Three: Australia’s first iPad-only magazine?
In what the publisher is claiming to be an Australian media first, Street Press has launched a magazine exclusively for the iPad.
Called Three, the title – which is free and contains advertising – will cover ‘countercultural trends, emerging art, aspiring designers, burgeoning brands and adventurous pop culture’.
Three goes live as a monthly app in the first week of August. An ad in the title will cost upwards of $1000.
“We have built plenty of rich media content, such as video and audio, into the app. But we found that the most important thing is still the written word – content. It’s important not to overuse iPad features,” said Craig Treweek, MD of Street Press Australia.
@Street Press, anywhere someone can sign up to be notified when it goes live?
“But we found that the most important thing is still the written word” – how did you come to this conclusion? Street press isn’t well known for its ability to offer insight on their audience… sounds more like the path of least resistance rather than an understanding of what your target market actually wants.
Are there enough iPads to warrants this?
Ignorant of Android tablets? Xoom owner here that would like a sub
What about trust factor ? It can be too easy to market online and therefore the advert and their presence become diluted…I love technology as an add on – but are you going to stand at the train station and hand me my MX on a free IPAD each day?;)
@Andrea Culligan. No, I’m going to notify you through FB, LinkedIn or tweet to you that the latest edition is available and save paying people to get under your feet at Central. Whether “Three” succeeds, only time will tell, but what a great test of tablet technology and new media channels. @Josh withers – good point, maybe Street Press can tell us more about their intention and capability in device compatibility .
Conde Nast have hit the breaks on iPad magazine launches, perhaps Street Press know better:
http://adage.com/article/media.....ns/227157/
@Conde Nast Interesting article you referenced. If you read the comments, you’d have realised that the main issue with Conde Nast apps was the price point. Readers aren’t happy paying the same price for the digital version as they do for the print, and are looking for subscription options. That’s what’s killing the publisher.
Plus Apple take 30% of your subs.
Although what is actually killing the publisher is selling ads into iPad only magazines is very difficult.
Three will be free and will rely on advertising revenue.
1) Not sure of the value to advertisers
Small reach – not enough people are downloading iPad only magazines – if you only get X% of all iPad owners to download your magazine, you are still looking at a small % of a not very big number of people.
2) No unique selling point
“Three” sounds like it goes up against numerous free websites which look good on an iPad and other existing magazines. From the description above, I’m not sure what exactly it is about.
3) Questionable ROI
Street Press seem to have almost completely rejected the world of digital so far, let’s see if they can produce a digital-only magazine that’s top in its class and profitable.
Hmmm
Re. the editor’s comments, OS readers aren’t going to help you sell ads in Australia. And like any free distro publication, it’s all about selling heaps of bitsy advertising on the basis of large numbers of local readers.