Custom Media Day Play by Play

Yesterday, the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and Custom Content Council (CCC) hosted Content Media Day, an event for those looking to monetize marketing and create quality custom content. Our very own Custom Media Sales Director Eric Gervase attended the event and provided us with a play-by-play of the day. Click below to follow the trail of breadcrumbs Eric left behind, and maybe learn something new about custom content:

 

Can’t click the image? Click here for the link.

Not Like You Had Other Plans for Friday

Remember the iwearyourshirt.com guys? Well, they’re back. This Friday they’ll be featuring Nxtbook Media on their site and social media networks. Much like last time, they’ll be posting information about Nxtbook on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, the Web, and YouTube.

More specifically, you’ll be able to interact with Nxtbook and iwearyourshirt.com folk live through a live stream video chat Friday afternoon. So check it out, give feedback, give us a shout-out, or just enjoy as these content creators blast rapid-fire subject matter across the Web.

(If you’re asking why you should watch iwearyourshirt.com read this article: “Don’t be anti-social. 5 reasons to embrace social media.” Social content is expected, important, and great for SEO. Some solid reasons for publishers to embrace it too.)

IRCE 2011: Dynamically Fed Content and Digitally Optimized Catalogs

This post was written by Eric Gervase, a Sales Director at Nxtbook Media. Eric attended IRCE 2011 to talk to potential and current clients and apply our knowledge of the ecommerce market.

 

Internet Retailer is an event we’ve been attending for a number of years now.  We’re proud supporters as exhibitors and always love to see all the fun stuff that our potential customers and other exhibitors are doing.  For instance, check out this crazy display by End Point.  I have to guess that the display had something to do with their deployment of Google’s Liquid Galaxy.  But, frankly, I just found the booth wildly interesting.

As usual though, some of the most interesting conversation happened with our potential customers.  As a digital catalog provider, we were talking with everyone about creating a great digital catalog from their print pdfs.  We were also talking about the ability to create mobile and tablet versions of their catalogs for apps or web-kit versions on Android and Apple products.  But… time and again, there were two other recurring themes all week.

1.    “Can you create a digital catalog from a feed delivered from our current website?”- There were certainly a fair share of attendees that had catalogs and were interested in a standard conversion into our Nxtbook technology.  But, for clients who don’t have a print catalog, the idea of a feed driven digital catalog came up over and over again.  About 5 years ago, we created a concept product we were calling Nxtbook “On The Fly”.  It was a dynamic catalog that we were pulling search results from Amazon’s store and displaying in a page turning format.  There were a ton of people interested in the idea, but it never really got off the ground.  Perhaps it’s time to dust that one off…

2.    “I don’t have a print catalog, can you design a digital catalog for me?”-  Again, it’s pretty clear what we do for retailers who already have a print catalog.  But, in the instance of a retailer who doesn’t already have one, how can we help?  The answer is, we can design a digital catalog for you from your raw product photos, descriptions and pricing.  In that process, we will take special care to design for the screen by using font sizes, page sizes and image sizes that makes sense for a computer, tablet or mobile device.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at IRCE 2011.  The other exhibitors were great.  The attendees brought us lively conversation and some new ideas (as well as dusted off some old ones).  And, let’s not forget, the weather and food in San Diego was fantastic.  All in all, it was a great trip.  We can’t wait for next year.

Eddies and Ozzies are Back Again

If you’re proud of the design or editorial quality of your digital magazine, you should enter the 2011 Eddies and Ozzies Awards. Each year, the Eddies and Ozzies laud the most outstanding digital magazines in industries including b-to-b, b-to-c, association and custom media. Last year, two dozen Nxtbook Media clients took home awards. The competition is steep, but it is clear our clients have what it takes to succeed.

The categories this year include best digital edition, best full issue, best online community, best design as well as several others. If you’re proud of your digital edition and want to enter for an award, submit your entry online or via mail.

EXCELlent Awards!

Last week, Nxtbook had the pleasure of attending the Association Media and Publishing conference in Washington D.C. The first night the AM&P held their awards gala, commending those who won the 2011 EXCEL Awards and celebrating all that is great in digital publishing in associations. And true to the standard of excellence, Nxtbook clients littered the winners list.

Matter of fact, some of our publishers won awards in multiple categories. Congratulations to our clients who swept up in the awards ceremonies:

• Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, winning in 6 categories, including most improved magazine, magazine redesign, e-newsletter media innovation and more
• Suffolk University, winning in 4 categories, including single-topic issue magazines, magazines general excellence, and two awards in magazine feature articles
• Meeting Professionals International, winning in 5 categories, including single-topic issue magazines, magazine cover mixed-media, and blog awards

A special congratulations also goes out to American Automobile Association for taking the silver Media Innovation Digital Magazine award. If you haven’t seen their digital magazine AAA Living yet, you should check it out. AAA Living has won several prestigious awards with its optimized layout, quality content, and interactive features.

