INMA Recommends
INMA's editors, initiative leaders, experts, and volunteer leaders scour the world of media to find sources of inspiration about the business of journalism: trends, subject matter expertise, data, and more. Augment your INMA experience by perusing our recommended reports from third-party sources. We have vetted these thoroughly. They are global in nature or have global ramifications, the subject matter is unique, our experts determine this is a “best of” quality, and/or the report is freely available. If the report has too much of a sales component, it doesn't make the list. If you have a recommendation for INMA Recommends, e-mail inma-recommends@inma.org.
Recommended reading from INMA
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The Future of Generative AI in Advertising
Released: November 9, 2023 | Kantar
Our view: Kantar dives into the under-reported world of generative AI in advertising: Is this about efficiency or effectiveness? They reported that while GenAI ads performed strongly, quality was variable. They reported that humans are central to success. And AI can assess different creative routes and variants and generate content. This is an over-sized article or under-sized report, and it makes our list because of the topic’s newness and data.
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Capturing the Attention Of Our Youngest Generations
Released: November 2, 2023 | Magna Global
Our view: Billed as the “digital advertiser’s guide to reaching adult Gen Z plus Millennials on connected TV,” this 29-slide report from Magna Global provides a statistically detailed over of the challenges. The report prioritises attention opportunities.
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Local Newspaper Study 2023
Released: April 28, 2023 | America’s Newspapers
Our view: How U.S. readers consume local news and advertising is the focus of the 2023 Local Newspaper Study, the first such national research project in a decade. This is a national study of 5,000 respondents from Coda Ventures for the press association, America’s Newspapers. This link connects you with a five-page study overview PDF.
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The New Gatekeepers
Released: March 6, 2023 | Ben Evans
Our view: Every year, Ben Evans produces a presentation exploring macro and strategic trends in the tech industry. For 2023, he titles his presentation as “The New Gatekeepers.” Across 102 slides, Ben outlines the decline of the old gatekeepers (department stores, newspapers) and the rise of new gatekeepers (Amazon, software, globalism).
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Meta and the News: Assessing the Value of the Bargain
Released: March 1, 2023 | NERA Economic Consulting
Our view: A well-researched yet controversial analysis of the “bargain” between Meta and news publishers is the focus of this 45-page report that has become a foundational piece of the social platform’s argument against the level of proposed funding internationally. One of its core theses is that Facebook and Big Tech platforms didn’t put news publishers in the economic peril they are in today. Like it or not, the report provides statistical insights that often don’t get surfaced.
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The Global Media Landscape in 2023
Released: February 10, 2023 | GWI
Our view: Shifting media habits last year combined with changing consumer priorities and the cost-of-living crisis is setting up 2023 to be a unique year. This year’s report looks at how Gen Z are using social media to find products, the smart devices that are in demand, viewing habits and second screening activities, and the popularity of gaming in today’s landscape. GWI is an audience targeting company for the global marketing industry. This is a PDF report in PPT style, requiring free registration.
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Content Matters 2023 Report
Released: January 25, 2023 | WordPress VIP
Our view: In an inaugural 32-page report on content marketing, WordPress VIP learns that resource teams and budgets are growing despite economic uncertainty, more companies are focused on creating more content yet quality is an issue, and analytics are rising in importance. The report is filled with data supporting content marketing.
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U.S. Consumer Trends Index 2023
Released: January 25, 2023 | Cheetah Digital
Our view: This 47-page report looks at consumer and marketer trends from a commercial perspective. It’s a report that shows the blurring lines of advertising vs. other commercial opportunities. The report looks at the pandemic-driven transformation of consumer habits – and the ripple effects on fostering brand loyalty, customer lifetime value, stepping closer to the purchasing moment, the rise of SMS/MMS vs. the decline of advertising. The report is free if you provide your information.
