Brainsnacks: key concepts of paid content and advertising on tablets
May 18, 2010 by marek.miller
During the afternoon brainsnack session of INMA’s Oxford Table Summit, speakers had only 7 minutes to speak about how e-reader first-movers are aiming to generate new revenue from advertisers and consumers. Learn what John Einar Sandvand (Digital Media Strategist, Aftenposten), Nic Newman (Co-Founder, BBC News Online), Jonathon Moore (Product Manager, The Guardian), Nils Öhman, (Head of DN Digital, an arm of Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter), and Jessie Wijnants (Strategic Director, Boondoggle Belgium) shared with their listeners.
Newspaper competition in e-reading – John Einar Sandvand
e-reading is emerging as important digital platform. It raises new opportunities for user payments. Other players than media companies were dictating the rules of the game, like format or pricing. Media companies were loosing their relationship with users in new models. The time for cooperation of 3 Swedish newspapers has come.
They set a common project of three newspapers , to explore possibilities of common distribution, and collect knowledge of how people actually use newspapers on e-readers. The papers decided to do something together. Here is what they learned:
- information structure is a key to success
- in a long run, copying the print product onto new platform is not sufficient
- ipad is a much richer product and new distribution model
- media tablets exist on three levels: browser version, basic newspaper reader (pdf reader), premium multimedia products (sophisticated apps)
- being proactive together makes those papers beter off.
5 points that are necessary to succeed in tablets.
1. Make sure you are in the content business not the newspaper business. It’s a hard cultural challenge.
2. Make sure you are in control of your information structure: content without metadata has no value
3. Make sure you offer unique value to your reader (scarcity)
4. Make sure you design i Pad product to make full use of the possibilities of the platform.
5. Make sure you create compelling and coordinated experiences acreoss platforms and user situations.
Nic Newman, Co-Founder, BBC News Online, said it is very easy to get excited with tablets, as they are surely changing the game. He also pointed out the opportunities and challenges of tablets:
1. Do one thing and do it well – fundamental difference between the openweb and the use of the applications
2. Make it personal – key problem is to understand our audience and personalize it
3. Make it visual – it is not a new tool simply to make it like a newspaper. Graphics, pictures and interaction will be extremely important.
4. Make it exclusive. Only exclusivity can be paid for.
5. Engage and don’t interrupt, be careful with the ads.
The BBC iPad application was launched on March 31st 2010, and had only 6 weeks development time. It is now in top 5 news apps in the US.
Jonathon Moore, the Product Manager from “The Guardian” illustrated his views on the use of tablets and the iPad.
He is sure, users will pay for a great product. So their ambition is to be the world’s best. As far as creativity is concerned, they try to innovate elegantly. Within the user experience they believe simple is best.
“The Guardian” knows, that if it wants to earn money, it has to delightthe audience. Guardian is now able to produce the most compelling digital experiences ever. You can learn about it yourself – click here to learn more about theguardianeyewitness.
Guardian Eywitness was a site project, 6 weeks end-to-end, based on a sponsorship model, aided web processes. Simple, effective, and eye-catching.
Jesse Wynants from Boondoggle shared his ideas for the always on magazine.
1. From static to dynamic content. Static – simple tv schedule like on the BBC website. How can we make static content dynamic? A plugin enabling the discussion for people watching the tv at the moment. Once you engage people to it, it’s easier to get money from it.
2. Intuitive ads. On a website there is one boring banner. There are nicer ways to integrate. “Draw me a dreamcar” (using your finger on a touchscreen). Or based on the drag and drop mechanism.
3. Context is key. iPad is a social device. Knowing your reader and giving him the ads he really needs.
4. Realtime feedback in a magazine. Answering the question in advertisement by the user.
5. Loyalcation = loyality+location. Connecting GPS with users preferences. What we can know for example is that somebody reading Wired is in Oxford at the very moment. Why not send him personalized advertisement tempting him to read Wired in Starbucks in Oxford and get a cup for free?
6. Articles enriched with branded content.
7. Take a fresh start. Don’t build on something that is already broken. If there really is something like ad reluctancy, let’s not follow the bad habits rom the web.
Nils Öhman, Head of DN Digital looked at 7 questions every publisher should answer before bringing a newspaper to the iPad:
1. People only read newspapers half of the time they consume them. Question: how can we create overview and a browsable paper on the small e-reader screen?
2. Readers appreciate ads in our newspaper, but they don’t like it on our web. Question: How can we make readers appreciate ads in a digital newspaper?
3. People often choose newspaper as an expression of identity. It is a social issue. Question: Can we support this if we lock our content in a paid app in an e-reader?
4. You can finish your newspaper, but you can never finish a news site. Question: Should the digital paper be finite and delivered once a day? Or should it be continously updated? Or something in between?
5. A news publication can be seen as a service or as a product. Question: Will readers expect to have the same content in their e-readers, mobiles or computers.
6. It is possible to create new smart services in a digital newspaper. Question: How important are services as archives, scrap books, social media connections?
7. In times of economic pressure we tend to care less about storytelling Question: How can we develop the digital storytelling of tomorrow?
Tagged: INMA, iPad, Oxford tablet summit, tablets
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