Wall Street Journal - September 20, 2005
Olive’s electronic edition software powers Fortune Magazine's 75th Anniversary Issue
Magazines Further Experiment with Print's Digital Format
By BRIAN STEINBERG September 20, 2005; Page B11
Reading a magazine through the Web can be a frustrating experience. The Web site doesn't follow the magazine's physical layout. Not every story published in the print edition is on the Web, and digging out earlier articles can be hit or miss.
That is beginning to change, as an increasing number of magazine publishers test "digital editions" -- electronic versions of their publications that replicate every page of the print edition down to the table of contents and the ads.
Available for download on the Web or through email links, usually only to paying subscribers, these new editions could change attitudes of both consumers and advertisers about magazines. No longer will readers have to wait for their physical copy to arrive in the mail: instead they can download and print the digital version.
For those who want to read electronically, pages can be turned with the click of a mouse. The editions give advertisers more options -- old-school magazine ads or interactive pages that can include video or other moveable features. For publishers, digital editions can save on printing and postal costs.
The digital editions aren't likely to replace the print version any time soon. After the novelty of turning a page electronically wears off, reading a publication on a computer screen is likely to be irritating for some. And a magazine on a computer monitor isn't good for beach or bathtub reading.
Still, the concept intrigues many in the magazine world. Digital editions give "our readers and advertisers a bit more than you can get on the flat page," says Pamela Russo, senior director of Internet marketing for Lagardйre's Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., which has made magazines such as Premiere and Woman's Day available in digital form since March.
While the technology has long been available, the digital format is gaining ground now -- thanks to increasing use of high-speed Internet connections.
A digital version of Fortune, powered by Olive Software duplicates the print product while adding interactive features in both advertisements and editorial sections.
At the same time, publishers are recognizing that young people, who increasingly shy away from traditional media, might enjoy reading magazines in this format. "More and more of the entertainment and information gathering and consumption is happening on the screen," says Scott Kauffman, president and chief executive of San Francisco's Zinio Systems, a company that helps produce digital editions.
Publishers trying digital versions are taking advantage of the interactive format. Playboy, which made its October edition available in a digital format for the first time, featured an article on electronic gaming with a link to game demonstrations.
Fortune, part of Time Warner's Time Inc., made its 75th anniversary issue available digitally, and certain ads contained interactive elements. An ad for E*Trade Financial, for example, has graphics that move. "These are early days. We are experimenting," says Vivek Shah, general manager of Time Inc.'s Fortune/Money group. Right now, advertisers aren't paying extra to appear in digital editions although that could change, particularly for advertisers who opt for interactive elements.
The digital-magazine concept is so new that publishers have differing notions of how much to charge for them. Hearst and Playboy are asking similar prices for both print and digital editions, with subscribers able to choose one or the other. Fortune, meanwhile, is considering a range of options.
The biggest challenge may be persuading people to abandon their preference for turning pages with their own hands, says Demian Brink, an associate media director at Interpublic Group's Martin Agency. "But people used to hate the idea of paying for bottled water," he adds, "and you know where that went."