The latest Tablets and Publishing report, giving publishers and advertisers an overview of the tablet market, was published earlier this month. Looking at the current state of the tablet market and the future potential for magazine media, the report looks at tablet devices and their increased adoption by consumers and magazine brands.

Key findings from the report show that while readers are positive and responsive to digital magazines, they continue to want digital as well as printed formats- showing print is not yet dead as some marketers may think. Interestingly, the report also found that the increase in the popularity of tablets has meant that 68 per cent of people have read a newspaper or magazine they had not previously read in print- a statistic that will be music to the ears of many of those in the publishing industry.

The research is encouraging for magazine advertisers as although it confirms that there is a shift in the number of people reading traditional printed media, it also shows that there is a creation of a new market of digital readers. Brands should consider how they could maximise the opportunities this provides by, for example, offering readers interactive digital advertising which may include features such as automated shopping or online sales promotions with an incentive to redeem offline. The research also highlights how tablet readers appear to be more receptive to digital advertising compared to other forms of online advertising. Tap through rates average at 7 per cent, approximately a seventy-fold increase when compared to what online adverts achieve.

When reading the report, it is clear that now that tablet ownership has increased, and looks likely to increase even more in the future, businesses need to re-consider the way that consumers are interacting with their brand. With higher numbers of tablet and mobile browsers, designing responsive websites for mobile devices is increasingly becoming an expectation, on the part of the user, rather than an enhanced customer experience. These mobile specific sites reduce the need for a separate app, which can be more expensive to produce, benefiting both the user and producer.

Not surprisingly, the report shows that consumers interact with their tablets most while ‘watching’ the TV (the most common place of usage is on the sofa). This creates new opportunities for brands to use TV advertising as a call to action, encouraging customers to go online and interact with their brand through the company’s website or social media platforms. Developing campaigns that work across a variety of platforms, and are informed by analytics, are now a staple part of any marketing strategy.

Going forward, it will be interesting to see how brands change their strategy to incorporate the increasing tablet community, and what innovative ideas they come up with to boost on and offline activity.

To view the report in full, click here.