Five Toes Media

The AOP in the UK are holding this event in their July Forum. If you can't attend it's worth having a read below to massage your thought process and how these comments may be relevant to you...

Capitalising on global audiences has long been a conundrum for publishers. While many UK media owners have significant and growing worldwide online audiences, they are often fragmented and overlooked commercially.

With ad planning and buying within the UK focused on local or national campaigns, there has been little interest in buying overseas. 
 


But is this about to change? "More transparency from advertisers is key", says Joėlle Frijters, CEO and Co-Founder of Improve Digital. Joėlle will be among the speakers at AOP's Forum on 8 July, entitled Going Global - Monetising your International Audience.

The event will also feature speakers from Bauer, Carat Digital, Sky Digital Media and the Wall Street Journal - book your place online.

Ahead of the event, Joėlle gave us her thoughts on how UK publishers can capitalise on their international audiences:

Why do you think so many UK publishers are failing to fully commercialise their international audiences?

Fully commercialising local audiences is already a huge struggle for most publishers so, naturally, international audiences become a lesser priority. Furthermore, there are resource challenges such as the cost and time requirements for operating local in-house sales teams or in managing multiple sales houses or ad networks. 

Is the attitude of UK advertisers and agencies contributing to the problem?

As a result of the many languages in Europe and the fragmentation of audiences, managing pan-European campaigns and their creatives is a hassle for media agencies, especially given the small volumes and budgets involved. It is not surprising if they prefer to focus on domestic traffic.  However, according to recent research by the EIAA, advertisers are now spending around 16% of their online budgets on pan-European campaigns and, although the research did not say where they spent it, it is a start.

Do you see this situation improving in the future?

More transparency is key. Advertisers are seeking cost reductions, and the growth of pan-European ad networks, ad exchanges and optimisers will all help publishers’ ability to monetise their international audience and provide a more reasonable yield for lower costs.
 
How can publishers determine the potential returns of their international traffic and ensure revenue outweighs any costs?

You should treat every single market as a separate P&L. With various sources of income, fixed and variable costs, which are dependent on volume, reach and the maturity of the markets you are in.
 
What selling options should publishers be considering?

Firstly, publishers should be focusing more on selling pan-European campaigns from the UK office.  Secondly, where the volume is high enough, engage a local sales house or develop a dedicated in-house team.  Finally, any remaining traffic should be vested in an ad network optimiser to manage costs and make sure you are connected to all best performing local networks.
 
Which publishers are getting it really right and are the ones to watch?

The publishers that are sharp are creating local monetisation mixes through understanding the local ecosystems and various sources of revenue. It all comes down to calculating things back, reviewing and improving over and over again.

The AOP forum on Monetising International Audiences Online takes place on 8 July from 2.00pm-5.30pm at Olswang's offices in Holborn. Tickets are £40+vat for AOP members, £80+vat for non-members - Book your place online now.