Anyone needing evidence to persuade their board of the need to develop a content marketing strategy need look no further than a new report which predicts the value of the global market will reach $154bn annually by 2019, an increase of nearly 60% on 2014.
The debate over content marketing has been raging for months, with many claiming it will be the saviour of the marketing industry. Never ones to miss out on the next big thing, many agencies, including Partners Andrews Aldridge, have set up content divisions, while the former founders of Chemistry – Diane Charlton and Joe Garton – have launched into the market with Once Upon A Time.
The study by Juniper Research – “Digital Content Business Models: OTT & Operator Strategies 2015-2019” – shows that mobile and online games will account for the largest share of content sales (38% of cumulative revenues), with game formats continuing to transition from physical to digital.
It cites the success of platforms such as Valve’s Steam (which now has over 125 million active accounts worldwide) as key drivers in this evolution, while revenues from consoles/handhelds were diminishing as players migrated their gameplay to tablets and higher-end smartphones.
Strong growth is also expected to come in the lifestyle segment, where dating services such as Match.com, eHarmony and Zoosk are seeing marked uplifts in revenues from their mobile channels.
The research also highlighted a dual shift in content monetisation models. In the first instance, pay per download now accounts for around 10% of mobile content revenues, with the bulk of revenue achieved post download. Secondly, it highlightes the transition from content ownership to content access, with consumers needing to engage with the same content across multiple devices.
Research author Dr Windsor Holden said: “The increased consumer desire for 24/7 access on any device leads to greater opportunities for players that can offer subscription-based, unlimited content streaming.”
The research noted that leading OTT (Over The Top) players such as Apple, Google and Amazon were in pole position to capitalise on this transition, with each now offering cloud-based solutions both for personal storage and premium content access.
It argues that if consumers are tied into multiple products from an OTT, those consumers becomes increasingly reluctant to churn away from one element of the brand, as he/she loses access to content across their devices.
The whitepaper, “Digital Content – An Over The Top Reaction?”, is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the full report.
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All mouth no trousers? Forget it – #contentmarketing will be worth $154bn a year by 2019 says #Juniper http://t.co/Bt2HlGbFcJ