Wired for Success on the iPad

Wired Magazine just released a video promoting their upcoming app for the iPad, and it looks gorgeous. We’ve all heard about how large-format e-readers such as the iPad and Amazon Kindle DX can deliver a truly immersive experience, but this video gets that point across visually. I was especially struck by interactive features embedded in the ads – something we haven’t heard much about because we’ve been understandably focused on editorial content. Delivering this type of rich media advertising experience will be crucial for publishers threatened by a sluggish economy, competition from other forms of entertainment, changes in consumer behavior, and the inexorable march of technology.

The big question for magazine publishers is whether these emerging technology platforms will produce enough digital revenue to make up for the softness in their subscription and advertising businesses.

My recently published report, “Paid E-Publishing Content: Books, Newspapers and Magazines,” examines the dynamics that are reshaping the electronic publishing industries. Not a single researcher tracked by eMarketer expects magazine advertising to go up. Considering that advertising has been the bread-and-butter of the magazine publishing industry for generations, this is a wake-up call for publishers to devise new ways of making money.

Delivering a dazzling experience on e-readers and tablets will be a critical first step, and publishers have already signaled that they’ll try to keep a tight grip on how their content is distributed digitally. In December, a consortium of publishers including Time Inc., Conde Nast, Meredith, Hearst and News Corp. announced a joint venture to create a digital storefront for their magazine titles.

Details have been scarce so far, but this group has made it clear they will try to work both ends of the monetization scale: advertising and subscriptions. The subtext is that they’re trying to prevent retailers and/or device makers (read Amazon and Apple) from controlling the digital pricing or the experience. Hearst is going as far as launching its own e-reader and content distribution platform (marketed as Skiff).

This doesn’t mean that all publishers are going to play hard-ball against Apple and Amazon. In fact, any publisher that doesn’t optimize its content for all available devices will be shooting itself in the foot.

The consumer will have the final say in how this battle plays out, so it’s in everyone’s interests to make the digital reading experience as compelling as possible. In that regard, the Wired demo is a welcome sign. I expect more along those lines as the iPad rolls into stores in April.