Traditional publishers face death by digitisation

Where once our eyes were glued to incandescent TV screens, glossy magazine pages and crowded newspaper sheets, they now spend their gaze transfixed upon computers, mobiles and tablets. Where the eyes have gone, the advertising dollar has followed. Companies like Google and Facebook have built their empires on owning digital realms where media real estate is sold to the highest bidders and entire industries like search engine optimisation (SEO) and programmatic ad buying have been created to service them. As consumers migrate further into new digital frontiers, so too must traditional publishers if they are to survive. With total advertising spend set to grow just 2-4% per annum over the medium term, any material growth is more than likely to be a zero sum game. For every new dollar generated by digital advertising, traditional publishers are likely to see one less. (VIEW LINK)