B media company CEOs are now turning to a new golden goose: live events, says the report.
As a percentage of total revenue, event earnings have
tickedup 2% in each of the last two years, even though expectations have called for less than half of that growth (events made up 12.2% of total revenue in 2014). One-third of respondents also claimed
live shows as one of their fastest-growing business segments last year, only trailing digital media. Profit margins have been above 17% since 2011.
Companies have more events on the way, says
the report. Of changes anticipated for 2014, 46% of respondents say they're planning on launching a new event, up from 32% last year and almost double the next most commonly anticipated change, the
launch of a digital startup.
Additions to event staffs highlight the emphasis even further, with a quarter of the companies surveyed planning to add event professionals in 2014, with a third
of the respondents calling creating live events one of their top 3 priorities for the year, says the report.
According to a new series of questions aimed at tablet and mobile publishing for
the 2014 survey, companies have rolled out a responsive design site, a dedicated mobile site,or both, with the crowd evenly split between two main options: 39% have opted for responsive design; 36%
have developed sites specifically for mobile.
There's a significant difference in mobile strategy between companies generating at least $5 million in revenue and those falling below that
threshold though. Mobile adoption is almost universal for large publishers now (only 7% say they haven't opted for a responsive or mobile site yet), while more than 40% of smaller publishers have
stuck with desktop-only sites to this point.
Looking ahead, 85% of the CEOs surveyed think they're headed for revenue increases in the next 12 months, another 5-year high, compared with just
12% who think earnings will stay flat and 1% who believe they're headed for a downturn, says the report.
Finally, companies are looking to spend as well, with 69% saying they'll add staffers
in 2014, a high point compared with previous surveys.
More information about this report, prepared by Michael Rondon for FOLIO,
may be found here.