Abannan, which has been set up by a team drawn from print and publishing backgrounds, believes its software solution will not only make reading publications on tablets as natural as the paper equivalent, but will open the door to making video and other dynamic content a routine reader experience.
Massive growth is expected over the coming years in the number of people who consume news and other editorial content via tablet. A total of 18 million media tablets were sold in 2010 and predicted worldwide sales of 65 million iPads alone in 2011.
Abannan has developed a package designed to optimise the online reading experience well beyond the simple PDF page turner, says the company. It will mean easier navigation using intelligent indexing, will create opportunities for dynamic content and video functionality, and offera higher quality, slicker experience, designed specifically for a tablet’s faster processor and high resolution screen.
The software will also offer advertisers the opportunity for precise targeting, with the technology driving specific advertisements towards specific publication subscribers. This means that Abannan will drive wholly new and incremental revenue back to their publishing clients.
The software is scheduled to be released in September, but the Abannan team, have been giving previews to key publishing industry figures across the country. Will Crocker, head of publishing at Progressive Media Group completed the Abannan 5 minute survey following his preview and was the winner of an iPad2.
Will also commented: “The industry has been watching the developing market for tablet-based publications with growing interest. With the increasing functionality of these devices, there is growing demand for the presentation of editorial in a more dynamic way and consequently there is definitely scope for something more sophisticated than the usual page-turner software.”
Colin Bennett, managing director at Abannan, said: “iPads and other tablets offer an excellent platform for readers to get an enhanced experience from their favourite publications, as well as allowing advertisers to reach a targeted audience using Abannan’s unique solution.”
About Abannan
Abannan says: “Abannan is a brand new company that is bringing a new and unique proposition to publishers for digital hosting and distributing of B2B and Special Interest Consumer Magazines.
The system introduces targeted advertising to a range of readers across the spectrum of B2B and special interest magazines that has the potential to drive new and incremental revenues back to the publishers.
While using PDF as the base file format, they believe that the content is better supported by redesigning the platform specifically for an iPad/tablet format, allowing it to be fully optimised.
Their hosting and distribution solution is primarily for tablets, specifically iPads, but the digital publication will be deliverable to a PC or Mac for readers using a desktop computer.
Each magazine registered with Abannan receives its own App in the Apple iStore and also appears in the Abannan News Rack, making each magazine visible to readers and advertisers alike. There is no development cost for the publishers to pay for their App, offering thousands of pounds of saving per publication.
Advertisers need to register with Abannan to view all of the magazines hosted in order to select what publication they would like to advertise with and also the specific readers they would like to target. The targeting is based on some simple questions the subscribers answer when they opt-in to the service as readers.
Readers download the free Abannan App. Each time a new title is published the reader is notified by email, they enter the Abannan app and download the title, at which point the targeted advertising is seeded into the individual edition based on which advertisers wish to reach them according to the identifying details entered. Publishers retain the power to veto any advertisers they do not wish to be part of the publication.”
