Rogers mag content on mobiles running 10,000 dowloads a month

Downloadable magazine content that is sent out to web-enabled mobile phones tends to be read as soon as it arrives, according to recent experience of Rogers Publishing (according to a post in Mobile Marketer). As a result, says Gaurav Jain, vice president of business development at Polar Mobile in Toronto, information is pushed out more often, but in smaller chunks. .

Jain said that the experience of Rogers Publishing, which has put mobile versions of Maclean's and Canadian Business online, is that premium content is attractive to mobile users; the service is, at least for now, free.

Rogers Publishing saw usage of their mobile magazines reach 10,000 downloads and 250,000 ad impressions per month. Readers spend an average of more than 30 minutes each month in the application, Mr. Jain says. Once dowloaded, the information is stored in the phone and can be accessed anywhere, without a mobile signal.

“It is important to put thought into what content is pushed to consumers,It has to be timely, lightweight and sticky. Simply replicating what’s on print or online is not a good idea.”

“A lot of publishers don’t have a mobile strategy for effective delivery of content – they are missing out on a completely new distribution channel and revenue stream,” Mr. Jain said.“Publishers need to leverage mobile to make more money off of existing content, but having a mere presence will not create revenue."