Adobe DPS 2015 + Swiss Airlines: The SWISS Universe luxury app lets passengers explore people, places, and pleasure

Swiss International Air Lines, the national airline of Switzerland, flies to 106 destinations and 49 countries. As part of its commitment to the highest quality products and services, the premium airline offers SWISS Universe, a quarterly magazine for its first-and business-class passengers. With customers increasingly showing a preference to access content via tablets and smartphones, the company began working with the creative studio DOCMINE to make the SWISS Universe content available in a mobile app.

The new Adobe Digital Publishing Solution (DPS) came along at the perfect time, giving the two companies the opportunity to reinvent the magazine in a refreshing and relevant way. Dan Bärlocher, Head of Corporate Communications of SWISS and Robin Burgauer, Head of Creation, of DOCMINE share the benefits of working with DPS 2015.

Adobe: Tell us about the new SWISS Universe Luxury App and why you created it.

Burgauer: We started talking with SWISS 18 months ago about creating a mobile experience that would deliver a digital first approach to content and build customer engagement with the SWISS brand. SWISS wanted to convert its SWISS Universe magazine to a tablet app to make it more accessible and to build a more personalized, consistent dialog with travelers. When we saw the new Adobe DPS, we looked closely at the ability to publish fresh content, and how that could enable SWISS to continuously engage readers—not just when they are traveling.

Bärlocher: Ultimately, we decided that instead of asking people to download and read a whole magazine, we should focus on different categories: people, places, and pleasures. With DPS 2015 we can put articles in different categories so readers can easily access just the content that interests them. We now have content equivalent to two whole magazines ready to publish and the app experience is much bigger than if we had just transferred the print edition to digital.

Adobe: Are you publishing on tablets and smartphones?

Burgauer: Initially, we’re focusing on the iPad for launch, using fixed layouts in Adobe InDesign CC to create beautiful collections of content. Our mid-term plan is to take advantage of responsive design and launch the app on Android and Windows tablets as well. We also plan to tailor an experience for smartphones.

Adobe: How are you integrating advertising in the app?

Burgauer: With the new DPS, instead of moving through pages in a linear fashion and encountering advertisements along the way, readers can jump directly to the content that interests them. This also marks a complete shift the way we position advertisements and how we can help our partners to reach their target audience.

In the print issue all advertisers reach out for the best advertising space and it is often a delicate task to allocate these spots. Since DPS 2015 offers more dynamic possibilities, we introduced a rotation system for spaces with greatest visibility to share the best space among the most prominent advertisers.

We’re also working with advertisers to create content that readers will want to watch, such as short films that let them get to know a brand.

Adobe: How is DPS 2015 changing your approach to publishing?

Burgauer: The user experience of the app is completely different than the print magazine. For the launch, we had a separate team focused on developing content for the tablet experience. As we move forward, we will publish articles to the app first, then the print magazine, which will help us truly address the preferences of digital readers. While the print magazine is published quarterly, with DPS 2015 new content will be pushed to the app as it is completed, keeping the experience fresh.

Bärlocher: Today people are used to getting one big magazine package on their tablets, even if they are only interested in one piece. With the new DPS, people will get to decide what they want. We hope our customers will embrace this new model and enjoy reading and consuming media this way.

Adobe: What goals does SWISS have for the app?

Burgauer: As storytellers, we want to tell interesting stories about people, places and pleasure, but we also need to think about how to integrate advertising content.

Bärlocher: In addition to offering new, attractive opportunities for partners, SWISS hopes to encourage passengers to engage with the brand all the time, not just when they are flying. The customer engagement opportunities that mobile apps represent for the brand are huge.

Download the SWISS Universe app for iOS devices.

Visit the Adobe DPS gallery and take a look at what other brands have created with the new Digital Publishing Solution.

Can’t wait to try out the new DPS? Sign up for the Adobe DPS trial programme.

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This article was written for FIPP.com as part of a DPS sponsored content series.

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