Over the past few weeks, COVID-19 interest and the resulting stay-at-home orders have led to a spike in traffic and engagement for many publishers. With an enhanced role in disseminating potentially life-saving information about the pandemic and its spread, many publishers are dropping paywalls and gaining new audiences. This has led to a halo effect, impacting even non-news sections on publisher sites.

Unfortunately, while publishers aim to meet the needs of their expanding audience, the advertising budgets that pay the bills are in a state of flux. Some marketers are nervous about their brand message appearing adjacent to news content and are blacklisting keywords associated with the virus. Other marketers are hitting the pause button completely, worried about the tone of their marketing. This shift in marketing spend is impacting the bottom line for many publishers, with some making staffing adjustments in response to the fallout from the coronavirus, at precisely the time the world most needs quality content.

At Quantcast, we know that publishers power the open internet and we’re committed to powering them with the data and tools they need to grow their business. We want to help publishers understand the unique insights of their evolving audience, and enable quick and effective sharing of this audience potential with advertisers, so that they can sustain their businesses during this unprecedented time.

Our goal is to support publishers in the areas they can control right now, even in this unpredictable landscape. Beginning today, we are offering free, 90-day access to our enterprise audience analytics platform, Q for Publishers, for new customers.*

We know that now, more than ever, publisher sales teams need increased access to real-time data. This offer unlocks the power of Q for Publishers, as used by Entercom, Apartment Therapy and other leading publishers, including the ability to:

  • Identify unique audiences wherever they live on publisher networks — all the way down to specific articles viewed 
  • Help sales and support teams spend less time gathering insights, and more time closing deals
  • Tell deeper data-driven stories by understanding the demographics and interests of first party audiences
  • Prospect and win new non-endemic opportunities

“Our listeners engage with us through a number of different channels both online and offline,” said Dan McKinney, Vice President, Data & Analytics at Entercom. “We are thrilled to use Q for Publishers – a single tool to import offline audiences and profile digital and OTA audiences.”

In addition to our offer for new customers, we know that many current customers are experiencing increased traffic volume, without the corresponding support of increased advertising dollars. To provide some relief during this challenging time, we are suspending all volume-based price increases for Q for Publisher customers through the end of Q3 2020.

“Q for Publishers has been an invaluable asset for our team,” said Lauren Murphy, VP, Brand Innovation & Strategy at Apartment Therapy. “The tool is both intuitive and efficient, allowing us to pull data easily and quickly.”

We understand how difficult this time has been and believe firmly that publishers should not be penalized for doing their job, instead, they should be championed. We have helped leading publishers drive real value and performance in new verticals, driving new revenue and deeper partnerships for them.

If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to us at q4p@quantcast.com for further details on how to sign up for this offer. We look forward to working with you.

*Offer valid for new customers only. Publishers must go live in Q2 to receive 90-day access. Access to Q for Publishers begins upon setting Measure tags live. Must accept Measure Terms of Service, which can be reviewed here.