Pac Mags unveils K-Zone online
Pacific Magazines has launched an online paid subscription platform for its kids magazine K-Zone.
The announcement:
Wednesday 15th December 2010 – Pacific Magazines today unveils a first-of-its-kind website kzone.com.au to establish what is believed to be the first opt-in paid online subscription model in Australian consumer magazines.
The ground-breaking new design presents a „virtual world‟ which moves away from the traditional flat-panel website model. Online users will be taken on a journey which connects with all the interests in their lives from gaming, competitions, movies, TV, to science and education.
kzone.com.au launches with an optional paid-for VIP subscriptions model, offering premium games and premium content inside a fun, safe and educational environment for only $2.95 a month.
Core components of the website include individualised avatars to navigate the site, virtual avatar merchandise, a games centre and „K-Kash‟: an online competition where users exchange points for real-world prizes.
Mychelle Vanderburg, Youth Publisher, Pacific Magazines, comments, “The dynamic between the print and online mediums is of paramount interest to publishers worldwide. This latest innovation by the Pacific Magazines‟ youth team seeks to provide a direct link between the two K-Zone media platforms – and reward our readers by going one step further than the traditional websites as users earn rewards, win prizes and play games within a fun, learning environment.
“Children can be the earliest adopters when it comes to technology and innovation. This website has been built with a commitment to break boundaries, surprise and surpass users‟ existing online expectations – and we‟re very confident that this website fits the bill,” adds Vanderburg.
The magazine‟s highly popular website will re-launch with over $55,000 worth of prizes to win in the annual K-Kash promotion. Subscribers are encouraged to save points and redeem them for real prizes, helping to educate children about the values of saving and managing money.
Daniel Findlay, editor, K-Zone, said, “Our new website has been 12 months in the making and from the outset we‟ve held a commitment that any paid-for model must over-deliver in terms of value for money. We‟re very confident that parents and children alike will be satisfied that a $2.95 monthly subscription spend is a good one – we‟ve invested a lot in the look and feel and the new site provides hours of fun, educational entertainment in a safe and controlled environment.
“Our recent Pacific Magazines‟ Tween Tracker study revealed that a staggering one in three kids were unsupervised online. In the hope to buck this trend, we‟ve not only built safety into this site, we‟ve also created a responsible online environment that reflects the values of the magazine itself.”
Source: Seven Network press release
Just out of interest – why does Pacific Mags think this is a “first-of-its-kind website” or that is could be “believed to be the first opt-in paid online subscription model in Australian consumer magazines”?? Have they not heard of CHOICE which has an online product (different from the magazine product) called CHOICE Online?? This has been around for several years.
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