Friday, November 26, 2010

Media owners aim to bolster iPad ca




Media owners aim to bolster iPad capabilities

NEW YORK: Major media owners including News Corp, Time Warner and Comcast are rapidly increasing their presence on tablet devices like Apple's iPad.

News Corp is close to launching a "tablet-only product", possibly named 
The Daily, costing an estimated 99¢ (€0.74; £0.63) per week, and primarily targeted at a US audience.

In an interview with the Fox Business Network, Rupert Murdoch, ceo of News Corp, 
said this was"certainly" among the company's "most exciting" projects.

The Wall Street Journal already boasts an iPad app and alternative for Google's Android, now powering Samsung's Galaxy, which has sold 600,000 units since hitting store shelves in early November.

"We think the digital arena is a very important one ... particularly the mobile platforms," Chase Carey, News Corp's president/coo, said on a call with analysts this month.

"The iPad brings a whole new dimension of opportunities to the digital arena ... But, look, [the] scarcity of our products is a tremendous value. I think we need to make sure we manage that product."

Elsewhere, Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group - active in sectors from air transport to telecoms - is reportedly planning an iPad-exclusive publication.

Virgin is expected to unveil the title, covering culture, travel and business, at a New York press conference on 30 November.

Time Warmer has also built iPad applications for People Magazine, Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune, in recognition of the fact such appliances can augment its "Content Everywhere" initiative.

This means customers can access material in a variety of forms, and utilises pricing models from single copy purchases to combined print and digital options.

"If you download an iPad version of one of our Time Inc. magazines, you know that it's a rich and compelling consumer experience," said ceo Jeff Bewkes.

"We're confident that as the competition increases in that space, every tablet manufacturer will want to give its consumers the same range of choices and the same value."

Turning to TV, Comcast has recently rolled out XfinityTV, an on-demand internet service offering films and TV shows, and should extend it further going forward.

"Before the end of this year we will be launching the XfinityTV remote app which will work on all the iPhones and iPads and eventually, right after they come out on the Android based tablets," said ceo Brian Roberts.

"The iPad gives us a chance to now start from scratch with the user interface that is using web technology, not cable box technology."

Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable is "on the cusp" of revealing tools employing the iPad in new ways.

"In the not-too-distant future, our customers will have the opportunity to use their iPad as a remote control," said ceo Glenn Britt.

"We're working on infrastructure that could enable customers to enjoy our entire video product on any IP-connected device in the home."

TiVo has also created an application allowing subscribers to browse available content, manage recording, discover more information and post comments about programmes and films.

"Many others in the market have announced iPad app, we believe these are nothing more than glorified remote controls," said Tom Rogers, its ceo.

"The TiVo iPad app will be an experience that is context-aware and works uniquely in tandem with what you are doing on the television screen at the same time."

One key motivation for these plans is the affluence of the target audience.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project suggested 9% of Americans earning at least $75,000 a year own a tablet at present, above the 3% average.
Data sourced from Fox Business News/Seeking Alpha; additional content by Warc staff, 26 November 2010

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Richard Branson to launch iPad magazine


Virgin entrepreneur Richard Branson is expected to launch an iPad magazine next Tuesday (30 November).
Holly Branson will run Virgin's iPad magazine
Holly Branson will run Virgin's iPad magazine
The iPad-only title, referred to as "Project" in press invitations, will span entertainment, business, design, international culture and travel.
It is being spearheaded by Branson's daughter Holly (pictured) and led editorially by Anthony Noguera, former editor of Arena, Zoo and FHM.
News Corp is understood also to be developing an iPad-only daily news title in the US at a reported cost of $30m.
"The Daily" will charge a weekly repeat subscription of 99¢ (62p) and will feature exclusive content edited specifically for consumption on the iPad. A hundred editorial staff have been employed to work on the project.
According to the Association of Online Publishers' Content & Trends Census 2010, iPad and tablet devices were identified by almost 40% of respondents as a major opportunity for publishing businesses.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

iPad 'newspaper' created by Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch Apple and News Corp reportedly set to launch joint iPad news publication exclusively via download


iPad 'newspaper' created by Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch

