Cottage Life unveiling augmented reality in its Spring 2015 issue

Cottage Life magazine is debuting augmented reality in the issue hitting newsstands this week. The publication is using Blippar, an image-recognition and augmented reality app to offer interactive content through pages of the magazine. 

After downloading a free Blippar app onto their smartphone or tablet, a reader can use their device to access "blippable" pages with various kinds of print-plus content. For instance, there is a video by Cottage Life editor Penny Caldwell, explaining the initiative. And downloadable plans for a picnic table. A video of a dramatic rescue. And a preview of the second season of Cottage Life's TV show. 

The magazine is partnering with advertiser KEEN to use the same technology in the issue, only in this case to introduce an new sandal design called UNEEK. 

“We wanted to build an interactive experience for our loyal print audience that would integrate digital technology and enhance the way they interact with that form of media,” said Caldwell [in a release]. “This partnership with Blippar will not only change the way print magazines are consumed, but also change the way advertisers showcase their products. KEEN, our presenting partner, is our first advertiser to activate its print ad with this technology.”

The Blippar technology will also be available to readers in the western Canada edition Cottage Life West. 

Uptick in new technology spending reported for U.S. magazine publishers

Investment in new technology in magazine publishing is taking a big leap forward, after four years of decline, according to a story in Folio:, reporting on its 2013 manufacturing and production technology survey. Budget for new technology in 2012 was a mean of $47,000, double that of the year before. 

Twenty-six per cent of b-to-b publishers reported they increased their spending in 2012 and 24% of consumer publishers. Fewer said they were cutting back, which was a trend in recent years. 

Of those who plan to increase their investments in the coming year, 20% of consumer and 17% of b-to-b plan to increase in the range of 10 to 29 per cent.

"While print is still the dominant platform for revenue, not to mention readers, publishers are making significant investments in increasing numbers to overhaul their digital platforms to accommodate and facilitate mobile use."

Some other highlights of the research:

• Print, by far, is still the primary delivery platform for paid content, with a mean of 92 percent of consumer publishers and 80 percent of b-to-b respondents. 
• Only 8 percent of consumer publisher respondents say they offer paid Web content, while b-to-b publishers report slightly more than double the amount of paid content offerings.
• Only 4 percent of consumer publishers offer paid content on tablets, while 7 percent of b-to-b publishers do so. Smartphones are even less—only 2 percent of b-to-b and consumer publishers indicate this is a paid content platform.
• 87% of companies responding do their production and design work in house; 91% of b-to-b publishers do so.
• Ad portal system use remains steady, with about one-third of consumer publishers and a quarter of b-to-b.

Condé Nast buys into cloud-based advertising with stake in digital technology company

It may be just a fleeting business story or it may be a significant bellwether of where things are going in the relationship between media companies and advertisers -- and, not least, readers. Condé Nast, which publishes many of the best-recognized consumer magazines in the world, has bought into a company that provides so-called cloud-based advertising technology which allows marketers to change their ads on the fly, according to a story in the New York Times.

It has bought an 11% share in Flite, a digital advertising company whose system allows advertisers to change their ads as they see which images or messages are most popular with users (what we used to call readers) so they can change things up, emphasizing elements that get the most clicks or comments.

Josh Stinchcomb, vice president for corporate partnerships at Condé Nast, said Flite’s technology allowed the company to provide more creative and customized options for advertisers online.

“We do a lot of custom advertising work for our clients,” he said. “I think we’re always trying to find that balance between design flexibility and standardization.”

Embedded chips in Wired magazine takes NFC-equipped readers to ad for Lexus

Wired magazine is reported to be inserting near-field communication (NFC) chips in half a million subscribers copies of its April issue. Ad Age says the new-fangled item is accompanied by a traditional printed url for readers who don't have NFC-enabled mobile devices. The NFC technology is being deployed in the service of an ad in the magazine for the Lexus GS 2013; readers hold their devices near the ad to be taken directly to a video demo. This is a step beyond 2-D QR or bar codes, says the Ad Age story, because readers don't have to take pictures of anything with their smartphone cameras. It quotes Brian Bolain, national marketing communications director for Lexus

"Our estimates are that there around 3 million people in the U.S. with NFC-enabled smartphones," Mr. Bolain said. "We know it's a pretty small pool, but we need to do something more interesting in print to make it a little more of an interactive experience for those people who want it."