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Change and Opportunity: 2023 Media Trends
Released: December 21, 2022 | Dentsu
Our view: Dentsu breaks down its uniquely insightful 39-page trends report into three parts: content, commerce, and community. Inside each part are trending constituent parts. Pay special attention to the commerce section with trends being “from going shopping to always shopping,” “retail media shakes up adland,” “the rise of the super apps,” and “no way back for third-party cookies.”
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Global 2022 End-of-Year Forecast
Released: December 5, 2022 | GroupM
Our view: GroupM’s end-of-year forecast has hints of optimism amid economic headwinds. Globally, that’s a result of the re-emergence of China but also that “large advertisers are cautious but recording revenue gains.” That could portend over-performance vs. low expectations for 2023. The 34-page report provides a macro-overview of uncertain times, an outlook, and media trends, among others — punctuated by a global summary data table.
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MAGNA Global Ad Forecast for 2023
Released: December 4, 2022 | MAGNA
Our view: MAGNA’s “Global Ad Forecast” for 2023 comes in press release form, yet there’s enough in its “10 takeaways,” a regional breakdown, media trends, and its statistical breakdown to make this worth your while.
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Change and Opportunity: 2023 Media Trends
Released: November 10, 2022 | Dentsu
Our view: While this new report from Dentsu opens with a poetic overview, the 10-trend report’s value is dividing up its story into three sections: content, commerce, and community – then sub-dividing this into the various trends. INMA members, pay special attention to Trend 3 (“Attention brings back the essence of advertising”), Trend 7 (“No way back for third-party cookies”), and Trend 10 (“Social algorithms give users what they don’t know they want”).
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A Guide to the Post Third-Party Cookie Era
Released: March 1, 2022 | IAB Europe
Our view: In a thoughtful 78-page update on a 2-year-old news industry discussion, IAB Europe’s latest report on the pending phaseout of third-party cookies looks at the impact on stakeholders, the execution of digital advertising campaigns, replacement solutions, and how publishers can get involved in potential alternatives. This is a freely available report.
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The Shakeout From Apple’s Privacy Update
Released: February 1, 2022 | Insider Intelligence | eMarketer
Our view: There are a number of reports that look at the rollout of AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) in iOS 14.5, which has severely impacted how publishers and advertisers track users and changed the mobile ad industry. This free report (with registration) burrows into how ATT is impacting forecasts for mobile ad revenue, how platforms, publishers, and advertisers have changed their strategies in response to the Apple moves, and strategy priorities. It’s a quick read – 12 pages total, with about half specifically dedicated to the subject.
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IAB Europe’s Guide to Native Advertising
Released: December 2, 2021 | Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe
Our view: Since writing its first report on native advertising in 2016, IAB Europe has been at the epicenter of this fast-rising subject. In their latest state of native advertising report, update yourself on definitions, formats and placements, key considerations, best practices, and the future of native. Consider this an update report, with some new tie-backs to growth sectors such as e-commerce, CTV, and DOOH.
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Media Moments 2021
Released: December 1, 2021 | What's New In Publishing
Our view: If a report’s title ever was precisely what the report is about, it is Media Moments 2021. The publisher literally takes 12 media-related subjects, provides an executive-level overview, and punctuates each moment with a case study. Among the moments covered: newsletters, Big Tech platforms, subscriptions, advertising, video, audio, trust, data and privacy, print, e-commerce, mergers and acquisitions, and emerging technologies. Nicely sourced material in the appendix. This report is free with registration.
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2022 Media Trends and Predictions
Released: November 15, 2021 | Kantar
Our view: This 64-page Kantar report is important to news publishers for its focus on data — specifically what’s next in 2022 on cookie replacements, Big Tech’s expansion, experimentation with first-party data, the metaverse, and the always-popular ammunition for why it’s important to invest in your brand. The report also covers less vital subjects to news publishers, but it’s worth the free registration to download.
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The Global Media Landscape
Released: September 1, 2021 | GWI
Our view: Global consultancy GWI burrows into how the pandemic has changed media habits in this 72-page report that requires free registration. The report gives a media consumption overview, then hits the broad landscape of all that that implies – with particular interest to INMA members in the news and ads/subscriptions sections. There also are chapters on TV/video, music/audio, and gaming.
