Adobe Digital Publishing

The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) has announced the Digital Ellies finalists, and Adobe Digital Publishing Suite customers topped the charts in categories including General Excellence, Digital Media; Tablet Edition; and Design, Digital Media. The Digital Ellies are the 2012 National Magazine Awards for Digital Media and will be presented at the MPA Digital: Swipe Conference in March.

Over 270 magazine publishers applied, and 90 judges recognize the titles listed below based on excellence in publishing, digital media, and design for digital platforms and tablets. We want to congratulate them for their ingenuity and hard work that has yielded high recognition. The Adobe Digital Publishing Suite team has worked closely with these industry leaders to design a digital publishing platform that provides end users with a captivating reading experience, and they continue to push the envelope in innovation and design.

General Excellence, Digital Media 
Honors the best magazines published on digital platforms

• Golf Digest
• National Geographic

Tablet Edition
Honors magazine editions published on tablets and e-readers

• Golf Digest
• GQ
• National Geographic
• The New Yorker

Design, Digital Media
Honors magazine websites, tablet and e-reader editions and utility apps for visual and functional excellence

• Everyday Food
• National Geographic
• The New Yorker
• Wired

Personal Service, Digital Media
Honors service journalism on digital platforms

• Men’s Health

Multimedia
Honors the use of interactivity and multimedia in the coverage of an event or subject

• Golf Digest

Video
Honors the outstanding use of video by magazines

• GQ

Reporting, Digital Media
Honors excellence in reporting for digital media

• Wired

The Digital Ellies will be presented on March 20, 2012 in New York City, in conjunction with the MPA Digital: Swipe Conference, a premier conference for magazine editors and publishers focusing on tablets, e-readers, smartphones and apps.

• Register for MPA Digital: Swipe Conference and attend the Digital Ellies luncheon

This week’s App of the Week is Backpacker magazine. We show you some cool features in the video below. Some of our favorites include:

• Interactive topographical maps
• Videos of gear reviews
• How-tos on bushwhacking, lighting fires, and surviving bear attacks
• Links to recreational equipment stores so that you can make a purchase within the app

Watch more here!

Today, Adobe unveiled data that shows tablet magazine readership is engaged and willing to pay for high value content. In the last year, readers have downloaded 16 million publications built with Digital Publishing Suite. These people are purchasing the majority of their content and taking advantage of built-in interactivity.  This high level of consumer engagement bodes well for the future of the digital publishing industry. If you are still wondering whether readers want you to publish to the tablet, the answer is a resounding yes.

The metrics that Adobe is releasing today are based on anonymous, aggregate data of approximately 1,500 apps that have been produced using Adobe Digital Publishing Suite.

Readers Purchase High Value Content on Tablets

Discoverability is essential for creating new revenue streams and growing circulation for digital publications. If you have downloaded the latest version of Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, you’ll know you can now use Viewer Builder to showcase free subscriptions in iOS Newsstand.

I turned on my iPad this morning and was excited to find iGizmo on my Newsstand. You may have seen the video where the iGizmo team at Dennis Publishing describes using Adobe Digital Publishing Suite to build engaging content and drive premium advertising. iGizmo is a successful publication that is funded entirely by advertising. Now, iGizmo has joined the ranks of paid subscription publications and is seeing great results.

“Prior to having the ability to go onto Newsstand we were both frustrated and concerned that iGizmo would lose momentum, as sitting outside of Newsstand for a magazine was the same as being lost in the wilderness.  Since we have moved into Newsstand, downloads have increased significantly and advertisers are noting an increase in engagement.”

– Martin Belson, Commercial and Retail Director at Dennis Publishing

• Download iGizmo on your from the iTunes Store or Android Marketplace
• Watch Colin Fleming’s Newsstand video to learn how it works
• Learn how to use Viewer Builder to build Newsstand publications

Are you interested in learning more about Digital Publishing Suite from people who use it? Want to see some inspiring examples from strategic businesses that are building well designed publications? Join us at the Publishing Expo conference next week in London, as well as its sister conference, Technology for Marketing and Advertising (TFM&A). Adobe customers and representatives are discussing analytics, digital catalogues, the connection between digital design and digital behavior, and the role of publishing in marketing and brand engagement. Conference registration is free.

Publishing Expo Website: http://publishing-expo.co.uk/
Technology for Marketing and Advertising: http://www.t-f-m.co.uk/
28-29 February 2012, Earls Court 2 London

Publishing Expo
Measuring Interaction in Digital Publications, Audience & Data Theatre, 28 February 4:20pm
Speaker: Rupert Knowles, Adobe Systems Incorporated
With the move to digital editions, publishers have not only unlocked truly unique content experiences but also accessed insights into how users interact with digital magazine content. Join an Adobe executive in a discussion on emerging trends and key metrics for digital publications, highlighting metrics publishers and advertisers should standardize on to be successful in this new medium.

