Our new marketing campaign looks to expand the meaning of the riddle from days gone by. Instead of disappointing readers with basic page replication which requires constant manipulation provide them with the fluid experience they expect.
Viewing entries tagged
digital publishing
This casual review of how digital magazine and newspaper editions are created and distributed, along with studies which purport reader’s preferences of the medium, has lead to this comprehensive list of ‘Deadly Sins’. The items mentioned represent significant factors that prevent a digital edition from initial or continued success in the marketplace.
My Christmas wish-list is easily transcribed onto a post-it note. I have what I need and want very little. When Christmas morning arrived and I carefully teased the paper away from a gift labelled to me I graciously accepted this ‘want’ – the ‘Beastie Boys Book’.
The Curling News began as a monthly print publication which over time has adapted and added digital properties such as a website and social media channels. The digital edition was released to subscribers and non-subscribers in 2012. The launch of the digital edition was a single issue intended to introduce a potential new product to existing subscribers as well as promote the print edition to an unfound audience.
Flip Page editions provide an opportunity for publishers to reach an expanded audience via digital access and distribution. Flip Page editions also provide a comprehensive set of analytics which allows a marketer to gain insight into the mind of the reader.
With that in mind there is plenty of support for municipalities to further engage their population with recreational guides in Flip Page digital format.
Publishers have expectations. They want engaging content and interaction. They want a responsive reading experience. They want simple workflows and increased reach.
That’s where LiLy delivers.
At first glance LiLy might seem like an upgraded version of our Text Article tool which allowed publishers to deliver a text-based version of articles for better legibility.
That’s true. Kind of.
In the first part of the series ‘Taking a Stand on Digital Newsstands’ I suggested that there are implementation and promotional issues related to digital newsstand efforts. The drawbacks that were discussed included: discoverability, attracting readers, business models, and fragmentation.
In the second part of the series I am going to look at a few more oversights that purge the air out of the digital newsstand balloon.
...continue
Digital and mobile technologies are pushing the envelope for reader engagement and consumption. A number of our periodical clients lean on us for advice with regards to their digital and/or mobile strategy. One of the most common questions we are asked, because the Jones’ are doing it, is ‘How do I get my publication into Newsstand?’
The initial response, somewhat apologetically, is “Which one and why?” You would think that a company whose focus is to help publishers and marketers generate new readership, increase brand engagement, and drive digital growth would be supportive of newsstand(s). But, we aren’t. At least not from the perspective of the ‘Field of Dreams – If you build it’ principle. There are glaring issues with the digital newsstand offerings. We’ll explain those issues below.
...continue
Valued clients and partners,
You may have visited the publication analytics recently and noticed things look a little different. Not a "OMG, I need a map to figure out what is going here" different but more of a "Hey, did you guys paint in here or something" different.
Well, you caught us. We have updated the interface to correspond with the changes we have made with the publisher dashboard. The update has not made any changes to the layout so you will still organize and extract data in the exact same manner - it just looks a little cleaner while doing so!
However, for convenience, we have injected the analytics into the main layout of the publisher dashboard so although the analytics will open in a new window or tab you will still have one-click access to all of the other dashboard tools.
If you have any questions regarding these changes please contact your account representative!
Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone was groundbreaking. The early devices, although great, were only able to connect between a single start and end point. The switchboard changed that interaction entirely. It allowed users to connect from a start point to multiple end points.
Inspired by our *local hero Flip Page has added a unique tool for Flip Page readers to contact multiple end points. It is now possible to build a ‘switchboard’ link in a Flip Page edition which when tapped will dial the appropriate phone number.
From an application standpoint this new tool will allow a Flip Page reader to connect with the publisher, advertisers, customer service, ordering departments etc. with a single tap on their smartphone.
This new feature is only supported on the HTML5 viewer due to its phone-based nature. Need more information? Call us 519-756-3547
*Alexander Graham Bell completed the first telephone call in Brantford, Ontario.
Constant connectivity, endless to-do lists, and minute-by-minute planning (as opposed to hour-by-hour) puts an enormous amount of pressure on publishers, marketers, content curators and so on to produce quality efficiently. Automation has not generated the ample free time as it was expected. It has helped reduce the number of resources required for production but has not lessened the burden of time.
It is evident, when viewing digital editions across a number of platforms, that in many cases the final product falls flat. Let's define 'falls flat'. When we say 'falls flat' we are not referring to a digital publication that over-saturates the pages with multi-media such as video, audio or image galleries. We are simply referring to a website URL not being linked within an advertiser's ad space. This is a lost opportunity for both the publication and for the advertiser.
In discussions with other similar technology vendors we often resolve to a similar thought - the tools and features available are disproportionately underutilized. But is that really a surprise based on the opening paragraph? Time is of the essence. There is no time to read the email where the tool is introduced, learn about benefits of the tool, learn how to implement the tool and then to actually implement the tool into the digital edition. We get it.
And it is not uncommon to find out that a Flip Page edition is being circulated through one channel - a website. A website that has failed to generate recurring traffic due to it's static nature. No fresh content, no outgoing emails, no social media interaction, no digital advertising and essentially no chance for success. All of those things take time. Time is of the essence. We get it.
That is why Flip Page Publishing has expanded our solution set. With our extensive knowledge and experience we can help lessen the burden of time. Instead of missing opportunities with your Flip Page editions let us handle them entirely. We'll consult with you to maximize return. We'll help you generate a new audience. We'll help you communicate with your existing audience. We'll prolong the interaction between your audience and your brand. Time is of the essence. We get it.
