Rebecca Mcpheters explains what makes a great app at FIPP Ibero-American Conference

Rebecca McPheters, CEO, McPheters & Company, USA gave attendees at the 4th FIPP Ibero-American Magazine Media Conference today (30 October) in San José, Costa Rica, an insight into what makes a great magazine app.

“Since the iPad was introduced”, said McPheters, “7,800 apps have been launched. Its launch was certainly the start of something big in more ways than one!”

McPheters spoke of the difference in business models between traditional print publishing and magazine apps on tablets. McPheters: "Paid content is the norm for mag apps. And in most cases, essential to successful business models."

One of the worries McPheters has, is the fact that very few advertisers are able to execute quality in-app advertising and deploy across multiple titles, platforms and devices. “The creative process is complex”, she said, “you have to produce ads that run on different platforms, and there is a lack of standardisation, which can make things extremely difficult.” McPheters urged publishers to work with advertisers on this, and be proactive in making in-app advertising easier to implement. “There are unique opportunities to generate engagement with in-app advertising. Games, animation, localisation and interactivity are just a few.”

Speaking about extending the digital brand, McPheters closed by saying: “I’ve noticed it’s very rare for publishers to expand their digital editions beyond a single language. Why aren’t publishers doing this? It’s a great way to significantly expand your market!”