Maximising Content with Minimum Resources, Production & Design Theatre, 29 February 10am
Speakers:  Alistair Dabbs,  Bento Media; Alistair Gillan, AQ2; Mick Taylor, Future Publishing
How does the interactive, high definition digital version of a magazine distinguish it from its print replica counterpart? Magazines can uphold their brand because the same designers develop both the print and tablet versions of a publication, maintaining the ‘look and feel’ of print with the enhanced features that come with a tablet.

Publisher as Brand, Brand as Publisher, Digital & Multipublishing Theatre: 29 February, 10am
Speakers:   Duncan Edwards, ASOS; Rupert Knowles, Adobe Systems Incorporated
Brands as publishers can curate and create high quality content, and gain the close relationship with their audience that publishers already have. Publishers want a reliable business model. The lines between a publication and a digital catalogue are blurring. What are the opportunities – and the threats? Who’s doing what and how?

Digital Design, Digital Behaviour, Production and Design Theatre: 29 February, 2pm
Keynote panel:  Ross Burridge, Boto Media Ltd; Johannes Henseler, nordsueddesign
Our powerful panel debates the new design and useability imperatives for the digital world, where designers strike the balance between functionality and ‘look and feel’, and asks what role apps play in a web and print world. We go on to investigate  the transition between computer/laptop use and tablet use and how technology has changed how media is consumed. All depends how you define ‘design’ – and ‘media’, for that matter, of course…

Technology for Marketing & Advertising
Digital Publications Heighten Brand Engagement, Direct Marketing Theatre (TFM&A): 28 February, 1:30pm
Moderator: Rupert Knowles, Adobe Systems Incorporated
Speakers: Josh Pullan, Sotheby’s; Martyn Hopkins, Roland
The tablet platform has elevated commercial publications into a new realm with interactivity that provides readers with more control and immerses them into a beautiful and branded shopping experience unheard of with print. Adobe Digital Publishing Suite users will share their strategy around the design, distribution, and monetization of tablet publications.

• Check out the Publishing Expo Seminar Programme
• Register for Publishing Expo
• View other seminars in the TFM&A Direct Marketing Theatre

The latest App of the Week is Smithsonian Magazine. Check out the video below to preview the interactive features that turn an already great magazine into a multimedia experience.

Highlights include:

• Stunning 360 degree views of beautiful and remote locations
• Documentaries from the Smithsonian Channel and US Geological Service
• Interactive maps that let you to jump to stories from around the world
• Links to web pages so that readers can learn more and stay current on a topic

Watch the video here.

By Craig Morrow & Will Steuber, MEI

We all know by now that tablet devices are the perfect medium for new companies to create rich, engaging content and they are helping traditional companies revitalize legacy brands in the same manner.  In the recent years, we’ve seen some pretty significant growth trumpeted by a diverse and well-known group of companies, which simply emphasizes the potential this medium has.  But it’s not just all about magazines.  When Adobe launched Digital Publishing Suite, it was a product/platform that everyone assumed was developed for the magazine world.  Nobody can argue that it’s done a fantastic job supporting that vertical but it has so much more potential not only within it, but well beyond.  Let’s talk about some of the other ways this device and the tools used to develop the content can help create or enhance revenue streams.

1. Sales and Marketing – Using tablet apps to deliver customized product information is something that is gaining a tremendous amount of traction in a short period of time.  We’re seeing many companies begin to explore and execute the creation of more meaningful, cost-effective and engaging product/service presentations for sales and marketing staff across various industries.

2. Custom Storefronts – Using custom storefronts to promote new subscription offers, product launches, promotions and even a dedicated social media channel is an area where we’re seeing extensive growth. Self-contained within the app, the storefront acts like a personalized presentation layer and allows you to promote and sell products while building brand awareness. More importantly, it provides a reason for customers to return, either directly through push notifications or working in concert with your marketing campaigns. Not to mention you can control the look and feel. With the creation of a custom storefront, a company can break free of the default Digital Publishing Suite folio grid view on the home screen and take control of the look, feel and user experience.

3. Advertising – New tablet ownership has a projected growth rate through 2015 that would make any economist (or tablet manufacturer) grin.  This growth will begin to provide the type of momentum needed to get more advertisers to partner with digital content providers.  Layer on top of that the new trends in the e-commerce space and you’re left with a new game-changing platform. We have all read the research that shows the majority of magazine readers want to purchase directly from articles and/or directly from the ads. That’s now a viable and proven alternative.

