One longtime industry observer wonders whether TV is a digital publishing solution for magazines, while others stick to tried-and-true tactics like acquisitions
There is no panacea for digital magazines attempting to break through, no one digital publishing solution to rule all others and send your revenues skyrocketing (unless you count Mequoda as one digital publishing solution, of course, which, now that you mention it …). In 2015, publishers shouldn’t close the door on any new platform, technology, or strategy without some degree of due diligence and even experimentation.
Talking New Media recently took on TV as yet another digital publishing solution worth studying. Let’s see what one of our favorite analysts, D.B. Hebbard has to say about it.
Learning the TV Medium With the Option to Launch?
Citing efforts from the likes of Time Inc. digital and Bonnier, Hebbard explores the viability of TV for publishers. In order to avoid static, ineffective collections of outdated product – or, as he calls them “some really bad TV channels” on AppleTV and Roku – Hebbard argues that publishers must focus on both creating and updating content, while at the same time developing monetization strategies.
Sounds a lot like any component of a multiplatform strategy, right? This is exactly his point: If you’re going to pursue an avenue, any avenue, publishers can’t afford to treat it as an afterthought. You never know where you might find that next digital publishing solution. Hebbard doesn’t advocate for aggressively going after TV – he just advocates for staying open to the possibility of it and for pushing hard if you decide to.
“But publishers will be faced with the same decision they have faced each time a new platform has emerged: do we experiment with the new platform or stick to what we know best? The decision, when presented that way, may seem easy: why experiment with new digital platforms when the costs and time needed to investigate them is too much. But looking back, it is also easy to see that not becoming Internet savvy would have been a terrible mistake, though most print publications were slow to launch their first websites,” Hebbard writes.
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“Today, many media observers think digital editions are a dead end, but mobile is the future. Regardless of your own opinion, it is clear that not becoming fluent in either digital platform is a mistake. Should your digital team now explore what it takes to develop its own branded channel? … Media companies that went hard for video soon learned that content is one thing, monetizing that content another. For those who think they have solved this issue, the prospects of gaining more views through these TV box to devices should be enticing.”
Ad Optimization Company Maxifier Bought by Cxense
Data and tech company Cxense has acquired digital ad optimization firm Maxifier from Dentsu Digital Holding, Talking New Media reports. Maxifier has long been a favorite of publishers like Atlantic Media, Bauer Media, Condé Nast, and Forbes for the magic it works on ad campaigns. The company analyzes more than 40 billion ad impressions monthly to optimize and boost performance for upward of 50,000 digital ad campaigns.
Fexy Media Purchases Serious Eats and Roodfood
Also on the mergers & acquisitions front, startup publisher Fexy Media, out of Seattle, has added Serious Eats and Roodfood to its nascent stable of properties after a recent funding round, Talking New Media reports.
Digital-Only Wine & Travel Mag Launches
In other news, the digital-only Wine Tourist Magazine has launched as an HTML product, Talking New Media reports. The digital magazine describes itself as “social media-driven global collaborative of wine tourism enthusiasts, showcasing wines from lesser known wine regions with road-tested tips on how to navigate them,” and it will offer content on a rolling, monthly basis.
What digital publishing solution are you keying in on these days? Download our free Multiplatform Publishing Strategy Handbook today to give yourself plenty of options!
To read more about TV as a digital publishing solution and other news, visit Talking New Media.
