MPA's Link: Tablets are 'transformative'

Nina Link, president and CEO of MPA - The Association of Magazine Media, kicked off the MPA's "Swipe" conference on Tuesday with her take on the "vast potential" of digital magazines on tablets.

Link said the emergence of the tablet represents "one of the most transformative and exciting periods in the history of media." She offered four "39,000-foot" observations of the tablet landscape, formed as she swiped through several digital magazines on a recent overseas flight:

1. Digital technologies allow all magazines brands to have a giant global footprint. As we seek to introduce magazines content to new "digital" readers, we should consider business strategies to reach potential readers well beyond our country's physical borders.
   
2. It is still EARLY DAYS for magazine media brands on the tablet platform. Digital subscriptions are less than a year old. It's clear that publishers are exploring a number of different business models. This is a time for experimentation and research.
   
3. As I read my digital magazines on the plane, I realized something very important was missing: where were the ads? Study after study has shown that people like the ads in their magazines - in fact they consider the ads as part of the content. BUT on the tablet, there were far fewer ads. Many of the ads I saw were static and unimaginative. They didn't come close to matching the sheer visual magic and innovation of the magazine content.
   
4. Finally, we all need to come together at conferences like SWIPE to learn from one another and to promote the power of magazine content on new platforms whether we turn, tap, touch, scroll or swipe.

The full text of Link's remarks is available on the MPA website.