• by Melynda Fuller , August 2, 2018

The June 2018 Brand Audience Report from Magazine Media 360° was released this week, showing some astonishing mobile numbers. 

While total Magazine Media 360° audience numbers were up by 3% versus June 2017 across the 114 magazine brands noted in the report, the highest percentage increase in that category since July 2017, mobile audience increased by 25% or 123 million viewers. 

Video also saw a predictable increase with a double-digit climb of 15.3%. 

Coincidentally, web, which includes desktop and laptop audiences, saw a decline of 12.3% or 23 million. However, the strong mobile numbers more than made up for the dip in audience seen across web. 

Mobile content and advertising, however, haven’t kept up with the rise in usage. 

This week, the Pew Center reported a steep decline in newsroom jobs, mostly seen across print newspapers, with an actual increase in digital jobs. A boost in jobs for journalists is cause for celebration, but as mobile increases its steady climb, the people needed to fill editorial posts possess different skill sets than those who traditionally staffed newspapers.

Creators of VR- and AR-centric content, those with a strong gaming background and engagement success, will take digital publishing to the next level. Creative programmers increasingly become as important as writers and editors. 

As for advertising, eMarketer reports that by 2019, nearly 80% of programmatic ad spend will go to mobile ads. To date, as Adweek notes, programmatic has lagged behind when it comes to mobile, with the focus mainly on in-feed and banner ads. 

But given the difficulty digital publishers and advertisers face when finding ways to survive outside the duopoly, the importance of better mobile-based advertising becomes all the more critical.

The latest report charts the demand for more and better mobile offerings. It’s also a wake-up call to industries that have struggled to adapt to the digital world: Fast track your best plans and most innovative thinkers.