Digital content publisher Zinio has added to its “UNITY” platform by announcing today that it will extend its online design capabilities to mobile apps. Called “design optimization” the solution allows publishers to design once for digital readers and then have that design fit any digital application whether its online or mobile. The announcement follows Zinio’s announcement of the UNITY platform in early January, which enabled the creation of iPhone apps for its customers, including a new deal with National Geographic.
The announcement was made as Apple was preparing its new tablet device, but Zinio believes profitable digital publishing does not have to depend on new devices or platforms. Jeanniey Mullen, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Zinio believes it depends on the intersection of existing platforms. "Success in digital publishing begins when technological innovations intersect with high-quality content and offer the reader ultimate convenience and choice," says Mullen. "A successful digital publication must offer compelling content in a dynamic manner, optimized for the device-of-the-moment in the readers' minds. Achieve that, and use occasions increase to upwards of five times that of traditional digital readership, which pleases one's advertisers and creates an entirely new eco-system for the advent of profitable publishing."
Zinio is betting that publishers will use the optimized unity platform to add content. At least one of its clients is doing just that. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) publish a 106-page, digital-only issue of USTA Magazine in conjunction with its four annual print issues as a member benefit for its 742,000 members. This first dynamic issue also is available to the general public through the Association's website, USTA.com.
Zinio’s early metrics show very high opt-in rates for the publication. USTA editorial director Mark Preston plans to use the digital platform to add to the four times a year frequency, and become timelier on coverage of big tournaments and other events.
“Let’s face it print is becoming more expensive and we have a need to be more connected to our members,” Preston says. “This enables us to be more connected, faster. I don’t see digital as a replacement for print. I see it as a compliment to print. We’ll be able to get to our members more frequently.”
USTA’s print magazine is published by Miller Publishing which also publishes Tennis magazine. Preston says the first digital issue contains a questionnaire asking for reader reaction and future content preferences. As digital readers flip the pages and see a recurring button shaped like a tennis ball, clicking it will create the familiar "popping" sound of a racquet striking a ball. Other dynamic features include animation, scrolling text and a dynamically designed cover that rotates eight images of iconic tennis moments.
