Mobile Magazines
From the newsagents to the palm of your hand, 'Mobizines'™ pushes mini versions of magazines to your mobile.
Following a successful pilot scheme, media houses ranging from Condé Nast to ITV are for the first time ever offering consumers access to mini versions of their content called “Mobizines™”, which are pushed to their mobile phones.
Developed by Refresh Mobile, Mobizines™ allow mobile phone users to receive ‘snack sized’ versions of their favourite magazines in a rich, colourful format and in a style they know and trust. Costing just pennies, each edition is cheap, quick to download and can be read without a network connection – on the bus or tube, for example. The scheme is available to all, regardless of mobile operator.
As well as giving consumers access to a well-branded and growing content portfolio, Refresh Mobile also aims to re-empower the brands by giving them the tools to talk directly to their customer base.
Content partners that feature in the current portfolio of Mobizines™ are: Condé Nast (GQ and Glamour), OK!, TimeOut, ITV, Daily Snack (celebrity news), TV Genius (TV listings) and sports news from TeamTalk.
“We know that the mobile is ubiquitous but, until now, neither brands nor advertisers have been able to take advantage of the intimate relationship that consumers have with their mobile," says Refresh Mobile CEO Scott Beaumont.
“By working directly with content publishers, we aim to bring integrity back to the mobile space, allowing mobile users to engage for the first time in a trusting relationship with their favourite brands. At the same time, advertisers can begin to target their customers directly and build a relationship through contextual adverts which are meaningful to the reader.”
“We’re making mobile publishing profitable. Media publishers can use Mobizines™ to stimulate sales of their own titles, cross-promote other media assets and provide a gateway to third party content sales. By developing a platform for high quality content that the consumer actually wants to read, we are providing a compelling medium for advertisers.”
To achieve this, Refresh Mobile have turned the industry upside down by working with publishers directly to develop what their customers want. As a result, Mobizines™ actually look like their parent magazines, unlike WAP content.
Abigail Chisman, from Condé Nast Interactive adds: “What we’re doing with Refresh Mobile represents the next step in presenting our brands to a wider audience in a dynamic environment. It offers the capacity to integrate engaging ad formats and build a new business stream. Mobizines™ also allow us to reach our most loyal readers directly so they need never be without us.”
David Pepper MD for TimeOut London, comments: “The TimeOut Mobizine™ complements the magazine and website perfectly, by providing our readers with instant updates on what’s going on in London wherever they are. Refresh Mobile has opened up promotion and advertising opportunities in the mobile sector, which were previously unavailable, making the service an attractive business offer as well.”
The company’s long-term goal is to make Mobizine™ publishing completely democratic whereby even the smaller players can create their own to reach their specific audiences.
Scott Beaumont adds that the scheme "provides a platform where anything from a local club newsletter to a national magazine can be made available to a mobile phone audience.”
Mobizines are typically made up of 4 sections and each of these sections contains 5 stories. For example, the TimeOut Mobizine™ sections are Films, Restaurants, Music and Tip Of The Day. At the bottom of each story a user will find links to other stories, downloadable content or other relevant merchandising pertinent to that particular brand.
To download Mobizines™ to the handset, the consumer texts 'Mobi' followed by the name of the Mobizine™ (e.g. TimeOut) to 63333 and follows the instructions to download. The consumer can read each Mobizine™ as often as s/he likes at no extra cost and only pays once per edition. This edition automatically gets updated when the next edition is published. Subsequent connections are even faster and consumers can see other Mobizines™ available for download.
For more information, visit www.mobizines.com or www.RefreshMobile.com
Have your say...
Be the first to leave your comment.
Send To A Friend
Printer Friendly
Add Page To Favorites
Green Issues With Michael Wale
Apple Lovers
Michael Wale visits a Herefordshire orchard brought back to life by the public.
Spotlight
Meet 50connect's Columnists
From relationship advice to environmental issues; life as an ex-pat living in France and the highs and lows of going back to study; read the latest from our regular contributors.
Bookmark with:
Don’t know what this is?
Read the 50connect Guide To Social Bookmarking.