Simply put, these devices, when married to the right creative toolsets, can not only create rich, engaging experiences for readers but have the potential to revolutionize how your organizations are conducting business,  internally and externally.  Reducing your reliance on physical material and shipping to market and promoting your products makes for a very easy ROI model capable of yielding significant results in a short period of time.  Using built-in analytics to showcase real numbers on readership lift, demographics and subscriptions is another very compelling case that most advertisers would love to see… right before they pay you more money to place their ads, of course.  Finally, using custom storefronts, a feature inherent in the Enterprise version of Digital Publishing Suite, is just now beginning to show its real power and versatility in creating a more personalized experience between you and your audience, providing them with an intelligent, engaging destination to consume your content the way they want to.

Join us at the Adobe Meets MPA session on In-App Merchandising Through a Custom Store on Tuesday, February 28th in New York City. Custom in-app stores are essential if you want to drive additional revenue streams by cross-selling and upselling content, products, and services through your app. Stephen Hart, Adobe Digital Publishing Solutions Manager, will share insight on business opportunities provided by in-app merchandising, as well as advise on best practices and resources required when building in-app stores.

Renowned Taiwan author and director Giddens Ko dreamed of a medium that could touch, inspire and engage his audiences by adding depth and context to the stories behind his works even better than his blog already did. He discovered that with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, the ebook app “We Meet Once Again”, supporting his new film “You Are the Apple of My Eye” had the power to become the best record of his film work ever. Hollywoodreporter.com  said:“ Apple injects a fresh, tart edge to the genre with a constantly self-mocking boys’ angle. The comedy is crowd-pleasingly raucous …” in a review posted here.

Author of more than 60 online books, many of Giddens’ works have been adapted to film, television, comics and games. In 2011, a major Hollywood studio bought the rights to his story ‘The Killer Who Never Kills’ marking the first time a Taiwanese story has been optioned by a major studio.

Now, Giddens’ enormous fan base in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and across the world can discover more about the stories and films they love with eBooks featuring stills, video, director’s commentary and more; all created with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. Once again, Giddens’ unique vision is setting new standards for creativity in Taiwan and inspiring a new generation of story-tellers to push the boundaries.

• Watch the video on Adobe TV

• Download We Meet Once Again at the iTunes store
• Read Giddens’ blog

Adobe Digital Publishing Suite is now showcasing an App of the Week, a digital publication that catches our eye. For example, we might highlight one that is using interactive features in a compelling way or making strategic business choices to build readership and brand awareness. This week we are showcasing Guitarist Deluxe by Future Publishing. If you go to the app store to purchase an issue or subscription, you will find two options: Guitarist and Guitarist Deluxe. Guitarist is a PDF replica of the print version. Guitarist Deluxe is made with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite.

Compare & Contrast: PDF Replica vs. Digital Publishing Suite
First of all, Guitarist Deluxe is beautiful. The cover is ultimately identical to the PDF version, but upon opening the issue, it plays a video of Johnny Marr.  It feels like the opening of a live show, with the spotlight slowly lighting up Johnny from behind as he plays a soothing melodic tune on his custom built Jaguar.

The next obvious difference between the two versions of Guitarist was font size. That seems trite at first, I know. When developing for the iPad, designers need to use a larger font. This guides design choices that ultimately make for easier reading. Larger font size necessitates pop-up windows and scrolling frames. Compare the two pages below. The first screenshot is from the PDF replica, while the next two are from the iPad version built with Digital Publishing Suite. With the iPad version, the reader selects and focuses on one guitar at a time. For me, I can concentrate better when I actively choose a guitar to read about and am not distracted by other information.

 PDF Version

Highlighting One Guitar at a Time

Second of all, the PDF version gives me a web link so that I can listen to the sounds of guitars and pedals featured on the app. As someone who has tried to read music reviews, I appreciate Guitarist placing sounds on the web. The iPad takes it to the next level, and I don’t have to crack open my laptop in order to hear anything. I just tap on the review, listen to the guitar or amp, and I automatically understand what “focused urgency in the mid-range” and “great sense of sparkle and presence” really means. Editor Mick Taylor reviews the Hughes & Kettner Tube Master 5 head amp, which comes to life with a full-screen video demo using two different guitars and five settings. A screenshot from the video is pictured below. Thanks, Mick. You saved me a trip to the store.

Download Guitarist Deluxe and check it out yourself. There are more even more features, such as social sharing, instructional pieces with accompanying audio, song samples from record reviews, and links that send the reader to the web to purchase a reviewed item.

Guitarist is the perfect example of how the iPad can amplify content, if you will, in an already great magazine. Sound is essential to bringing the page to life and helping the reader truly understand and connect with the subject matter.