Walled gardens are threatening quality publishers: how can they regain control?

A lion wakes up each morning thinking, “all I've got to do today is run faster than the slowest antelope.”

In this story, walled gardens are the lion – hunting the innocent prey of the open web. But despite being left fighting for survival, publishers don’t have to be the antelope.

From Facebook and Google to Amazon and Apple, thousands of publishers are facing an existential crisis at the hands of walled gardens. The latest violation comes from its once most trusted referrer, Google, which is now harnessing publisher content to train AI functions and then taking away its audiences. In fact recent research from Press Gazette shows that AI-written summaries in the US were produced for a quarter of news-related searches in mid-May, seeing publisher articles pushed further down the page. 

With a significant decline expected for digital publishers in the first quarter of 2025, how can premium news sites protect themselves from walled gardens and win back their audiences?

React to disruption with personalised, interactive experiences 

Walled gardens have really disturbed a 150 year-old media model. As consumer behaviour changed, media followed the eyeballs, and it wasn’t long before advertising did too. 

Social platforms and search engines like Google have evolved to become very successful advertising spaces, given their mobile-first, feed-based experiences, particularly for younger generations. While these platforms can offer high reach and viewability for brands, their lack of strict regulation means there are growing risks surrounding ad placements. Publishers on the other hand can offer a brand safe environment, using attention metrics to address more crucial measurement needs such as the appropriate investment level, media performance, and the impact of the brand message on audience attention.

But is this enough to win back audiences? 

If publishers are to really protect themselves, they must go beyond their brand-safe messaging and offer personalised, interactive experiences for their audiences. As we head towards cookie depreciation, publishers need to be creative in how they use their first party data for relevant and contextual advertising, as well as how they can tap into brand design to improve the consumer journey. And what better way to capture the attention of Gen Z than to give them an experience in a format that they're very familiar with. Publishers can learn from social platforms, like Tiktok, particularly when it comes to vertical video content. In fact a recent survey revealed that over 80% of consumers prefer watching videos on their mobiles - a seismic shift that highlights the need for publishers to embrace the mobile-first movement.

Adopt a retailer mindset and diversify revenue streams

As the well known saying goes “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” In other words, don’t rely on just advertising as your only revenue stream. 

To keep up with digital transformations, publishers need to view themselves as content creators and act a bit more like retailers - capitalising on their brand. Like Time Out Magazine, which has grown from a self-publisher to a global media and hospitality brand and content powerhouse.

Since the start of the Covid pandemic, some savvy publishers have been cashing in on e-commerce strategies, including affiliate marketing, online stores and digital catalogues. Affiliate marketing allows publishers to earn a commission from promoting or including a product or service on their website. In fact, Tech Radar, What Hi-Fi? and Marie Claire grew their e-commerce revenue almost five times between 2019 and 2022. This is because publishers have the advantage of leveraging the trust built from their editorial content, meaning their audiences are more likely to trust their product and service recommendations. 

It’s also wise for publishers not to rely on a single retailer when they are exploring a new commerce strategy, as it leaves them with very little control over their revenue stream. Publishers should work with a range of retailers, to negotiate better rates and diversify their  content strategy to include the likes of SEO-focused articles and social-first deal posts.

Or publishers could try to take the path of Wikipedia and plead to the generosity of the consumer with a funding page or The Guardian’s successful reader membership model.

AI is probably going to be the solution for publishers

The impact of AI on publishing and media bears strong parallels to when social media came to the fore, and publishers were anxious and uncertain about the rise of citizen journalism.

By 2030, AI is expected to be a $1.8trn industry. So like with social media, AI’s growth and power cannot be ignored, even by publishers. Big tech companies are undoubtedly going to have an advantage on AI, given their size and capabilities. But publishers can shield themselves by adopting the very thing that is threatening their existence.

For publishers, AI can support the automation of the newsroom, content curation and propensity, SEO, translation and language processing. It can also analyse real-time human behaviour and insights to deliver personalised experiences (at speed) and optimise ad placements. 

AI won’t remove the need for human input in publishing, but it can enhance processes and take away mundane tasks for a greater human focus on world-class content. Those who embrace AI and change the way they operate are the ones who are going to be more likely to survive and thrive.

It’s clear that despite a potential big tech takeover, premium publisher spaces still have an important role to play in offering high-attention, privacy-conscious and authentic environments. Exactly what brands are seeking amid tech uncertainty, political tensions and misinformation.

Stephanie Himoff is the EVP of global publishers at Outbrain