"Liquid layout" said to answer demands to deliver mags on multiple devices

Condé Nast was among the first of the world's major magazine companies to jump onto the iPad, but even their enthusiasm is being tested by the variety of devices and somehow getting their content onto various-sized screens looking halfways decent. 

Scott Dadich, the vice-president of content innovation told a London advertisers' briefing on Wednesday (reported in paidContent)  that getting a coherent workflow that will adapt to multiple devices -- including mobile phones -- has a been a real challenge. 

“Frankly, the technology really hasn’t caught up to that notion of a high-fidelity design that is adaptive. The adaptive web is teaching us a lot about what that’s going to look like. We’re working toward liquid layout with our friends at Adobe. It has springs and cushions in it so it can fit on different screens with the same kind of experience.”

According to the story, an upcoming upgrade to Adobe InDesign will allow designers to make pages through HTML5 that adjust for different device sizes, following "liquid layout rules". It's the holy grail for Condé Nast (and for its competitors) which has always maintained that it wanted to publish something once and distribute it everywhere. It's been elusive and hard work.

There was a sneak preview of the "liquid layout", that can be seen in the video below.

Apple working on a slightly smaller tablet to meet the competition

Apple is apparently working with its suppliers to create a new tablet computer with a slightly smaller, 8-inch screen that is clearly aimed at striking back at competitors like Amazon's (7.5 inch Kindle Fire) and Samsung (5.3inch Galaxy Note). 

According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, Apple is to announce its new iPad 2 early next month, which will have a higher resolution screen but the same size as at present. The smaller tablet would therefore allow it to price aggressively and offer more choice.

Canadian Business magazine U.S. commentator says Research in Motion is toast

[This post has been updated]Canadian Business magazine commissioned well-known US commentator Henry Blodget (EIC of Business Insider) to pass judgement on the likely fate of the maker of the BlackBerry and (now) the Playbook, Research in Motion. His verdict (published online by Canadian Business and simultaneously on Business Insider)? RIM is toast.

[Update: This article, which I came across on Business Insider, not Canadian Business, but crediting CB, was part of a broader package about Research in Motion, including (as CB editor Steve Maich points out in his comment) a countervailing view called Long Live Rim by Nick Waddell, the founding editor of the Cantech Letter. Unfortunately, most American investors and many Canadian readers will only see the Blodget article (as I did) and probably be unaware of the editorial package with its alternative perspective, which is too bad for one of the shining stars of Canadian high tech.]

Blodget said he was a 10-year devotee of the BlackBerry, which was rarely more than two feet away from him, 24 hours a day.

By creating the BlackBerry, Research In Motion revolutionized mobile productivity. For nearly a decade, the company easily fended off the competition by providing the best personal-information gadget on the market. It silenced its critics. It reduced Palm, a previous leader in mobile gadgets, to a pile of rubble. And it made its shareholders rich.

But now, Research In Motion’s amazing run appears to be over. The company has lost its lead in the smartphone market, and its market share is falling rapidly. And many long-time addicts like me have switched to iPhones or Android phones.

He cites three reasons for the decline:

1. RIM's products are no longer the best on the market
2. Smartphones have become a "platform market" where apps rule
3. BlackBerry's biggest selling point, security and integration with corporate systems, has been overtaken

"The most likely scenario for RIM is that it becomes Nokia, a company that once dominated the cellphone market but lost several steps and is now scrambling to stay relevant. A worse scenario would be that RIM becomes the next Palm, a one-time leader that falls on its face and is eventually sold for scrap to a larger technology player."

QuarkXPress 9 being released in April

Should anyone be interested, QuarkXPress 9 is being released in April. It is being presented as the answer to design automation, allowing designers to publish directly to digital devices. Virtually every magazine publisher I meet says they have either switched to Adobe InDesign or are considering it. Any views about this? Add a comment.

One in five Americans say they own or plan to own a tablet within three years

Twenty per cent of Americans own or plan to purchase a tablet computer within the next three years, according to results of a survey conducted by Harris Interactive (sponsored by app designer Fuze Box). [reported by Folio:]

Both personal and business reasons will drive the tablet purchases, with 53 percent of respondents saying they plan to read e-books and newspapers on the device (that actually eclipsed gaming, which just 33 percent of respondents say they'll be doing on tablets).
While men are more likely to say they own or plan to buy a tablet than women in the next three years (26 percent versus 18 percent), women are more likely to say they'll use tablets for social networking (60 percent versus 43 percent, respectively).

