MODERATOR
Sarah Ohrvall, Director of Research & Development, Bonnier Corporation
PANELIST
Cheryl Goodman, Director of Marketing, Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, Inc. (pictured center)
Jeanniey Mullen, CMO, Zinio / VIV (right)
John Metzger, Product Manager, Adobe Publishing Group (left)
2010 has been declared the year of the tablet, but to many it appears to be the year of a tablet: Apple’s iPad.
The iPad has changed the way people interact with devices, Cheryl Goodman said. “But it’s not a perfect device.” The iPad is just the beginning of a dramatic shift in content delivery.
Jeanniey Mullen of Zinio said we will continue to see new devices far into 2011 and even 2012. But rather than a replacement, she intoned, “The future is about fitting into your consumers’ lifestyle.” The challenge for magazines and publishers is to figure out how to best provide content for each device. Publishers need to continue to innovate but stay on their toes. Digital magazines will do best when based off the “lifestyle of their reader, not off of the technology," noted Mullen.
So where do the publishers fit in? Adobe’s John Metzger said magazine publishers need to realize that they have the power to drive the consumer experience. Devices are “useless” without content and publishers need to use that power to get direct relationships with their customers. With continuing innovation in e-reader devices and increasingly creative content, Mullen commented that the “wow factor” has yet to arrive.
Photo credit: Doug Goodman
