As big publishing brands realize the opportunities online I expect to see more acquisitions like Meridith’s purchase of Healia and Condé Nast’s acquisition of reddit for Wired Digital.
Content technology tools will play a key part of the advantage these major publishers have over smaller publications if they can leverage the digital tools before more nimble niche competitors. (more…)
An excellent direction for magazines as they confirm niche dominance is the addition of a magazine wiki.
“By offering users the opportunity to work collaboratively on a matter of common interest to them and the magazine, the sites extend the magazine’s brand and value to readers.”
MediaPost tells how reference wiki pages will be the hot trend for publishers for late 2007. MediaDailyNews (more…)
Why not let users generate ad content? The service is expected to provide teen girls a method of social scrapbooking online with flip-book type presentations. Advertiser sponsors provide non-branded content and the teen members take it from there with their own creativity.
What I love about this MediaWeek Article and concept is seeing a publishing organization leverage new and valuable content from advertisers. Magazine advertisers have tremendous high value content and it’s time for publishers to start asking for it to use in innovative web and digital presentations.
When a major magazine publisher makes a move to embrace technology and tools for brand extension online you know there’s probably a strategy well beyond the surface value of the deal. (more…)
As social networking and bookmarking are taking off, we are starting to see some good social media software tools. Even just a few months ago, you’d have a hard time finding social bookmarking tools compatible with your magazine content management system. In many cases, publishers without major software budgets or in-house developers have manually linked to del.icio.us and other tagging links. (more…)
It’s hard for a small publishing business to compete with larger publishing and media companies. The smaller titles have always had their niche and community to connect with readers. However, digital initiatives are allowing innovative publishers to reach and connect with more and more people online and to offer them social interaction that was once only the playground for the niche pubs.
So for those independent publishers that have waited to improve their website, create a blog, start their podcasts, and begin using a digital edition the competition is about to heat up.
In an interview with Advertising Age, Ann S. Moore, Time Inc. chairman and CEO states,
The days of selling single media are seriously waning. Having a robust digital strategy is critical for every media brand…
Moore continued based on the focus of using “Trust and Transformation” to define their own strategic business philosophy, also the title of her speech for the October Association of National Advertisers meeting.
So if you’re not sure how to start a digital strategy for your publication, just start looking around and see how the major magazine media companies are implementing electronic tools to extend their brands online.
If we are going to look at digital media as a powerful brand extension for print magazine publishers we must take note of how both interactive and social media are rapidly developing. Magazine publishers centered on the goal of niche ownership must expand to accommodate social interactions as well as use them as marketing and publicity tools for growing their own publication. (more…)