Publish once, read anywhere;Condé Nast's Rick Levine on the company's strategy

Magazines Canada has posted a video of the recent presentation in Toronto by Richard Levine VP Editorial Operations, Condé Nast. Click on this link

The iPad as an illustrator's tool

For magazine illustrators out there, as well as the rest of us, a fascinating video showing Brooklyn artist David John Kassan using an iPad and "fingerpainting" to make a portrait from life. [Thanks, Michel.]

Nomad Editions says it will combine virtue of great magazines with multi-platform digital delivery

It was inevitable that someone would seek and find a way to sidestep Apple; it seems that a new subscription-based mobile content provider called Nomad Editions may be showing the way that magazines could reach their readers on iPads and smartphones of all kinds. Or as a new business model for digital media it may eclipse many of them. Nomad is scheduled to launch October 15

The publication (which it is)  is putting an emphasis on quality content and fair payment for contributors. It is being launched by a group led by the former president of Newsweek magazine, Mark M. Edminston (at one time chair of the Magazine Publishers of America) and well-known art director and designer Roger Black. .

The idea is as interesting for its business model as its technology. It puts the emphasis squarely where it should be -- delivering good, focussed content at a fair price, rather than relying entirely on advertising (though advertisers can sponsor editions for $25,000 that involves up to 8 ads for three months.) 

How to deliver paid content and sponsorships has been a real connundrum for magazine publishers, who are also finding it difficult to be delivered as Apple-approved apps through iTunes without losing control of their subscribers. Nomad is showing there's more than one way to do things and is potentially a direct  competitor for subscriptions and advertising that bypasses both Apple and the magazine publishers. 

According to a story in Folio: Jock Spivey, Nomad's vice-president of audience development says

"We're not trading in page views," says Spivey. "This will be more like the magazine world where marketers will be able to talk to subscribers. Much of the design difficulties with regular Web sites have to do with page views and ad placement. Articles get busted up into three or four pages because every time you read a new load, a new ad inventory is served up."

Still, "the heart and soul of this business is subscriptions," Spivey says. "We want to sell as many sponsorships as we can, but it's not what the business is built on. Part of what we're doing here is really old fashioned--the idea that readers should pay for what they're consuming and the people creating what they're consuming should be well compensated."

Here's how it will work, or plans to: 

• Subscriptions to four distinct digital offerings are sold in annual or three-month subscriptions.  An annual sub is $24; a three-month is $6.
• Each is a distinct digital weekly publication that is designed to be read in 20 or 30 minutes on a smartphone or tablet. 
• Because it is web-based it lets users access the same content on  multiple platforms (smartphones, tablets or a desktop). 
• Each edition contains original material, written by staffers and freelancers who will be paid on the traffic their stories attract.
• Prospective readers get a 30-day free trial then pay the equivalent of $6 for each of the modules. 
• The modules so far cover food, web surfing, movies and viral video (with more in development) and each will contain two longer features and five shorter ones.

From a press release in  the Nomad Edition online newsletter:

Nomad Editions Editor in Chief John Benditt says, “A typical Nomad Edition will be lean, but will contain everything the reader needs to know each week. We will offer many of the virtues of great magazines—careful quality control and the ability to complete the experience—with those of a digital medium.” 

Adds Executive Editor Sean Elder: “A Nomad Edition combines the look and narrative feel of a print magazine with the portability and multi-platform capabilities of digital devices. We’re all about stories here.”

A story in the New York Times reported

Aside from about a dozen full-time staff members, Nomad Editions will pull its writers and editors from a growing pool of freelancers [says an article in the New York Times]. “There’s lot of talent out here that’s underemployed or not being fairly paid,” said Mr. Edmiston.

Writers will earn up to 30 percent of subscription revenue per edition per week, while editors will make 5 percent of the same revenue with an additional cut of the advertising dollars. Mr. Edmiston estimates that writers can make anywhere from $50,000 to $60,000 a year if their area of expertise attracts an average of 50,000 readers.

The venture uses Treesaver technology, software developed by Roger Black and Filipe Fortes, a former engineer at Microsoft. The software allows Nomad editions to appear on any mobile device, automatically formatted to the size and shape of the screen. Black says

"This is the most exciting launch I've been part of -- in decades. With the share for contributors, the subscription base, and the new Treesaver platform, Nomad is creating a new model. And it's going to win."