Congratulations to everyone who walked away with a 2011 EXCEL Award. Considering the sheer number of people who entered, it’s clear you’re truly achieving excellence if you have won.

Awarding Digital Magazine Publishers

It’s that time of year again: time for the Digital Magazine Awards to start collecting entries from publishers such as our clients who produce outstanding digital magazines. The Digital Magazine Awards celebrates the best digital magazines of the year and pulls entries from across the globe. Award categories include Magazine of the Year awards for each of the fashion, film, music, food & drink, health & beauty, lifestyle, motoring, news & business, specialist, sports, travel and technology & gadget industries. (To see more categories, click here.)

Nxtbook Media clients have a history of winning awards. Our publishers are smart; they take advantage of digital features that make their publications noteworthy. Here are just three of the many magazines to win awards in the past year:

• Horace Mann Magazine – Silver CASE Award
• AAA Living – Platinum MarCom Award
• Connections – Best Web Writing Pearl Award 

For more examples of the accolades our clients achieve, type "award" in the handy search bar in the top right corner of this page. To enter your publication for the Digital Magazine Awards, click here.

Annual Trike Race: Proof Print’s Still Kicking

Nxtbook Media’s Trike Team raced hard in today’s annual charity trike race for the United Way. Lancaster County businesses showed up in spades to participate in the event and to cheer team members on. Race after race, winning businesses were whittled down to two finalists: Nxtbook Media and Lancaster Newspapers.

The fact that this was a newspaper business versus a digital publishing company was not lost on us. Couple that with Nxtbook’s longstanding history of winning this event, and we were thirsty for the win.  The match was close, with riders pushing neck and neck most of the race. In the end, Lancaster Newspapers pulled ahead to victory. It was a tough race, and both teams performed well.

Luckily, several Nxtbook Media members had cameras and smartphones to document the final moments. Check out the last race in this video:

  *Any advertisements played before, during, or after the video are not affiliated with Nxtbook Media

Show your support! Nxtbook Media Trike Team pictures can be found on our facebook fan page. Flip through the pics, "Like" your favorites, and get to know a different side of the Nxtbook team.

Webinar: Digital Catalogs and Commerce

On May 26, 2011 at 2:00 pm, you are invited to our free webinar, presenting how and why digital catalogs are instrumental to today’s marketplace.

E-Commerce is a growing industry, and businesses are finding their buyers are turning to computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones for information on products. Join us to learn how two major companies leverage this shifting trend with digital catalogs and use it to open doors to new commerce opportunities.

Speakers:
Caroline Ashmore, Marketing Director for GRESSCO
Meg Duskin, Manager of eCommerce and Database Marketing at ASHA

Register here!

Win an Award from the UK

For the next month, digital publishers have the opportunity to enter the PPA 2011 Digital Publishing Awards. The PPA (Professional Publishers Association) awards have 13 categories, including "Digital Edition of the Year," "Digital Publisher of the Year," and "App of the Year".

Read the criteria for the Digital Edition of the Year category, taken directly from the criteria page:

"Both B2B and B2C publishers are grabbing the opportunity to take journals on line, making advertising and editorial content more visual, alive and inter-active. Tell us why your digital edition stands out from the rest. What have you done to engage with readers and advertisers in the online space? What success have you had in developing revenues and how did you meet the challenge of different ways of working, from copy preparation to ad production."

If this sounds like you (and for Nxtbook clients, it should), click here to enter your digital edition into the contest. If you read that and don’t have answers for all of those questions, call your Account Manager. They’ll give you the best practices needed to answer those questions and promote your digital edition with confidence.

Digital Catalog Webinar: Space is Limited

Space is limited: reserve your place now.

On May 26th, at 2:00pm EST, Nxtbook Media is proud to bring to you a webinar featuring both B2B and B2C catalog publishing. Join us as two publishers give an insider’s view on the process of creating a digital catalog. Among other topics, they’ll discuss their strategies and plans in creating a digital catalog, what features are important to their buyers, and how they use their catalogs in the buying process.

Join us as Caroline Ashmore, the Marketing Director for GRESSCO, and Meg Duskin, the Manager for ASHA e-Commerce and Database Marketing, give tips on how to use your digital catalog to extend your reach and return on investment.

Click here to register.

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