Apple and News Corp reportedly set to launch joint iPad news publication exclusively via download
News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert
The iPad 'newspaper' – a joint project between Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch – will be a 'game changer', the latter believes. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Rupert Murdoch, head of the media giant News Corp, and Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, are preparing to unveil a new digital "newspaper" called the Daily at the end of this month, according to reports in the US media.
The collaboration, which has been secretly under development in New York for several months, promises to be the world's first "newspaper" designed exclusively for new tablet-style computers such as Apple'siPad, with a launch planned for early next year.
Intended to combine "a tabloid sensibility with a broadsheet intelligence", the publication represents Murdoch's determination to push the newspaper business beyond the realm of print.
According to reports, there will be no "print edition" or "web edition"; the central innovation, developed with assistance from Apple engineers, will be to dispatch the publication automatically to an iPad or any of the growing number of similar devices.
With no printing or distribution costs, the US-focused Daily will cost 99 cents (62p) a week.
According to the US elite fashion industry journal Women's Wear Daily, the Murdoch-Jobs "newspaper" will be run from the 26th floor of the News Corp offices in New York, where 100 journalist have been hired, including Pete Picton, an online editor from the Sun, as one of three managing editors. The editor of the Daily has not been announced, but observers are assuming it will be Jesse Angelo, the managing editor of the New York Post and rising star in the News Corp firmament.
Angelo, who was at school with Murdoch's son Lachlan, was formerly editor of the Post's business section and has recruited the tabloid's gossip columnist Richard Johnson to run the Daily's Los Angeles bureau. Other staff include Sasha Frere-Jones, former music critic at theNew Yorker, who will oversee arts and culture. News Corp's pattern of hiring for the project suggests that video will be a major component of the new publication.
The 79-year-old Murdoch is said to have had the idea for the project after studying a survey that suggested readers spent more time immersed in their iPads than they did – comparatively speaking — on the internet, where unfocused surfing is typical.
Sources say Murdoch is committed to the project in part because he believes that the Daily, properly executed, will demonstrate that consumers are willing to pay for high- quality, original content online.
Murdoch believes the iPad is going to be a "game changer" and he has seen projections that there will be 40 million iPads in circulation by the end of 2011. A source said: "He envisions a world in which every family has a iPad in the home and it becomes the device from which they get their news and information. If only 5% of those 40 million subscribe to the Daily, that's already two million customers."
But Murdoch's success with internet ventures is mixed. The Timesrecently said it had gained more than 100,000 paying customers for its web edition, while the Wall Street Journal now has more than two million readers behind a partial paywall. But MySpace, once the leading social networking site, which Murdoch paid $580m for in 2005, is now an also-ran in the field, and Murdoch is running counter to current thinking that web publications need print editions to justify themselves to advertisers.
Apple has been expected to announce a subscription plan for newspapers based on the model of its iTunes music download service, but some publishers have been unwilling to let Apple in as an intermediary or let it control pricing the way iTunes has done in the music business.
"Obviously, Steve Jobs sees this as a significant revenue stream for Apple in the future," Roger Fidler, head of digital publishing at the Donald W Reynolds Journalism Institute, told the San Jose Mercury News recently.
And with Apple expected to dominate the tablet market until compelling competitors are introduced, Murdoch may have no choice but to ride with Jobs. According to Women's Wear Daily, Jobs is "a major fan" of the newsprint patriarch: "When the project is announced, don't be surprised if you see Steve Jobs onstage with Rupert Murdoch, welcoming the Dailyto the app world."