Contact us for more details!
About a month ago one of our top account executives in the advertising sales department was asked “What else can you offer me?” Our account exec. paused for a moment and made his client aware that his print advertisement in ‘The Flip Page Times’ was also prominently displayed in a banner ad on the Flip Page Times website.
“Yeah, I know” replied the client. “What about the digital edition?” The ad sales rep. recoiled. “Your print ad is also accessible in the digital edition of the ’Times” responded the confused salesperson. “Yeah, I know” replied the client. “But isn’t there something else we can do with my ad in the digital edition? I want my ad within the digital edition to stand out” confessed the client.
Upon overhearing this conversation one of the junior reps from the ad sales department walked over and asked if he could provide some insight. “Sure” was the dual response. The junior rep was new to the print side of things but was very familiar with the digital offerings available at ‘The Times’. “Let me show you some of the basic interaction we have available and then I will show you some incredible multimedia options” stated the junior ad rep. He pulled up the current issue of ‘The Times’ from the desk beside him. “Well, a simple start would be to provide your website address in text format” he proclaimed. “That would allow us to link your website from the digital edition” replied the rep. “And, we could provide you with analytics data that demonstrates how often ‘The Times’ readers are accessing your website from our newspapers digital edition”. The client’s eyes lit up.
May June Newsletter
“That is just the beginning” continued the sales rep “Let me show you some of the other features that we can offer”. The eager sales rep. reached into his portfolio and pulled out a sheet littered with opportunities for the client. The numerically organized list of possibilities read as so:
1. Introduction Pages – An Introduction Page (to the left of front cover) is a great placement location for an advertiser in a Flip Page edition. Since the Introduction Page can be as large dimensionally as the publication it acts as a full page ad on the landing page of the actual publication. The highest percentage of trackable page views will occur on the front cover page which denotes a prime real estate location within each issue. Introduction pages can include all of the tools (multi-media, call back cards, animation) as a standard page.
2. Margin Advertisements – Margin advertisements offer individualized ad placement locations within the browser display of a publication. The ad banners occur outside the perimeter of the publication viewer. There are multiple placement locations and ads can be set as ‘static’ or ‘rotating’. All of the banner ads are linkable to any web hosted page, promotion, offer, sale etc. Margin ads are ideal for a current print advertiser or can be leveraged to a ‘digital only’ advertiser who values the market being served.
3. Advertiser Index – The Advertiser Index is a dropdown list of advertisers integrated as an icon into the tool bar of the Flip Page edition. The Advertiser Index categorizes Advertisers by name and offers an internal link to the ad page within the Flip Page edition when clicked. The Advertiser Index provides immediate and continued exposure of the advertiser to the intended audience.
4. Custom Animated Ads – Flip Page editions offer a static replication of ads within the printed medium. However, ads can be customized to render as more than a static image on a ‘browser page’. Page animation offers the ability to add interactive components to static pages to further engage readers with a brand or product.
5. Multimedia – Flip Page editions provide the ability to build both Audio and Video into a publication page. Media formats can be embedded and offer various render options for the advertisers. As an example, an advertiser could opt to have a product video pop-up on select pages and play automatically as the reader navigates to the page. Similarly, a radio spot can be selected to play when a reader navigates to an ad page for that brand. Television ads, product spotlight videos, radio spots, audio overdubs, etc. should be used to compliment print content within the digital edition. Multi-media will further engage readers and drive product recognition.
6. Call Back and Business Reply Cards – A Call Back Card is a lead generation tool that provides direct interaction between a Flip Page edition reader and an advertiser. A Call Back Card populates as a customizable icon or graphic within an ad. When clicked, the icon renders a form which details when a reader would like to be contacted about an advertiser’s product or service. When the form is submitted an email is generated and sent to the advertiser begin the customer acquisition process. The email also states the origin (the publication name) of the call back card for the benefit of advertiser and publisher.
7. Specialty Pages – Specialty pages such as blow-ins, gatefolds, barn doors, and belly bands create unique opportunities to highlight a specific advertiser within a Flip Page digital edition. The interactive and unique nature of specialty pages provides a more immersive experience for readers compared to standard page sizes. Similarly, specialty pages offer creative design options that cannot be replicated with standard pages.
8. Page rotation – Specialty pages allow the advertiser to get creative with the dimensions of their ad in comparison to the standard page size. Page rotation furthers that creativity. An ad that rotates the entire layout of the publication tends to garner attention.
9. Direct or Hard Linking – Typically a Flip Page edition opens to the front cover of the publication. Using the Direct or Hard Link option allows you to determine the page which opens when the link is clicked. This is an excellent opportunity to highlight an advertiser or an issue sponsor within a publication.
10. Analytics – Advertisers are most concerned with how a publication is received by a reader. How many readers read the publication? How many readers return to the publication a second time? Where are these readers located geographically? How long are readers engaged? Did the reader view the page where my ad is placed? Did they interact with my ad? Did the reader watch my video? Did they click on my promotional link? These questions, and many more, can all be answered by viewing the analytics data that is captured with each issue.
As the ad sales team and their client finished navigating through the various options being showcased, the client reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell. He was instantly in contact with his creative director. “Steve” he stammered. “Put an immediate hold on any art that you are doing for The Flip Page Times” he continued. Both of the ad sales team members for ‘The Times’ looked at each other in defeat. They were both under the impression that their client had been very impressed with their impromptu presentation. “No, no, no, Steve” the client blurted out. “We aren’t stopping our ad in The Times, we are figuring out how we can maximize our ad in the digital edition!”