New research out today shows that most of the biggest print publications in the UK are missing out on their slice of the estimated £526m annual spend on mobile advertising by not offering digital sites which render effectively on tablets and smartphones.

Conducted by in-content digital advertising company Vibrant Media, the research discovered that 68 per cent of the top print media publications by circulation in the UK lack a digital site which displays effectively on handheld devices.

The likelihood of a publication offering a site which displays effectively on mobile screens varies greatly between both the category and frequency of the publication. Daily news publications are the best performers in terms of how they render on handheld devices, while women’s weekly magazines’ digital sites were the worst performers.

Eight out of 20 daily news publications do not have a site that renders effectively on handheld devices. Most of the UK’s major daily print titles have sites which display effectively on mobile devices, but a large minority (40 per cent) still lack a mobile-ready site.

78 per cent of women’s weekly magazines do not have a digital site which displays effectively on handheld devices, while only 38 per cent of Women’s Monthlies have digital sites which render effectively on handheld devices. 

General monthly titles – serving the mens’ sectors and specialist interests including some of the most well-known technology and gadget websites – render effectively on handheld devices in just 27 per cent of cases.

“Most publishers still rely on websites developed for desktop users to serve their mobile consumers, but these desktop-focused websites often render so badly on handheld screens they can make the ads redundant,” said Fiona Salmon, publisher solutions director at Vibrant Media. “Serving ineffective ads on mobile devices limits publishers’ opportunity to earn revenue from mobile ads, and may contribute to a sense among publishers that going mobile isn’t yet worth the effort. However, the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) predicts that by the end of 2013, 25 per cent of all online traffic will be via mobile devices. Publishers must supply this demand.

“Currently, many ads on publishers’ sites aren’t performing effectively within the confines of handheld screens. They often appear on handheld devices as either huge and interruptive, or the creative appears so small the ads are almost impossible to see. Worse still, these ads are often clicked by mistake, creating a negative digital experience for mobile consumers. Publishers need to adopt nimbler formats that work with the small format display, that respect the consumer, respond to the consumer’s device and enhance rather than compromise the consumer’s experience.

“A separate, fully optimised mobile site is not an absolute necessity to deliver effective mobile ads if publishers use the right technology. Burgeoning technologies will enable publishers to serve ads optimised for handheld devices, even if they are not placed within specifically mobile sites. However the digital sites publishers deploy must at least render effectively on smartphone and tablet screens to give consumers a quality experience that matches the quality of their editorial. If a site does not display effectively on the smaller screen of a handheld device, consumers will go to other sites for a better content experience.”