Thursday, November 4, 2010

CONTENT FROM AD AGE

The IPad and Your Brand: Six Things to Know

How Cadillac, Kraft and Gibson Guitars Got It Right

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Conor Brady
Conor Brady
We need to take a careful look at consumer behavior and get a deeper understanding of how, when and where consumers prefer to consume content -- and how this will evolve over time. Before we jump into development, here are some considerations about the platform, and what we believe should influence your planning:
  1. Capacity. Consumers will happily accept a 250MB download of a magazine like GQ into an app, but within a browser, truly rich, immersive experiences are too large to load in a reasonable amount of time. This means that fatter and richer immersive content should always be delivered though a native application.
  2. Payment. The distribution power of iTunes stems from a level of comfort and the familiarity of buying MP3s for 99 cents. This comfort has now extended to native application purchases and as a result, for the first time in recent memory, consumers are happy to pay for software. Put another way: Consumers will pay for content on this platform if it delivers on the promise of premium and quality.
  3. Tolerance. What I find most interesting is the apparent consumer tolerance for a constant stream of updates on this platform which are perceived as value for money. I don't know many users who would tolerate six to 10 software updates when they open up a browser. With the iPad, however, there seems to be an acceptance that this is still evolving and we are all in this together.
  4. Intimacy. I always loved the expression "personal touch." When talked about in the context of a brand, it means they are willing to go beyond just marketing to me. The gesture-based touch navigation on the iPad creates a very different relationship between me and the content. Removing the mouse and keyboard means I am consuming and navigating in a much more intimate way. Ironically, this is not something I feel when I use a touch screen in full view in a public space like an airport terminal.
  5. Accessibility. Mobility is a key feature of the iPad. All of this travels on a screen big enough to have a great viewing experience yet remains easy to interact with.
  6. Connectivity. The expense of the cellular data plans makes this one somewhat prohibitive, but access to WiFi means that while this is not necessarily a productivity tool -- light productivity like email can be done alongside reading and watching. In the context of this, it is worth thinking about how your content can be cached for reading, and how prompts or calls to action maybe met with a "not currently online" message.
In this new space, there are some brands that have pioneered experiences that really do leverage the unique qualities of the platform. We looked at these from a content strategy and planning perspective and tried to break down their approach:
    Content sponsorship
  • Cadillac and Coolhunting: This is perfect content and brand pairing, putting one of the best curators of new products out there alongside a pretty unique car, and presented in a tasteful and valuable way.Brands creating content
  • Tabio: A beautifully shot and planned film created to highlight the Tabio product in motion (literally), with the ability to buy right from the film.Content to purchase
  • Net-A-Porter:This is a great example of the ability to present two dimensions of content using the accelerometer. One orientation gives you a beautiful magazine-like browsing experience, and the other gives you the ability to shop the advertising. Content with utility
  • Kraft:Big Fork, Little Fork: This is a great resource for parents to teach their kids about smarter eating habits and have fun while doing it -- a perfect way to position Kraft at the heart of the kitchen and the family.
  • Gibson Guitars: What better way to get consumers on your side than by offering free digital products that replace expensive physical peripheral products, and become part of your setup every time you pick up your instrument? 
My final bit of advice to you is this: look at the brands above and have some fun when you are planning for this new platform. Keep an open mind as to what this platform can do for you and embrace its uniqueness. You have a chance to try something different and introduce another side of your brand.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Conor Brady is chief creative officer at Organic, an Omnicom agency.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Five Best Practices for Ads in Magazines' IPad Apps

