Welcome to The Polar Report, a curated view of what’s happening in the world of Digital Monetisation, Audience Development, and Measurement. This week we dive into publishers underutilising social media's growth, adapting to the changing digital video landscape, AI-powered Shorts, and research on OTT viewing.

‍

Monetisation

Publishers Underutilised Growing Social Media Audience

A study by Echobox reveals that publishers are not fully leveraging social media to drive traffic and revenue. With nearly 4.5 billion users globally and a 3% growth rate this year, social media offers significant opportunities for publishers.

Facebook leads in driving referral traffic, followed by Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Optimising strategies and benchmarking against industry leaders can help publishers enhance engagement and attract new audiences.

Full Article on Digital Information World

‍

Adapting to the Changing Digital Video Landscape

With digital ad spending projected to grow by 10.5% in 2023, publishers must balance quality content and ad monetisation.

Challenges include limited video inventory growth, new IAB Tech Lab definitions affecting in-stream classification, and the need for Supply Path Optimisation (SPO). Publishers should partner with reliable ad tech firms and evaluate intermediaries for maximum revenue.

Full Article on Digiday

‍

Audience Development

AI-Powered Shorts and Video Tool Boost Brand and Creator Revenue

BENlabs launched Suggested Shorts, an AI tool that identifies engaging moments from long-form YouTube videos to create short-form content.

Shorts help creators grow audiences and monetise videos, with BENlabs’ AI analyzing engagement and retention patterns. This tool aids creators in focusing their efforts, enhancing audience interaction, and increasing revenue from YouTube Shorts.

Full Article on Media Post

‍

Measurement

Smart TVs Account for 50% of OTT TV Viewing

Research from Aluma Insights shows that smart TVs now account for 50% of streaming TV time among SVoD users, up from 31% in 2015.

Smart TVs are most prevalent in living rooms (64% of US broadband households) and primary bedrooms (39%), with older adults (45+) streaming more on smart TVs (53%) than younger users (39%).

Game consoles are popular for streaming among 18-34-year-olds, while pay-TV boxes are favored by those aged 65+. The decline in bridge devices reflects the rise of smart TVs as the preferred streaming method.

Full Article on Advanced Television