by Tatiana Repkova

The Citizen has joined forces with Johannesburg Metrobus to launch a free, abbreviated version of the daily paper, Citizen Metro, to be distributed to Metrobus commuters from early March 2007.

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by Tatiana Repkova

The UK Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) has launched a new cross-platform system for publishers that could give a coherent picture of a brand's performance with combined print and web data. The Group Product Report, which launched on 27 February 2007, is billed as a tool for media owners to publicise their ABC-audited and verified figures across media platforms, all on the same report. Currently, publishers use a range of different systems to measure different strands. ABC said in a statement that publishers and media owners could opt to produce a Group Product Report alongside their usual ABC certificates, with the report being updated every time new data becomes available. The report includes historic data and charts, visual representations of the products and brands, and all the information included on the individual certificates. www.abc.org.uk; http://www.fipp.com/Default.aspx?PageIndex=2002&ItemId=13585; 7 March 2007

by Tatiana Repkova

A CEO survey conducted in the US by Folio and Readex Research reveals that even though publishers are launching new initiatives in both print and online, print has remained the dominant revenue stream for the past two years, accounting for 50 per cent of total revenue in 2005 and 49 per cent in 2006. However, as print revenues decline, the survey points to the need for publishers to focus their attention online where advertisers, consumers and business professionals are increasingly turning their attention. And while the survey showed that online revenue growth is beginning to eclipse the loss in print dollars for publishers, it also showed that much of the revenue returns for online publishing continue to be theoretic. In 2006, for example, web advertising accounted for just 10 per cent of the total revenue mix, up from 8 per cent in 2005. Folio reporter Marrecca Fiore told Update that it could be some time before things change. “It’s really a case of the publishers learning to monetise the web,” she said, adding: “It’s all still new and publishers have been selling web ad rates dirt cheap. It’s up to them to set new rates and we expect things to eventually improve over the next few years.” http://www.fipp.com/Default.aspx?PageIndex=2002&ItemId=13522; March 7, 2007

by Tatiana Repkova

The global online ad industry could hit $81.1 billion by 2011, according to a lengthy report released by American research firm Piper Jaffray & Co. “The User Revolution” looks at the internet as a form of mass media and anticipates a 21 per cent annual growth rate through 2011. Piper Jaffray believes the major internet trend is towards consumers, who will increasingly take control of content and branding. Piper Jaffray points out the increasing number of user-generated content sites like YouTube, MySpace and Flickr. The firm says that internet usage patterns are changing, moving traffic away from traditional web portals to these types of sites which the firm has dubbed “communitainment” sites. Piper Jaffray also believes that media is becoming increasingly fragmented, meaning that advertisers will have to buy more and more inventory in a variety of different mediums to gain the impact they want. The company also says that search will play a more prominent role and that online video will see more advertising growth as ad dollars shift away from traditional media. www.adotas.com; http://www.fipp.com/Default.aspx?PageIndex=2002&ItemId=13580; 7 March 2007