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Media KPIs That Matter
Released: May 18, 2021 | Association of National Advertisers (ANA)
Our view: An intriguing look at how advertisers measure success in marketing purchases with media. Among the key findings, you will find five emerging KPIs for media, and learn about “head fakes” for media. This report very much captures the ethos among advertisers that they aren’t buying media anymore … they are buying audiences. Most of the KPIs you will expect, and others might broaden your perspective and even your own company’s storyline. If you are time-pressed, read the “key findings” at the beginning and “conclusions” at the end. This is a 28-page report that is free.
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The Future of Marketplaces 2021
Released: May 12, 2021 | Adevinta Ventures and Speedinvest
Our view: The state of marketplaces internationally is the focus of this report exploring a US$5 trillion industry that more and more publishers are becoming involved in. This PDF report looks at future trends and models of online marketplaces. This is a free report, though it requires providing your e-mail address. For those of us with trust issues, Adevinta is the former marketplace business of Nordic publisher Schibsted which was spun off a few years ago.
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Publishers and Commerce 2021
Released: April 9, 2021 | eMarketer
Our view: A report by eMarketer mashes up publishers and their media content with retailer and brand partners as the affiliate channel continues to evolve. What makes this timely is e-commerce’s explosive growth during the pandemic. The report also teases the old news of affiliate network platforms being last-click attributable and commission-based (bad news) yet becoming more sophisticated with multi-touch attribution tools that reward publishers throughout the purchasing funnel. This is a US$1,000 report, yet if this is a subject in your bull’s eye it may be worth it. At minimum, the executive summary is worth a read.
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IAB Outlook: 2021 Digital Ad Ecosystem
Released: March 8, 2021 | Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)
Our view: This report on the state of digital advertising is particularly relevant to news media companies and worth registering with IAB. Pay particular attention to the consumer focus section, forecasted digital advertising growth, consumer purchase patterns, the impact of machines, and other digital imperatives.
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The Benchmark Series: The Powerful Impact of Placement
Released: March 1, 2021 | ThinkNewsBrands
Our view: The Benchmark Series is an advertising effectiveness study from MediaScience that shows advertising printed national and metro newspapers in Australia yields 8.5 times greater unprompted recall than the run of the Internet, print + digital news combinations generate 3.5 times greater brand lift, and ads in total news are 2.2 times better remembered than run of the Internet. Requires a quick registration and includes a three-year video synthesis.
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2021 Digital Ad Ecosystem
Released: March 1, 2021 | Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)
Our view: This 38-page IAB report looks at the changing consumer, forecasted growth in a fragmented and uncertain environment, unlocking the value of changes that are impacting the digital advertising-supported ecosystem, and additional advertising industry considerations and imperatives. To access this report for free, a registration is required.
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The State of Digital Media (Q1 2021)
Released: February 16, 2021 | Polar
Our view: Polar CEO Kunal Gupta has shared his insights enough with INMA that we know to pay attention -- especially when it comes to ad spend and ad tech. This 26-slide report is distillation of distillations, our favourite type of report. Gupta focuses on trends worth paying attention to this year: social equity in advertising, "less is more" marketing, user privacy, creative over cookies, trust, small businesses, platform accountability, and the future of work. Inexplicably, the landing page for this report is Gupta's LinkedIn page, and we'll update the link if that changes.
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Magna Advertising Forecasts For 2021
Released: December 7, 2020 | Magna
Our view: INMA has historically relied on Magna advertising forecasts in its News Media Outlook reports, and we continue to recommend this annual report. In this latest version, see the surprising impacts of COVID-19 and expectations for a 2021 rebound. This press release is very revealing of the report’s top-line data, which can be excellent comparison points for a media company’s expectations for the year ahead. You can purchase a subscription to Magna’s full reports and databases at the bottom of this press release.