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USA Today sees 60pc jump in mobile visitors as print business sags

USA Today?s effort to attract mobile consumers and compete in an increasingly digital media landscape translated into a jump in mobile visitors during the latest quarter, parent Gannett said.

The number of consumers who visited the daily newspaper?s mobile application, Web site and other mobile properties in September jumped to 48.6 million with a 60 percent increase in mobile-visitor reach to 27.5 percent, Gannett said, citing comScore Mobile Metrix. The results coming after Gannett said in August it would split into one company for broadcast and digital properties and one for newspapers, suggests that Gannett?s moves to engage on-the-go consumers on mobile may be taking hold.

?Following the massive growth in smartphone and tablet ownership last holiday season, more consumers turned to more mobile devices for more things, including news,? said Chuck Martin, CEO, Mobile Future Institute. ?The challenge for Gannett/USA Today, which has to be very apparent to them based on their mobile numbers, is how to deliver content in more bite-size pieces that can be easily consumed by the increasingly on-the-go consumer.

?It also means that the 24/7 news cycle is never ending, since the consumer?s mobile phone is always with them and always on,? he said. ?This means the delivery of news and information has to be continuous, and that is no small feat.?

Debt free
Gannett, Tysons Corner, VA, has about 120 domestic Web sites affiliated with its local publishing and television markets, USA Today, Gannett Government Media and Gannett Healthcare Group. 

Gannett expects the publishing business, striving to bounce back from the loss of advertising to the Internet and the slow United States economic recovery, to be debt-free after the separation.

Figuring out the secrets of mobile engagement.

To strengthen its businesses to compete in an increasingly digital landscape, Gannett recently acquired the remaining interest it did not already own in Cars.com, the second largest automotive classified site, trailing only Autotrader.com

In September, Gannett's consolidated domestic Internet audience was 109 million unique visitors reaching 44 percent of the Internet audience, according to comScore Media Metrix Multi-platform. 

The USA Today app had 20.8 million downloads at the end of the quarter, across Apple?s iPad and iPhone, Android devices, Windows devices and Amazon?s Kindle Fire. 

Newsquest, a British regional community newspaper and trade publisher, solidified its reputation as an Internet leader, as its Web sites attracted 136.9 million monthly page impressions from 22.2 million unique users in September.

For the quarter, Gannett said net income surged 49 percent from a year earlier to $118.5 million, while revenue jumped 15 percent to $1.44 billion.

Acquisitions, TV political advertising gains and retransmission revenue helped offset a decline in Gannett?s print properties. On a per-share basis, Gannett?s adjusted earnings of 59 cents beat analysts? expectations for earnings, excluding items, of 54 cents.

The broadcasting unit, which owns or provides services to 46 TV stations, reported a 105 percent gain in revenue to $416.5 million. The latest results reflected Gannett?s $2.2 billion purchase of BeIo and its portfolio of TV stations.

Adjusting news delivery to reach consumers on mobile.

The unit also saw a 61 percent increase in retransmission fees pay-TV companies pay to Gannett for the right to carry its stations.

In the publishing segment, which includes USA Today and 81 other newspapers, revenue dropped 3.6 percent as circulation revenue and advertising sales fell.

To boost consumer engagement, particularly with those on mobile, Gannett has been integrating its interactive offerings to appeal to mobile users.

In September, USA Today re-launched its gaming platform to drive more mobile engagement and offer a centralized experience for its advertisers.

The new platform, launched with gaming developer Arkadium, multiplied USA Today?s gaming presence by 11 times, by offering a larger variety of games. The implementation gave advertisers more wiggle room in developing and executing their ad content. 

Expanding games

As publishers look for new revenue models in mobile, they are partnering with retailers and CPG brands.

Gannett?s mobile-traffic results imply that traditional media are getting better at figuring out how to engage consumers on mobile.

Mobile is raising the bar for traditional publishers.

?We can expect similar numbers from all traditional publishers,? said Mr. Martin, who is the author of ?The Third Screen: Marketing to Your Customers in a World Gone Mobile.?

?A good example of a publishing company that figured this out early on is the Daily Mail. While based in the United Kingdom, the publisher figured how to reach the masses of U.S. consumers through by creating a highly organized and quickly rotating Daily Mail app.

?Mobile will continue to raise the bar for all traditional publishers,? Mr. Martin said.

Final Take

Michael Barris is staff reporter with Mobile Marketer, New York.