Published on: April 16, 2012
by Kevin CoupeDavid Pogue, technology columnist for the
New York Times had an interesting story the other day about how five big magazine publishers — Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corporation and Time Inc. - are collaborating on a new computer application called Next Issue that is described as Hulu or Netflix for magazines.
Here’s how it works, according to Pogue: “For $10 a month, you can read the latest full issues of 27 magazines on your tablet, and back issues to the beginning of 2012. Each downloaded issue includes the full, colorful design, all articles and even the ads that you’d see in the printed edition.
“There are some great magazines in this collection: Better Homes and Gardens, Car and Driver, Condé Nast Traveler, Elle, Esquire, Fitness, Fortune, Glamour, InStyle, Money, Parents, People, Popular Mechanics, Real Simple, This Old House, Time and Vanity Fair. There are also some slightly less mainstream magazines: All You, Allure, Coastal Living, Cooking Light, Essence, Golf, Health, People StyleWatch, Southern Living, Sports Illustrated Kids, Sunset.
“Most of those are monthly magazines. For $5 more a month, or $180 a year in total, you can get the Ultimate plan, which adds a nice set of popular weeklies: Entertainment Weekly, People, Sports Illustrated and The New Yorker. By year’s end, the company hopes to double or triple the number of magazines in its catalog.”
Pogue says that while the concept is intriguing, the interface can be clumsy, depending on the magazine. And, it isn’t even necessarily a good deal, depending on how many magazines you read in a given week or month. Plus, there are some bugs in the interface, even though it seems relatively simple.
That said, the initiative does serve as a reminder of several things that all marketers should keep in mind.
One is that they need always to be looking for new ways in which to present old products - ways that could make old products more timely and relevant for the next generation of shoppers. Cost may be less important than convenience - it will depend on the product and the target customer.
That said, you have to do it right. Clumsy is never a word that should be applied to a computer application; you might as well give it the kiss of death.
Still, the one thing you have the think - no matter what you are selling - is that there may be another way to sell it, another way to present it, another way to conceptualize it. If you think not - no matter what “it”is - then you are probably making a mistake.
It’s an Eye-Opener.