Cosmo’s Snapchat Success, Next Issue’s Texture Rollout, Facebook Mobile News Alerts, Print Ad Guarantees, Media Metrics, Women in Media, TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week, DPS 2015 Tip: Feature List
Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing stories about Cosmopolitan drawing millions of readers on Snapchat Discover, a new Next Issue offering that opens up more options for consuming content, an initiative by the Association of Magazine Media to boost print advertising, Facebook’s reported plan to debut its second mobile news app, and more.
- Hearst’s Cosmopolitan brand is hitting some impressive numbers on Snapchat Discover. Since this summer, its traffic has spiked from 1.8 million readers a day to more than 3 million, according to a Digiday article. And though not a common activity on messaging services, sharing has taken off among young viewers, with up to 1.2 million Cosmo Discover stories shared daily. “It’s been amazing,” says Hearst digital VP Kate Lewis in the report, noting that advertisers are loving the brand’s high content-consumption rate—some 72% of users click on every story when opening the tab. Other Snapchat publishing partners are seeing success too, including BuzzFeed, which reports 20% of its audience uses the app.
- While big publishers like Hearst, Conde Nast, Time Inc., and Meredith test the distribution waters with Apple, Facebook, Snapchat, and other platforms, they’re continuing to curate and market their content through their Next Issue magazine consortium and now its newly launched Texture offering, which aims to let readers consume articles in more flexible ways across titles. For example, instead of having to pick one magazine and sift through it, users can use the subscription service to more easily access content related to interest or browse by “Collections” and create their own libraries, explains Politico columnist Ken Doctor. A big part of the pitch? Premium content. Not only does Texture open the door to hundreds of thousands of articles, but the vast majority of that content—70%—is exclusive, meaning it’s not available on the free web. Doctor takes a look at the business model and pricing, how the offering fits into the mobile picture, and the outlook for adoption.
- In addition to pushing into new distribution channels, magazine publishers are looking to counter print advertising losses another way: money-back guarantees. In another words, if sales don’t go up by a certain percentage after a print ad runs, media buyers will either get free ad pages or their money back, a new initiative spearheaded by the Association of Magazine Media in an effort to drive increases in print spending. In a report detailing how the arrangement works, qualifications, and measurement guidelines, The Wall Street Journal notes some publishers have already experimented with guarantees. Time Inc., for one, started offering print ad guarantees across all its titles in January and has shown that “on average every dollar invested in a print ad returns an uptick of $17 in sales,” the article says. Meredith, too, has seen success with a similar program, reporting that it has never had to refund advertising dollars or provide free ad pages.
- Finally, word has it that Facebook is working on a new mobile news app called Notify, following on an earlier one called Paper. Gigaom says the app will reportedly push breaking news alerts to users who subscribe to a publisher’s “station,” though it remains uncertain if the notifications will tie in with content posted to Facebook Instant Articles. While the social media company maintains reports are purely “rumors and speculation,” The Awl and Business Insider laid out some details as well, noting that we could see something as soon as the end of the month.
On the Technology for Publishing Blog
- Our latest Media Metrics roundup is out! Find out what consumers want from digital media, how the mobile web stacks up to apps, the percentage of millennials willing to pay for news, and much more.
- We also posted this month’s Women in Media installment, which highlights a recent leadership panel discussion, the Fortune Most Powerful Women list and conference, writing awards, and interviews with media chiefs, among other news.
- Good morning routines are key to productive, low-stress workdays. To learn how to super-charge the start of your day, check out our Infographic Pick of the Week.
- And for those of you just starting out with Adobe Digital Publishing Solution, this week’s DPS 2015 Tip looks at the Feature List, which provides feature descriptions with links to help pages and a detailed chart of supported features.
Image: Digiday
Check out our blog for highlights of interesting and noteworthy stories from the publishing world every Friday, and sign up for TFP’s This Week in Publishing newsletter. Think we missed something great? Let us know! Leave a comment below or drop us a note.
Posted by: Monica Sambataro
