Today, the publishing industry took a giant step forward in enabling the recurring distribution, monetization and consumption of digital publications. Leading publisher Condé Nast today announced it will offer subscription sales of The New Yorker magazine in the Apple App Store via Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. Previously, readers could purchase individual issues of the magazine directly within The New Yorker application, which is a branded instance of Adobe Content Viewer. Now, consumers can purchase a subscription of the magazine right within the application. Additionally, through a limited set of customer data provided by Apple, publishers can start to have more insight into who their readers are.
Digital Publishing Suite facilitates subscription models by providing a subscription interface from within the Adobe Content Viewer (see screenshots below). Readers can tap on a subscription offer and confirm their subscription purchase. In the instance of The New Yorker, the eCommerce Service of Digital Publishing Suite interfaces with Apple App Store APIs to communicate the subscription request. Apple then clears the payment. With successful payment, the Distribution Service of Digital Publishing Suite is enabled each week (day, month, etc.) to deliver an issue of the magazine to the viewer.
In addition to facilitating subscription models through mobile marketplaces, Digital Publishing Suite supports a wide variety of other purchase options. As has primarily been the case to date, publishers can sell single-issues through in-app purchase. In addition, they can also use publisher direct entitlement as a method for delivering content. Direct entitlement means that publishers using the Enterprise Edition of Digital Publishing Suite can integrate content delivery with their leading third-party subscription fulfillment database. They can leverage existing print accounts, offer print-digital bundles and maximize merchandising opportunities across titles for greater profitability.
Finally, as publishers integrate analytics into their apps, they can have insight into how their readers interact with content and advertising. This analytics data, combined with the initial subscription data provided by app marketplaces, begin to offer a 360 degree view of readership on tablet devices. Not only can publishers begin to know who their readers are (in order to cross-sell and merchandise to them), but in the digital medium they know how their readers are interacting with content (in order to fine-tune that content for superior performance). Read a short whitepaper (PDF 348KB) we released last week on how publishers can further use analytics to optimize their content.
Since we helped jumpstart tablet publishing by collaborating with Condé Nast to launch the digital edition of WIRED magazine nearly one year ago, digital publications have achieved a measure of success. However, many consumers have still yet to experience digital publications because viable subscription models have not been widely available. With viable subscription models now being introduced, with publishers beginning to have access to data about their digital readers, and with the continued proliferation of tablet devices, the market is poised for sustained growth.
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Kudos to our friends at National Geographic for the #1 positions of their apps in the App Store last week. The 50 Places of a Lifetime and 50 Greatest Photographs apps climbed to the top respectively in the Travel and Photography categories of the App Store last week. Built using Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, these apps immerse readers in the rich photography and stunning visuals for which National Geographic is known. In the recently released 50 Places of a Lifetime app, you can experience 360 degree panoramas, videos, and photo galleries from the world’s greatest destinations with a few swipes of your finger. The app offers narratives from far and wide – Easter Island to India – as well as interactive facts and a “Personal Places of a Lifetime” checklist.