Rogers buys 50% of TOPS, Torstar's online publishing system

Rogers Communications is becoming an equal partner in the online publishing system that was developed by Torstar Corp. and is used by some Rogers-owned magazine, TV and radio operations.

According to a story on The Canadian Press, TOPS has been used for four years to publish TheStar.com, the internet edition of the newspaper, as well as for Toronto.com and the news sites of Metroland Media community papers and Metro News.

"We have been working with the TOPS platform for a year to great success," said Claude Galipeau, senior vice-president and general manager for digital media at Rogers Media.

Citytv.com, Flare.com and 680News.com, which are the Internet affiliates of Rogers-owned television, magazine and radio operations respectively, have been using the Total Online Publishing Solutions system since last year.

"TOPS has vastly improved the publishing power of our journalists and editors, our search engine performance, and our speed to market," Galipeau said.
"This investment allows Rogers to co-develop a best-of-breed content management platform, and accelerate its adoption for our brands."

Aside from the all-but-impenetrable phrase "best-of-breed content management platform", the deal is yet one more example of the convergence of interests between the larger publishing companies.

U.S. e-reader prices slashed as battle for eyeballs heats up

The likely inevitable price war in e-readers has broken out, big time, in the U.S. It can't be long before similar price-cutting occurs in Canada. Today, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal, Barnes & Noble cut the price of its Nook reader to $199 and introduced a wi-fi model for only $149; and Amazon.com followed suit by lowering the price of its Kindle to $189.

Both the Nook and Kindle previously sold for $259. While that was well below the iPad's starting price of $499, the e-readers lack the hit Apple product's color screen, ability to display video and websites, and thousands of specialized applications, or apps.

The moves aren't likely to end the gyrations in the nascent e-reader market. In coming weeks, both Amazon and Sony Corp. plan to unveil new versions of their devices, said people briefed on the matter. Analysts believe the new products also will emphasize lower prices.

Barnes & Noble said it dropped the Nook's price so it could reach a wider group of potential customers, especially ones who aren't hard-core readers. Amazon declined to comment beyond a press release that simply announced the price cut.

A price war for low-end e-readers could force Barnes & Noble and Amazon to rely more heavily on their profit from selling e-books. Under so-called agency sales agreements with many top publishers, e-bookstores keep about 30% of the sale price of e-books.

Tide on iPad magazine subs seems to be running to higher pricing than print

Consumers are likely to be surprised, and probably disappointed, by the pricing of magazines appearing on iPads starting this month. The assumption -- perhaps encouraged by free web posting and many digital "flip" editions that are priced less than their print counterparts -- is that iPad editions will cost less. The uncertainty extends to magazine managements who are trying to come up with a coherent pricing strategy.

Nat Ives in Ad Age  reports that iPad subscriptions to Popular Science, Popular Photography and Sound & Vision will cost twice as much as they do in print. Where they could buy a year of Popular Science for $12 (about 83 cents an issue) ordered through the magazine's website (or $10 on Amazon), an iPad edition will cost $29.95, or about $250 an issue.

Bonnier's subscriptions and pricing strategy will have company fairly shortly. Time Inc. CEO Anne Moore said last week that Time magazine iPad subscriptions are "coming soon." And she didn't sound any more interested in discount pricing than Bonnier. "It's becoming increasingly clear customers will pay for trusted, quality content," she said in remarks at a Time Warner investors day.

One commenter on Ive's story said: 

Price is just one part of the equation. The other part is utility. Combine the two and you have value. The reason publishers will be able to explore a more expanded range of pricing is that this new medium gives them an expanded range of content and interactivity, and therefore more utility that they can provide.

Another said:

Consumers do not and will not understand why these magazines should cost more when they do not have to be physically printed and distributed. The first magazines to defect from the premium pricing strategy will learn this quickly. The ensuing rush to the bottom (pricing-wise) could be avoided by pricing fairly now.

NOW magazine says it is the first magazine in Canada to offer its readers an iPad version

It remains to be seen whether iPad mania will be as virulent in Canada as it has been in the U.S. (where in a little over a month Apple has sold a million units), but today's launch (which had some lunatics lining up overnight) coincides with NOW magazine claiming bragging rights for offering its readers an the iPad iBooks friendly e-reader version. It can be downloaded now from nowtoronto.com/ipad

Michael Hollett, Editor / Publisher of NOW Magazine says in a release, "We're pumped about this. We've spent 30 years giving our readers the latest, the hottest, the most current so our readers would expect no less from us. We take great pride in being at the forefront of all of the latest technology available and now with the iPad version of our magazine, every Thursday, the newest issue will be right on your iPad to enjoy." The iPad version joins the print magazine, available on newsstands across the GTA every Thursday and online everyday at nowtoronto.com.

