Tuesday, 31 May 2011

Take one and call us in the morning…

When I was a kid, a tablet was something you took to take away a headache.  Now, a tablet is something that I use to read my son a bedtime story, play scrabble with my wife, catch up on work emails on the train and read the news I missed while all of that was happening. Do a Google search for tablet these days, and it’s not until page 4 that you’ll find any reference to medication. Yes, the year of the tablet is upon us – but you already know that.

You also know that the tablet computer is fast becoming a game changer, especially for traditional media. The business model for publishers who have for centuries had a monopoly on information, and charging for it, is currently trying to find its way and keep afloat in some fairly challenging times. After years of becoming accustomed to not having to pay for news and related content on the web, it’s safe to say we’ve offered some resistance to paying for it simply because it’s now on an iPad – Safari anyone?

Enter Apps, and a whole new way to monetise information. Today, Fairfax digital has announced thet it’s Age for iPad app will be providing a free six month subscription for download. So as an eager news consumer, you get your cake and are able to eat it for free. So what’s the catch? Enter Telstra and their sponsorship of the app. In a move that may signal how the app model will operate in the immediate future, Telstra will be footing the bill for the app – for you. Picking up on Adobe’s sponsorship of an iPad issue of Wired Magazine and Carpoint.com.au’s sponsorship of the AFL Footy Live app, app builders and marketers are finding new ways to get their message in the hands of a new, mobile and information hungry audience.

So given the fact that this new model may be a way to help the likes of Fairfax, News Limited and countless other publishers around the world again start to monetise their content, maybe the tablet of today can still cure a headache after all…

At clickDM, we’re also trying to cure business headaches, both with and without the use of tablets – if you want to talk to us about a way we can help bring your brand to life online, shoot me an email.

Craig Hockley – Digital Planning Director.