Digital publishing news for August 21, 2013
We’ve been working with Mag+ a bunch lately, so their new partnership with Appboy is pretty exciting. According to Kara Udziela, PR manager for Mag+, “the partnership enables Mag+ clients to create rich user profiles of their readers, segment them into different cohorts and then send automated, multi-channel messages that increase reader engagement and facilitate purchases.” So, for example, when you have people who have downloaded your app but have not subscribed yet, you can send them a unique offer to subscribe. For those who use Mag+, you’ll be happy to know that Appboy is now built right in.
More updates that come with the partnership include the ability to put the fire out on negative reviews by allowing in-app customer service. Mark Ghermezian, CEO of Appboy says, “By giving publishers tools to understand and communicate with their readers on an individual level, we enable them to drive higher engagement and move their audience down the purchase funnel.”
The Big Hearst Shake Up of 2013
Refinery 29 has a report on the editor shakeup at Hearst. Leila Brillson writes, “Today, we were pretty shocked to find out that Hearst had gotten rid of some respected upper-level online editors, like Amina Akhtar of Elle.com and Abby Gardner, former digital director at Cosmopolitan.com.”
The interesting bit is that their replacements had already been chosen. Brillson adds,”Hearst has picked some true pros in the realm of the digital (and some close pals of R29, too), by tapping Fashionista’s Leah Chernikoff and The Cut-cum-Buzzfeed’s Amy Odell to head up Elle.com and Cosmopolitan.com respectively. The third part of the new hires is Annie Fox, from Spin Media (Go Fug Yourself, Stereogum, Just Jared), as the director of programming.”
Fox will be focusing on HMDM’s content and product teams as well as community building. This big changeover goes into effect on September 16. This should be a very interesting 4th quarter.
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The Times Will Stay in Print for at Least 5 More Years
Fishbowl NY has all the highlights from New Republic’s New York Times Special. In the special Michael Kinsley interview The Times executive editor Jill Abramson. Here are a few highlights.
When asked about the future of the Times in print Abramson said,”I think it will be available [in five years]. I think there is a healthy audience of readers who really like the Times in print form. We have more than eight hundred thousand home-delivery subscribers who have been with us two years or more, at which point, they’re pretty well addicted to the thing.”
She was also asked about Jeff Bezos and if his Washington Post will succeed: “I have heard him speak a couple of times and think that it will be very interesting to watch what his stewardship looks like. And he himself in speeches has talked about the need for experimentation, and I think it will be very interesting, and possibly inspiring, to watch him try to come up with solutions to questions that Don Graham in his note to Post employees said he and Katharine Weymouth did not have answers to and couldn’t come up with.”
Condé Nast Allows Amazon One-Click
FOLIO has a new report on Condé Nast’s new partnership with Amazon. Bill Mickey writes, “The publisher announced … that readers can use their Amazon customer accounts to subscribe to titles using the retailer’s 1-Click service, essentially turning Amazon into Condé Nast’s new fulfillment partner. So far, seven titles are available through the service: Vogue, Glamour, Bon Appétit, Lucky, Golf Digest, Vanity Fair and Wired. The rest of the brands will be added by the end of the year.”
This is an interesting development. It streamlines the subscription process and makes it even easier for potential subscribers to sign on. Most importantly this deal also gives Condé Nast access to the all important customer data. A spokesperson for Condé Nast stated,”Condé Nast gets all the information we would get if a customer subscribed with us directly.”
Related Headlines on Twitter
Twitter has announced a new related headlines feature for Tweets. Brian Wallerstein writes,”Starting today, you will see a new “Related headlines” section on the permalink page of Tweets that have been embedded on websites. It lists and links to websites where the Tweet was embedded, making it easier to discover stories that provide more context.”
New CEO at The National Geographic Society
The Wall St. Journal is reporting that chief executive of National Public Radio, Gary E. Knell has resigned to become the new CEO of The National Geographic Society. Mr. Knell will joining National Geographic after his term ends in the fall. Knell’s appointment is seen as a stronger move towards digital initiatives.
