Digital Publishing Model for Magazines Gaining Steam

By Cary Sherburne

http://whattheythink.com/articles/66612-digital-publishing-model-magazines-gaining-steam/

Adobe released its latest metrics on the digital transformation the magazine business is undergoing.  It is interesting to see the rapid adoption rates for digital issues and the new tools and techniques available to magazine publishers to make the experience richer and more interactive for readers.  In addition, there are many benefits for advertisers with digital editions. This doesn't mean that printed magazines are going away anytime soon.  But it does mean that publishers, advertisers and readers have more options available to them as the number of mobile devices (tablets and smartphones) continues to grow worldwide.

Adobe claims that its Digital Publishing Suite (DPS) powers 80% of digital magazine issues consumed on mobile devices today.  This significant market share and the company's data analytics capabilities lend credence to the statistical validity of the metrics Adobe is reporting.

According to Bridget Roman, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Digital Publishing at Adobe, "We are thrilled with the increase in digital magazine circulation, readership and engagement and believe this is reflective of where the industry is heading.  We have also worked hard to develop new consumer marketing tools within DPS which will only act to accelerate this transition."

Key data points Adobe reports include:

• Delivery of 150 million digital publications globally since the launch of DPS in March of 2011
• A 3X increase in unique monthly readers for DPS-created apps from October 2013 to October 2012
• An average of 50 minutes per month spent in a DPS app as compared to 40 minutes per issue for a printed magazine (print statistics come from GfK MRI and are from the fall of 2012)

"Publications are gaining expertise in the tools available through DPS and as a result, are providing readers with a more sophisticated, interactive and immersive product," Roman adds. "Publishers can look at numbers in real time, understand which interactive elements readers are consuming or which articles are driving the most traffic or had the highest time spent-in other words, down to the minute details-to see what is working and continue to hone their content.  We believe the increase in time spent with digital publications will translate into a healthy advertising business for these publications.  The more people that subscribe and the more time they spend with these digital issues, the stronger the investment is for brands."

Today, many brands place their ads in both the print and digital editions of an issue, according to Roman, and it is at the publisher's discretion as to how they want to set up the ad buy.  "Some sell print and digital bundled together," she explains, "and some charge a premium if the advertiser wants digital in addition to print. Publishers are still experimenting. 

 But what is starting to happen-we're currently seeing this come out of the automotive, technology, fashion and home goods industries-- is that many advertisers are developing interactive versions of their ads for digital editions, that catch the reader's attention and  prompt them to linger. It's early days yet, but we are already starting to see some great things happen."

I personally have been subscribing to Fast Company for a number of months and have seen a continuous evolution of the publication over that time from what appeared to be almost a PDF replica to the latest issue, which is quite snappy and interactive.

One area that is not yet being exploited in any meaningful way is in-app purchasing from these ads, although one could expect to see a rapid adoption of this capability in the not-too-distant future.  Today, most ads will simply link out to the advertiser's web site to get readers directly into a purchase or information flow, jumping back to the magazine app when the reader concludes the desired tasks.  Future vision might have the reader never leaving the magazine app, but being able to execute a number of actions from right within the app.

This could be accelerated by the In-App marketing tools now included in Adobe DPS. These include:

• Social Sharing:  Initially limited to Facebook Twitter, Pinterest and email, this allows reader to share content through various social networks, putting the brand into the hands of potential new subscribers as well as generating new subscriptions for the magazines with the ability for a new subscriber to sign up for a subscription in the flow.

• Web Viewer: This enables publishers to embed their digital publication app on their web sites.  This is a true depiction of the digital version, not simply a PDF page flip experience. Publishers have a lot of traffic coming through their sites and have been challenged as to how to monetize this traffic.  Web Viewer gives publishers the opportunity to market their app, enabling web visitors to easily jump into sample content without having to download and install an app, with some level of sample content being served up before the reader hits a pay wall. A good example of this at work is The Washingtonian.  I was able to access one article completely before hitting the pay wall. Adobe reports that, on average, publishers are seeing a 10% to 15% conversion rate for readers who have viewed sample content, either purchasing an issue or subscribing. People Magazine is also using the Web Viewer to encourage new digital and print subscriptions The publication (as of this writing) is offering 30 days free for a print/digital combo along with access to premium smartphone apps and the subscriber-only premium section on People.com.
• Push Notifications. This gives the publisher the ability to push announcements and promotions to mobile subscribers such as new issues or off-cycle content that is available.  For advertisers, this means the ability to target readers based on behavior or purchase history with customized messages.

The other thing that is changing with the advent of digital issues is a distinct change in the reader lifecycle.  While in the past, significant dollars were spent on building awareness, getting people to subscribe, building loyalty and then getting them to renew. This was a fairly linear process with lots of opportunity for defection.  In the new model, digital publishing enables a more closed-loop process that also serves to deepen and expand the relationship with the reader.  This does not by any means eliminate print, but augments the publisher's ability to communicate directly with readers in a relevant manner.  Not so different from multi-channel communications in the world of direct marketing where print still plays a significant role.

If you are interested in this topic, Adobe has made a very informative white paper availablehere.  You don't need to register to read it.

We will continue to follow this important topic. We'd love to have feedback from our readers with your thoughts about how you might incorporate digital publishing into your business as an added value service for your customers. If you have already added digital publishing services, we would love to hear about your experiences.