Adobe Digital Publishing

The Audit Bureau of Circulations today released new
guidelines for what counts towards “paid and verified” magazine circulation -
including how to account for digital magazines. In its news release and digital circulation
guidelines, ABC notes that the digital
edition of WIRED will be included in the
magazine’s total “paid and verified” circulation.

Specifically, the ABC notes that digital magazines like
WIRED will count towards a “Digital Edition – Replica” category that is
subsequently included in total circulation. This replica category comprises digital magazines that
represent the full editorial and advertising content of the publication. No longer, however, does the content
have to be presented in exactly the
same layout as in print.

Okay… so what does this mean? Well, it has implications for publishers, readers, and
advertisers.

The new guidelines mean publishers
can include digital copies in the rate base circulation figures they guarantee
to advertisers. With this
inclusion, magazines can (1) more accurately represent the reach they deliver
to advertisers and (2) capture that value through increased CPM rates.

For readers, it
means an even more engaging digital magazine experience. Magazine publishers will increasingly
make more content available in immersive, interactive digital formats because
they are able to attract advertisers to it.

Finally, advertisers
are able to audit the number of readers publications connect with on
emerging tablet/smartphone devices. This means advertisers can count on digital platforms to deliver reach. The promise of digital is not only to
deliver reach though, but also engagement. With the new interactive advertising formats
applications like WIRED offer, advertisers are able to involve readers directly
at a deeper level – without leaving the magazine content experience.

I’m back from the FIPP Digital Innovators Summit last week in Berlin, Germany where a variety of international publishers presented their strategies for monetizing digital content. If there’s one thing that was clear from the conference, it’s that there’s a lot of confusion on what a “digital strategy” means.

Many publishers only use their Web site as part of their digital strategy. Of this group, some companies are using the Web to drive traffic to additional monetized services (i.e paid job listing boards for newspapers; wedding mag TheKnot.com has an entire strategy around wedding services). Some other publishers are using a premium paid content model (The Economist). Still others are trying to monetize via iPhone apps (or expecting to monetize via iPad apps). None are placing their bets on increased CPM rates from ads.

The challenge in monetizing digital content lies in the fact that content has become a commodity. Given the confusion over monetization at the Digital Innovators Summit though, it was clear to me that publishers don’t just need another monetization model. Fundamentally, we need to increase the value around content by transforming it into a content experience. It is this content experience that provides differentiation and allows publishers to monetize more effectively.

What is a content experience? One way could be an application like we’ve produced with WIRED magazine that allows increased reader engagement and interactivity with both content and ads. Instead of passively sifting through articles online, readers navigate through the magazine in innovative ways, interact with photo slideshows/video snippets, and engage with advertising content (like through 360 degree object rotation). These interactive features, combined with the tablet form-factor, allow publishers to reach readers in new ways and provide a differentiated option that creates value. Instead of just another monetization model, we need to think about what readers actually want from the content they consume.  Increasingly, readers will want a connection with their content in new and innovative ways – a content experience.