Digital content for digital consumers
One of Egmont’s strengths is its broad range of content – the challenge is to get the content out onto digital platforms. The publishing company Carlsen and the magazine publishers Hjemmet Mortensen have made their first forays into applications for Apple’s platform.
Consumers have embraced the new digital opportunities, and Egmont has to become even better at offering innovative products in digital formats that meet customers’ needs. A venture like this has to be guided by the new media in a way that ensures Egmont launches more than mere digital reproductions onto the market. Some products have to be reengineered, while others require only minor digital adjustments.
The ever-popular Apple
Initially, several Egmont companies have set their sights on developing for Apple’s extremely popular iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
Initially, several Egmont companies have set their sights on developing for Apple’s extremely popular iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
‘It’s relatively easy to develop apps for Apple’s devices, and we would like to ride the current wave of hype associated with being among the first companies to launch apps for iPad,’ explains Christian Steen Jensen, head of business development at Egmont Digital, stressing that Android and other platforms will also be considered in connection with future projects.
Clasic fairy tales in new guise: Hans Christian Andersen
Together with the Carlsen publishing company, Christian Steen Jensen has adapted eight Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales from the book medium for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.
Together with the Carlsen publishing company, Christian Steen Jensen has adapted eight Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales from the book medium for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.
‘We have thought internationally and decided to start out with stories also relevant for children in the other 30 countries where we publish children’s media. Software development is costly, so we want to exploit our international standing. As we still don’t know how much we can expect to earn, we aren’t certain how much to invest in developing generic framework tools,’ Christian Steen Jensen points out.
Obviously, little is known about the economic potential of new payment-based solutions, and this knowledge gap makes the task of launching digital content challenging.
‘We want to develop flexible, scalable solutions that can be applied to many brands and businesses in many countries. It’s vital to work smart and market the solutions between new application launches. As a large media house we need to approach our products from longer-term perspectives that enable us to bring down the development cost per digital publication.’
First the formats have to be tested and experience gathered, but the long-term aim is to challenge this framework. The legal aspects, not the technology, are thus key to success.
‘We need to take ownership of incoming content so we can act relatively freely across the platforms in our companies and operating countries. Successful digital publishing depends on contracts that secure rights in all media and platforms,’ Christian Steen Jensen concludes.
A living magazine: Bonytt Bad
Another example of new digital launches from Egmont comes from the magazine publisher Hjemmet Mortensen in Norway.
Another example of new digital launches from Egmont comes from the magazine publisher Hjemmet Mortensen in Norway.
‘Interior design features seem almost made for iPad. We have developed the emagazine Bonytt Bad with multimedia content such as sound, picture galleries and 360-degree images of selected products, and readers can view the content both vertically and horizontally,’ explains Sigmund Clementz, project manager of iPad/e-magazines, Hjemmet Mortensen.
In fact the wealth of possibilities is so enormous that the editorial team members had to resist their creative impulses in the interests of Bonytt Bad’s profile and in particular of its readers.
‘The print edition of Bonytt is known for its stringent, streamlined design, and we have tried to transfer that look to the screen. A multimedia extravaganza would confuse readers,’ says Sigmund Clementz as he describes the initial experience with the new platform.
The Bonytt Bad pilot project has generated plenty of food for thought overall. Above all, the editorial team has learnt to abandon well-entrenched routines for new, different ways of thinking.
‘Early on in the process we found it hard to let go of the familiar world of the paper magazine layout. We are better now at thinking in terms of the screen rather than paper. Learning about a new, completely unknown medium was a challenging process,’ says Sigmund Clementz, who is looking forward to applying his newfound skills to other projects.
‘The idea behind an iPad version of Bonytt Bad was to compile experience by developing a concrete product. We will draw on what we’ve learnt when we put new magazine titles into production. It’s important to get going so that we are seasoned players when buying an e-magazine has become as natural as buying a print magazine today.’
Gallery
Hans Christian Andersen for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch
Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales cost 24 Danish kroner per title, with the exception of the first book, The Tinderbox, which comes free with the applicationThe fairy tales were launched in the Danish App Store on 3 Novevember
The Hans Christian Andersen app is slated for publishing in Norway, China and Japan, and the application will also be used to launch Bamse in Sweden
The eight fairy tale titles are: The Tinderbox, The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Princess and the Pea, The Swineherd, Jack the Dullard and Thumbelina.
Digital successe
The American magazine Wired sold 110,000 copies of its first iPad app
A Halloween edition of the Angry Birds game for iPhone was downloaded 1 million times in six days.
In the course of a week, the American rock band Kings of Leon’s latest album was downloaded 49,000 times from iTunes.
The American magazine Wired sold 110,000 copies of its first iPad app
A Halloween edition of the Angry Birds game for iPhone was downloaded 1 million times in six days.
In the course of a week, the American rock band Kings of Leon’s latest album was downloaded 49,000 times from iTunes.
