Digimarc Report Shows Explosive Growth of Digital Watermarking in Magazines - Driving Deeper Reader Engagement and Mobile Commerce

New Traction Report Notes 300% Increase in Digimarc Discover Digital Watermark Use

BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ:DMRC) today debuted its Digital Watermarks in Magazines 2012 Traction Report. The report shows exponential growth in the number of magazines utilizing digital watermarks to seamlessly connect readers from print to compelling online content experiences.

“We processed over 1.6 million scans in 2012 and we believe that readers will increasingly expect more and more print magazine content to be interactive in 2013.”

The first-ever Digimarc Traction Report offers compelling data for publishers looking to grow their readership and advertising by capturing the print-to-mobile content that most resonates with readers.

Report highlights include:

• The number of digital watermarks placed in magazine editorial and advertising content grew 486% from 2011 to 2012
• The number of magazine titles using digital watermarking grew by 300%, resulting in an addressable circulation of over 37 million readers
• Shopping, Video and Sweepstakes were the most popular scan incentives

The traction report also highlights healthy growth for the Digimarc Discover platform. In 2012:

• Total scans of watermarked content in magazines grew to over 1.6 million
• The Digimarc Discover app experienced a 175% increase in the number of downloads
• 12 magazines introduced or updated their existing mobile apps to include the ability to scan Digimarc digital watermarks

“The astonishing growth we’ve seen in the use of digital watermarking over the past year confirms that this is the print-to-mobile technology publishers have been waiting for,” said Ed Knudson, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, at Digimarc. “The Digimarc Discover platform offers a compelling way for publishers to bridge the gap between their print and digital offerings, enabling their readers to get the most out of their valuable editorial and advertising content.”

Magazine publishers and their advertisers use the Digimarc Discover platform to embed imperceptible watermarks into the images, graphics or even text of their print editions. When scanned using a smartphone application enabled with digital watermark reading capability, such as Digimarc Discover or any one of a number of branded magazine applications, readers are quickly connected to digital content, ranging from videos and product details to coupons, sweepstakes and mobile commerce. Watermarks do not alter the aesthetic of a magazine layout and enable the magazines to alert readers to payoffs from within their own brand. Publications from Time Inc., Hearst and Condé Nast are all finding success with digital watermarks that allow their readers to access engaging digital content without giving up the immersive qualities of print.

“We are very encouraged by how quickly magazine readers have embraced the scanning of images, branded icons, or even text from print, using their smartphones,” continued Knudson. “We processed over 1.6 million scans in 2012 and we believe that readers will increasingly expect more and more print magazine content to be interactive in 2013.”

To read the full report and learn about the types of publications that are using watermarks, more about reader engagement and which titles incorporated the most watermarks, visit: www.digimarc.com/reports.

About the Digimarc® Discover Platform

The Digimarc Discover platform enables smartphones and other sensor-equipped devices to “see and hear” media content using built-in cameras and microphones. Consumers simply direct their phone at content they are interested in and are presented with a range of associated network services such as purchase a product, view a video, save for later, download a coupon, or share with a friend, for example. The Digimarc Discover mobile applications are available for licensing and can be integrated into existing applications.

Publishers and others can embed digital watermarks into content using the Digimarc Discover Online Services Portal (OSP). The OSP is being used by magazines, newspapers, packaging companies, advertising agencies, and others to enable a variety of new experiences and capabilities from print. Companies interested in learning more about digital watermarking technology and licensing opportunities for the Digimarc Discover platform can visit: www.digimarc.com/discover. For the latest updates follow us on our Digimarc Discover Facebook page and Twitter @DigimarcCorp.

About Digimarc

Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ:DMRC), based in Beaverton, Oregon, is a leading innovator and provider of enabling technologies that create digital identities for all forms of media and many everyday objects. The embedded digital IDs are imperceptible to humans, but not to computers, networks and devices like mobile phones, which can now use cameras and microphones as sensory inputs to “see, hear and understand” the world around them within the context of their environment. Digimarc has built an extensive intellectual property portfolio with patents in digital watermarking, content identification and management, media and object discovery to enable ubiquitous computing and related technologies. Digimarc develops solutions, licenses its intellectual property, and provides development services to business partners across a range of industries. For more information and the latest news, please visit www.digimarc.com and follow us on Twitter @DigimarcCorp.