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Six months after the Apple iPad arrived amid great expectations from print publishers, it's becoming clear that consumers haven't always been using the device or its apps quite as expected.
Many iPads aren't really being used as mobile devices, according to extensive research by Conde Nast, whose titles on the iPad include The New Yorker, Wired, Glamour and GQ. "A lot of people are using them at this stage as household devices," said Scott McDonald, senior VP for market research at Conde. "That means multiple readers per copy but it also means they're not necessarily true mobile devices yet."
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Those realizations have implications going forward. Multiple readers is good because advertisers want to reach as many people as possible. Although tracking software has indicated that people are spending lots of time with magazine apps for the iPad, on the other hand, multiple readers per iPad would suggest that individuals aren't responsible for as many minutes of use as it initially appeared. And that matters because time spent is one way that publishers and advertisers try to gauge reader engagement.
If iPads are household devices and not getting carried around, moreover, it might be less important to build certain kinds of location-based functions into ads and editorial.
IPad owners also weren't quite who you might have thought. "Even though we expected almost everybody to be already in the Apple family or be Apple cultists, that wasn't true," Mr. McDonald said. "For a lot of people this was their first Apple device. That ends up being really important for both advertising and editorial content creation because if you design these things thinking everybody already knows about swiping, pinching and zooming, you're going to leave people behind."
Assuming familiarity with Apple devices' control schemes led some advertisers and editors to go easy on the on-screen instructions. That in turn left some people totally unaware of the bells, whistles and extra content that was available.
It was pretty easy for even Apple newbies to pick up horizontal swiping, Conde research showed, but vertical swiping proved less obvious. "If you have content that goes below the page, you better make sure it's clear with a little arrow or something," Mr. McDonald said.
Conde Nast, which is presenting its findings to 70 marketing and media executives on Wednesday, used its research results to come up with five suggested best practices for advertising in magazines' iPad editions. Some seem obvious, but the fact that they kept cropping up in consumer conversations and surveys shows that they haven't been always observed.
1. Take advantage of the new platform's functionality. Users liked ads better when they provided experiences that print could not, such as video, photo galleries and links to websites. One successful ad unit promoting a new TV series kicked off with video of the star addressing the magazine's readers and naming the magazine.
2. Provide clear instructions. It might clutter up the page a bit, but it's better than seeing consumers swipe past without even knowing about those extras you included.
3. Don't repurpose your TV commercials or other materials you created for other media. "We had advertisers who just had a 30-second TV spot," Mr. McDonald said. "It had already been seen a lot of times. That repurposing for no other purpose than that it was convenient didn't work so well."
4. Tell a story. Consumers remembered the ads best when they contained narratives, Conde found. "You had some video that was created that wouldn't have been for anything but this device," Mr. McDonald said. "It showed people how to use the product being advertised, a hair product, with an in-depth how-to. It had a little story but it demonstrated something actually useful."
5. Help consumers move closer to buying. That could mean offering more information about product colors or sizes or it could go all the way to in-app purchasing. Offering a link and nothing else fares poorly in comparison.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Apple launches iAds ad platform

Apple is to launch its iAds mobile advertising platform later today (1 July), as it seeks to attract advertisers to its range of products including the iPhone and iPad.
Apple launches iAds ad platform
The system has already attracted some criticism, with rivals now urging regulators in the US to investigate whether iAd has constructed a "walled garden" to which third parties should be allowed access.
The company will sell, produce and host the advertisements, but will let developers keep 60% of the revenue generated by the ads, while Apple will keep 40%.
Apple is reported to have $60m (£40m) in bookings from interested parties, with car marque Nissan and financial group Citi named as launch advertisers. Unilever brands are also expected to be on the platform at launch, as are AT&T, Best Buy, and Chanel.
Apple plans to charge each advertiser a minimum of $1m (£671,000) when the platform rolls out in the next few months.
The figure accounts for nearly half the spend from mobile advertisers in the US for the second half of this year.
The new service is seen as a direct move to challenge any future moves into the mobile advertising sector by Research in Motion’s BlackBerry product range, or by Google’s burgeoning Android platform.
The system will launch today in the US and the UK in September. It is being sold by Quattro Wireless, the mobile advertising specialist acquired by Apple in January for $275m (£184m).
At the launch of iAds in San Francisco, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, said: "It's all about helping our developers make some money with advertising.
"We think most mobile advertising really sucks. We thought we might be able to make some contributions."