• by Melynda Fuller , December 13, 2018

The October 2018 Magazine Media 360° Brand Audience Report was released today, and signals a continued positive trajectory for publishers’ video audience numbers.

According to the report, the video audience increased by 23.7% and mobile web increased by 5.6% across an audience of 1.8 billion for the 114 magazine brands included in the analysis. Video now represents 9% of the entirety of the Magazine Media 360° brand audience total, making it even with the web audience. 

The continued ascent of video corresponds directly with the popularity of consumption over mobile devices by audience members. The increase was so significant for some brands they saw their video audience doubled or better, compared to the same month a year ago.

Those brands, 15 in total, include Popular Mechanics, Road & Track, Town & Country, Esquire, Architectural Digest, Fast Company, AARP, House Beautiful, WebMD Magazine, Brides, Bon Appetit, W, The Economist, Car and Driver and Cosmopolitan.

Popular Mechanics, at the top, saw a staggering increase of 2,474%, while No. 2 Road & Track saw an increase of 1,252%.

This increase in audience numbers is echoed in a recent report from the IAB and PwC that showed an increase in online ad spending of 23.1% year over year. Mobile accounted for 63% of the $25.6 billion spent in the first half of 2018. 

According to the report, video remains the fastest-growing ad format, with mobile video ad spend reaching $4.2 billion in the first half of 2018.