Mobile Apps: A Once-in-a-Decade Opportunity

It’s predicted that >50% of digital content will be consumed over mobile devices by 2012.  That’s incredible growth, reminiscent of the early days of the Internet and personal computing.  And that’s the kind of new channel opportunity that comes around maybe once in a decade, even in this age of lightning-fast technology advances.

Mobile applications represent an integral part of the growth of mobile media.  Researcher In-Stat projects 48 billion app downloads by 2015, generating more than $29 billion in app revenue.  When one considers this market did not exist a few years ago, mobile apps clearly deliver a rare and exceptional opportunity for content publishers.

Due to the engaging nature of mobile apps as a content delivery vehicle, an intriguing opportunity has opened up for content publishers of all sizes and styles.   And we’re not talking PDF versions of magazines for iPad in this case.

Topical and re-purposed content in the form of mobile apps for the smartphone and tablet audience can deliver consumer engagement and revenue.  A publisher need not create an app for its entire magazine, book, or library of content. 

Savvy publishers see a real opportunity in publishing topical, focused or niche apps.  For example, a publisher of cooking and lifestyle content may publish a line of “how-to” and “tricks and tips” apps around shopping for, buying and using products related to seasonal entertaining at home.

Revenue opportunities are abundant on the back-end via sponsorship and advertising, and the front-end via app store sales (apps enjoy a merchant layer that remains elusive to web content).

Preventing publishers from taking advantage of this opportunity to-date has been the high cost and pain of bespoke app development.  Such a strategy is simply not scalable in cost, workflow or distribution.

We created the Toura platform to solve for those very issues. and publishers from SMB to Enterprise, who’ve experienced the challenges of bespoke app development, are taking notice.

It’s an exciting time …a once-in-a-decade time… and we’re thrilled to be an innovative player in the mobile app arena.

Write us at info@toura.com or contact me directly for more information: Rich Markus | VP Business Development | rmarkus@toura.com | B 415.794.9644