Virtual newsstand lets you swipe a magazine off a coffee table

I will concede that the intention is good (ease for the customer), but there is something weird and off-putting about this concept for a new form of virtual newsstand -- a table top from which you can drag participating titles onto the e-reader of your choice. The video is from eMedia Vitals and the demonstration was at the SXSW Music and Media Conference.

U.S cellphone data shows more texting than web browsing

Research released by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and reported in Silicon Valley Insider notes that while 86% of Americans now own cellphones*, accessing the mobile internet on them is far less common than sending pictures or text messaging. Only 28% access web pages (it goes up to 48% for 18-29 year olds) and 20% download apps. Older cellphone owners 50 - 64 use text messaging (51%) far more than mobile web (15%).

This is an important consideration for magazines considering major investments in creating mobile-enabled versions of their publications. Looked at another way, there's lots of room for growth, though web-access seems more likely on netbooks and tablets than on the teeny screens of cellphones.

 *About 70% of Canadians 16-60 own cellphones, well down the league tables and lowest among G8 countries and comparable with Vietnam and Mexico. [TSN Canadian Facts] (This couldn't have anything to do with the Canadian pricing of cellphone service and texting, could it...?)
 

Wired magazine and Adobe unveil tablet reader that is a "new era of media"

 
Wired magazine and Adobe Systems have unveiled a tablet application of the Wired Reader. It was not a CGI demo or simulation,  but ran more or less with real content with real copy, created with Adobe InDesign.  

Wired editor Chris Anderson says that the magazine is entering a new media era, with a digital platform that retains all the features of  his glossy print magazine, but augmented with video, animation and full interactivity.

Much is still to be answered about magazines and other media on this emerging class of devices, from the business and distribution models to the consumer response. But what is already clear is that they offer the opportunity to be beautiful, highly engaging and immersive, going beyond what’s available on the web. I think tablets are going to sell like hotcakes, in part because they offer such an intimate, rich media experience. We’re betting big on them, as you can see, but this is just a taste. Stay tuned for a full release this summer.

Getting small- and medium-sized magazine on to tablet and other e-devices

As things get sorted in the wake of the launch of the iPad, smaller and medium-sized magazines must be wondering how they are going to be able to make their content available on the new device in some affordable way. 

Larger publishing organizations of the likes of Rogers and Transcontinental have the means to do this, if they wish, which they undoubtedly do. But there is a real opportunity here for the magazine industry to work together to create a plain vanilla, open source application that would allow print content from smaller and independent magazines  to be ported to the iPad, iPhone and other electronic reading devices such as the Kindle. Or to make a partnership with a private sector provider to do it on their behalf. All for an annual or one-time fee small enough to be a no-brainer.

This would be similar to the digital newsstand deal that Magazines Canada entered into with Zinio to deliver pdf versions of their members' magazines. However, that is only one way that digital versions can be delivered to readers and not everyone will want to go the "flip book" route; many others will want to be able to deliver content in a way that takes best advantage of the capabilities of the new e-readers.

For readers, it has to be a simple as downloading some sort of "mag-app" from iTunes or similar sources for free or for a small fee. For magazines, there has to be a reasonably straightforward and inexpensive way to convert content from page format to electronic format that enhances the readers' experience. In other words, the whole back end has to be easy for the magazine and virtually invisible to the reader.

Big U.S. magazine and textbook publishers have signed deals to make their material available for the iPad,  iPhone and the iPod Touch . Some work through an arrangement with ScrollMotion, a company that created an application called Iceberg Reader. But such an arrangement is probably way beyond the means of individual smaller magazine publishers. If ever there was a time when collaborative effort is called for, this is it. 

Of course, not everyone is convinced that they want to or can deliver their content digitally, or that they can make any money at it. But probably just as many would be eager to take part in something made affordable because it had a critical mass of participants. And the only practical way for that to happen is if an organization like Magazines Canada were to front the process, pull together a working group to draw up the specs and negotiate whatever deals are necessary to keep Canada's many small- and medium-sized magazines in the loop on this rapidly emerging field.