Juan Senor, the UK Director for Innovation Media Consulting Group, UK made a breezy presentation though a series of aphorisms that highlighted innovation in the magazine media space.
Senor started of by stating, "Life was simpler when BlackBerry and Apple were just fruits...but not exciting as it is now."
He posed the question, "Will iPad offer a second life to magazine? Yes. There is an app in the near future of every publisher here. Because the expectation on this platform is very huge. After all, there is $10 million in subscription by next summer."
The key according to Senor is the fact that, "The stories can be read, touched and designed for your eyes and fingers, so reinvention is utmost."
He cautioned: "iPad is not shovel-ware, it’s a new platform. Therefore unbundle the bundle, and provide several apps for one mag."
His next theme was: “Free is very expensive… hence iPad means I pay!” In this, he pointed out, "Produce more for those who pay, and less for those who do not. Before aiming for tablets, move to mobile. The potential is immense. Mobi-zines is an upcoming trend. Publishers and magazines can use QR codes and augmented reality, it’s fun."
He felt all journalists should spend 10% of their time on social media since, "The buzz word in Silicon Valley is engagement. We can’t just sell traffic, we need to sell qualified traffic." He explained how publishers in UK tried a special reader submitted recipe in a special issue and the ad sales jumped by 16%.
Selling subscriptions on social media is a no-brainer, but there are ways to do it according to Senor. He said: "It’s time to adopt digital first. But digital is not enough, you need to go beyond it."
A Unilever senior employee shared with him: This generation of consumers is the loneliest generation ever seen.
Senor was certain that print won’t die, it will be tablet, mobile and paper. No medium has ever died. It’s just that online and mobile will become the mass medium and paper will become the premium.
