Slides from the 2014 Online News Association Conference session featuring Etan Horowitz of CNN, Alex Hardiman of the New York Times and Alice DuBois of Buzzfeed. The session offered concrete tips on what having a mobile majority audience means for editorial decisions, content display and business. Session video and other details can be found at http://bit.ly/mobile50ona

1. We’re 50% Mobile.
Now What?
#halfmobile

2. z
z
Etan Horowitz
Senior Mobile Editor
@etanowitz
Alex Hardiman
Executive Director, Mobile Products
@alex_hardiman
Alice DuBois
Director of Editorial Products
@alicedubois
ONA 2014 #halfmobile

3. What percentage of your
audience is mobile?
When did you pass the
50% mark?
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4. hit 50% in
August 2014
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5. NYT hit 50% articles views in April 2013.
Source: NYT Internal
50%
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6. Mobile visitors surpassed desktop in August 2014.
Source: comScore
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7. When news breaks, mobile is 65%+ of our traffic.
Source: NYT Internal
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8. BuzzFeed’s unique visitors hit 50% in
July 2013
BuzzFeed’s article views hit 50% in
November 2013
ONA 2014 #halfmobile

9. How do the habits of your
mobile users
differ from your desktop users?
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10. Mobile opens up new pockets of time with readers.
Source: NYT Internal
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11. Mobile owns the morning, the evening…
Source: NYT Internal
And the weekend.
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12. Desktop and mobile primetime is very different.
Desktop Mobile
WEEKDAYS AT CNN
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13. Weekend usage patterns are very similar.
Desktop Mobile
SATURDAYS AT CNN
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14. Visits to BuzzFeed on a typical week day
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15. We use computers, tablets and phones in
different ways
So users consume content in different ways across platforms.
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16. As we neared 50% mobile at CNN, majority
mobile traffic days became more common.
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17. In 2013, there was majority mobile traffic on a handful of days including:
Asiana Crash at SFO, Saturday, July 6 Cory Monteith death, Sunday, July 14
Paul Walker’s death, Sunday, December 1 Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25
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18. Today, mobile majority is the norm on weekends, regardless of the news.
First weekend after MH370 disappeared,
March 8-9
Tracy Morgan car accident, June 7
Second weekend after MH370 disappeared, March
15-16
Virtually every weekend since summer 2014
ONA 2014 #halfmobile

19. NYT readers are increasingly cross-platform.
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20. Especially our subscribers.
• Digital and print subscribers using the web and an app retain 2x as long
as single-platform subscribers.
• About three quarters of subscribers use a mobile device to access
NYT in a typical week; 50% use both mobile and desktop.
• 90% of subscribers under 35 use a mobile device to access NYT in a
typical week; 75% use both mobile and desktop.
Source: NYT Internal Data
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21. Internet use is shifting to mobile.
mobile = social, social = mobile
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22. Which post went mega viral and which didn’t?
Post A Post B
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23. Which post went mega viral and which didn’t?
Post A Post B
41 million views, 18x social lift 274,000 views, 1.8x social lift
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24. Social can cause a big spike in mobile traffic
Desktop Mobile
VIDEO STARTS
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25. What caused this spike?
• This post on the CNN Facebook page at midnight ET
• This video was the top mobile web video for the day and it
never appeared on the mobile web homepage.
• The Facebook post did not cause any significant spike on
desktop.
ONA 2014 #halfmobile

26. What did your news organization do
to prepare for passing the 50% mark?
What has changed
since you hit that mark?
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27. Changing workflow & mindsets
1. Awareness
2. Analytics
3. Action
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28. Awareness
Put a live view of your mobile site on every screen.
Re-size page if responsive. Use browser extensions if not.
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29. Awareness
Use AppleTV or Chromecast to project mobile
at key meetings.
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30. May 4-10, 2014
• Programming decisions made with mobile audience as primary audience
• Editors and producers pull out phones to discuss our mobile presentation, making changes as
needed
• Mobile shown first at daily editorial meetings
• Held “ask us anything” and training sessions on key topics including social and analytics.
• Gave a mobile stat of the day and tip of the day about our mobile products
• Gathered extensive feedback from staff on CNN mobile products, content & strategy
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31. What Did We Learn?
• Staff is hungry to learn more about mobile and focus more on it
• There is no such things as too much awareness about mobile
• Mobile shown first at daily editorial meetings
• We think about headlines, photos and programming differently when we think about mobile
• Started a conversation that is continuing
• Hands on training and open discussion is most valuable
• We need to do it again!
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32. We created autonomous mobile teams.
1. iOS
2. Android
3. Mobile Web
4. Mobile Audience Growth
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33. We launched mobile-first products.
NYT Now
• NYT Now is a new mobile news habit.
• New, younger audiences.
• A distinctive voice with original content.
• Our editors curate the Web.
• The news is framed and presented in a mobile-friendly way.
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34. We’re heavily invested in mobile technologies.
1. Mobile Web performance
2. Re-usable frameworks team
3. A/B testing capabilities
A/B Testing
A B
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35. We’re broadening mobile newsroom responsibilities
1. Mobile is no longer a specialty. It’s a requirement.
2. We’re reconfiguring our larger news gathering and production
processes.
3. Mobile prominently featured in 10am and 4pm news meetings.
4. Better mobile preview environments.
5. Data increasingly accessible and actionable.
6. New mobile chief reporting into the Executive Editor.
Mobile Preview
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36. (Some) new teams
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37. Product changes
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38. Product changes
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39. Product changes
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40. Product changes
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41. Product changes
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42. Product changes
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43. Product changes
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44. What are the
revenue implications
of the shift to mobile?
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45. NYT advertising vs. circulation revenue.
($mm)
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46. For many publishers, a stark imbalance.
Challenges with mobile consumer revenue:
• Friction-laden mobile subscription funnel
• Freemium models for mobile news
Challenges with mobile advertising revenue:
• A lack of compelling banner creative for phone
• Native advertising is less scalable
• Lower CPMs
What to do?
ONA 2014 #halfmobile

47. We’re making it easier for consumers to buy
We’re:
• Improving bad conversion funnels
• Making data-driven decisions
• Putting our users first
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48. And easier for advertisers to buy
We’re:
• Selling our audience, not our mobile
products
• Creating new premium ad products
• Offering consistent ad units across
desktop, phone and tablet
NYT Paid Posts on iPad and Mobile Web
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49. Native advertising is mobile friendly
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50. What do you need to do
next?
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51. What should YOU do at your organization?
1. Ensure you have newsroom and business-side leadership and investment to
make long-term bets on mobile.
2. Know your readers. Are you building for a mobile-only or a cross-platform
future?
3. Evaluate your organizational structure. Re-balance your resources and
talent to align with your readership.
4. Bring data into the process.
5. Take risks.
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52. Questions?
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