What does the publishing future hold for digital magazines? It’s all about distribution, scale, and design.
Predicting the publishing future is no mean feat: Most magazines are too busy pivoting in and out of trends to get ahead of the game. But it’s our job to put you in a position to do just that by providing the most timely analysis possible.
Today, we take a look at five recent articles from Min that touch on the biggest issues facing the industry’s publishing future.
Erica Duecy on Scaling Your Video Efforts
Monetizing video content and mastering viewability for video ads is a huge issue for the publishing future. Recently, Min spoke with Saveur Digital Director Erica Duecy about calibrating your video best practices and approach.
“Brands are getting smarter about creating lifestyles around their products with editorial content that communicates their positioning. This holds true across platforms, on video, websites and social media. For video advertising, some of the more innovative brands are a shifting away from video pre-roll advertising, instead creating their own video content for maximum impact. Some examples are Chobani, with its videos tapping food and film personalities, and the Gap, which created an addictive looping series on Instagram, called Spring is Weird, featuring their products. The videos are seeing 8,000-12,000 likes per video,” Duecy told Min.
“Users definitely want video. Our videos range from simple how-to kitchen videos to on-location, documentary-style shorts. Interestingly, the videos that perform best are the simplest ones — 30-second how-to videos, using a single camera angle, no sound, and showing hands-on techniques.
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“There’s no way around it – video requires investment. My advice to brands starting off is to employ a staff member who can do double duty – perhaps as photographer/videographer, or a social media coordinator/videographer. The good news is that most recent grads from journalism programs or photography programs have video shooting and editing experience, so entry level hires can be the best way to generate a library of videos that can be monetized.”
Time Inc. Embraces Video as Part of Publishing Future …
Time Inc.’s NewFront presentation last week emphasized the publishing giant’s full embrace of video. Vice President of Global Advertising Mark Ford dropped some serious numbers on the gathered masses, including mention of last year’s 1 billion video streams, Min reports. Meanwhile, Senior Vice President of Video J.R. McCabe pointed out new partners Nexstar Broadcasting, Cumulus, Vessel, and Amazon, who will work with the 22 titles already producing video content.
… And Makes History by Being First to Hire Chief Data Officer
JT Kostman is the new Chief Data Officer at Time Inc., becoming the first person to assume that position at the company. Kostman will head up an audience development team focusing on consumer behavior. His background encompasses corporate work and campaign politics.
Atlantic Redesign Reflects Responsive Publishing Future
The Atlantic is the latest digital magazine to switch to a fully responsive design, one that puts all of its chips on mobile consumers.
“A cleanly designed responsive site is hardly a surprise these days, but for the 158-year old brand it also signifies where it’s heading in the future. In the past year, The Atlantic has seen a major shift in how readers are accessing its site. Its mobile audience has grown 90 percent YoY, and the brand expects even more growth in the coming months. What’s more, legacy media is now taking a backseat to new revenue streams,” writes Min‘s Caysey Welton.
“According to a brand spokesperson, digital advertising now accounts for more than half of the brand’s revenue, followed by events and then print. And the new site will leverage that business model more effectively. It features full-width, customizable responsive units that can run throughout the site and can include interactivity. It also has more inventory placement options for advertisers.”
What’s the Outlook for Native Ads?
According to Wall Street Journal Vice President and Head of Digital & Content Sarah Dale, publishers must continue concentrating on time and attention when it comes to readers, while partnering with smart, sophisticated brands on sponsored content that can engage smart, sophisticated audiences.
What are your thoughts on the publishing future? Let us know in the comments!
To read more about the publishing future – and past and present – visit Min Online.
