Design

‘Digital editions’ – two words that strike fear into the hearts of printers and publishers alike. Printers, because digital versions of magazines mean no print work for them, and publishers, because very few have so far discovered the secret to making money from their online presence.

However, Publishing Expo 2008 looks set to change all of that – at least from the publisher’s point of view. Two exhibitions ago, digital editions were in their infancy, but this year more companies than ever will be exhibiting this kind of technology. And a series of seminars, set to run alongside the show, will outline where publishers are going wrong commercially with their digital editions and provide measures that they can put in place to rectify any problems.

Commercial viability
To date, it’s this commercial side of things that has stopped many magazines from taking the plunge into the digital arena. However, that’s expected to change as digital editions come of age at this year’s Publishing Expo.

“A lot of magazines are still paranoid about the ‘c-word’ – cannibalisation – of their title,” explains Richard Stephenson, chairman of YUDU Publishing, which creates a range of digital publishing products. “They are worried that if people read the online version, then they will not buy the print version as well. Felix Dennis did a good job of showing people how to get around this problem by setting up Monkey as a brand new magazine with a brand new team.”

Monkey had the luxury of not having to worry about customers migrating from one version of the magazine to another. However, publishers of existing titles are still wrestling with concerns that readers will not only stop buying titles if they subscribe to a digital version, but they will also send these online editions to friends. To assuage these concerns, companies like YUDU have built functions into their systems so that, for example, readers can only view the title from a restricted number of registered computers.

Another worry for publishers is generating sufficient advertising revenue. Few titles have so far managed to make their websites pay, never mind work out how to market a digital title. However, the good thing about a digital edition is that while websites are all about clicks per 1,000, banner ads and skyscrapers
and require a whole new lexicon of words and terms that ad buyers have got to get to grips with, with digital magazines you can sell exactly the same ads as the print version – quarter page, full page or double page spread.

“The other good thing is that if readers are exposed to a full page advert on their screen in the digital edition of a magazine, then they don’t object to it as they expect it to be there, whereas if they went to a website and their screen was taken up by an advert, then they would not be happy about it,” says Stephenson.

According to Fresh Media Group’s Dominic Duffy, the co-founder of Ceros, publishers are starting to recognise that digital versions can be revenue generators in their own right rather than something that can merely be considered as a cost-saving exercise.

“Online-only magazines rely entirely on advertising and they are doing very well out of it,” says Duffy. “Advertisers are going crazy about Monkey – they stopped doing bookings two months ago for the end of the year.”

However, Duffy is quick to add that only those companies that use the technology in the right manner will make a success of it. “A simple facsimile version of a magazine online is not a true exercise of the medium. This is an opportunity to make a new product out of existing content and the spin is to make it slightly interactive. Online consumers expect that kind of thing and if you don’t do it, then it is considered a failure of the concept.”

Exciting opportunities
Nick Field, event director of Publishing Expo, agrees. “A lot of people have done digital editions and it is a little bit ‘me too’. Digital editions and page turning technology offer very exciting opportunities – it’s not just about running the same publication online. Last year, at Publishing Expo, Dennis talked about the ideas behind the launch of Monkey. What they did was look at what the product was and then made it suitable for a digital edition. It added something that a printed version could not and that’s the trick that some publishers have missed.”

Field adds that not all print titles would suit digital editions and that publishers need to sit down and give serious thought as to whether or not they can take full advantage of what this type of technology has to offer, before making a decision.

“Publishers have become providers of information, which is about content and delivery. But whereas traditionally publishing has been about putting ink on paper, now they have different platforms to choose from to send that information out. Everything is changing and it’s an exciting time,” adds Field.

Indeed, Duffy feels that in the not too distant future, we will see the first industry hybrid – a new launch magazine that has both a print and online version. “The print version will refer to the online version and there will be icons in the magazine that online you will be able to click on and it will play audio or a video. Everyone talks about cross-platform and when it emerges, it will be the first genuinely cross-platform title,” says Duffy.

Stephenson is equally enthusiastic about the possibilities. He says that the company has seen the use of videos increase by 10-20% per month on its titles, and he expects to see continued growth in the future as more publishers come to terms with the opportunities.

“The glossy feel of a magazine is never going to disappear, but the use of audio, visual and Flash in a digital edition makes the whole thing a much richer experience,” says Stephenson. “The advantage that publishers have is that they can use their magazine’s brand strength as a repository where all media comes together and make it a much more powerful offering. But first they need to stop being scared of this technology and embrace it.”

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PUBLISHING EXPO 2008
Venue Kensington Olympia, London
Date 13-14 February
Opening times
Wednesday 13 February 10am–6pm
Thursday 14 February 10am-5pm
How to get there The nearest tube station is Kensington Olympia just two minutes walk away on the District Line; Barons Court underground station, which is on the Piccadilly and the District Line is around 11 minutes walk away. The nearest train station is Kensington Olympia.
For more details on how to register visit www.publishing-expo.co.uk

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WHAT'S ON AT THE SHOW
Publishing Expo will take place on 13-14 February at London’s Kensington Olympia and according to event director Nick Field, this year’s exhibition, which is completely free to visitors, will be the biggest and best yet. Field says that more exhibitors are signing up all the time and the 2008 event will boast some new features such as the Creative Match live seminar theatre - a special series of sessions designed specifically for publishing creative material.

In addition there will be more than 40 free seminars and workshops covering topics such as: ‘Print on Demand goes global – and more accurately targeted than ever‘; ‘Paper and the environment – what are we buying? What are the key environmental considerations when purchasing or specifying paper?’; and ‘Green paper’ for the small publisher – economics and the environment’. (Check the exhibition website for an updated schedule).