AAA Living Digital Magazine Wins Gold Excel Award

Congratulations to our client AAA Living magazine for winning the top prize in this year’s Excel Award in the Media Innovation – Digital Magazine category!

More than 900 entries were submitted to be considered for the 2013 awards. Last year, in the digital magazine category, neither a gold nor silver was awarded to any entry. This year, however, the judges evaluated three issues of AAA Living and gave them the top honors.

The EXCEL Awards recognize exceptional work done in the association industry, in categories ranging from web publishing to magazines, newsletters, journals and more. This prestigious award is reason to celebrate, and AAA Living earned it well with their innovative use of the digital platform and their beautiful design. 

Last Chance to Sign Up fo EXCEL Awards

Every year in the recent past we have been proud to announce that at least one of our clients were recipients of an EXCEL Award through the Association and Media Publishing. This year could be your year.

The EXCEL Awards honor those who are the innovative and impressive media features and publications in the association industry. The judges will evaluate everything from design to content to individual elements in your digital publication. Click here to be one of this year’s entrants, and show off your publication! Entries due by this Friday, March 1.

3 Reasons to do a Snappy Post-Event Brochure

It’s the end of an event. The panelists have spoken, the attendees have mingled, the exhibitors handed out all of their tchotchkes, and the event planners have heaved huge sighs of relief. Now, however, is when your marketing team can really shine, and I don’t mean by mass emailing a "Thank You" to your sponsors.

Instead, anyone holding an event should be ready to send out a digital post-event brochure. Digital allows for a quick-turn, delivering your brochure to inboxes while the event is still fresh in everyone’s mind. (Click here for an example)

3 Reasons you need to have a post-event brochure include:

1. Everyone has just left, hopefully feeling good about their experience. Returning to their home offices and finding a post-event brochure will not only impress them, but it will help cement the good feeling as they flip through the pages remembering the event.

2. It’s one more way to promote your sponsors. It’s a great added value for your sponsors as they will not only reach attendees while at the event, but also when they are at their own desks. Consider the value of each sponsor having a full page ad in the brochure which a reader will see after the hubbub of the event has passed, and they can focus on the copy of one brochure page at a time.

3. People love seeing themselves in action! You can use that to help promote your next event. If you include pictures from the event – of speakers, panelists, attendees, and people enjoying themselves at your event – attendees and exhibitors alike might share your brochure, and therefore spread the word about your event.

For an example of a great post-event brochure, click here to view Green Retail Decision’s brochure. They skillfully include shout-outs to sponsors, pictures from the event, and information about their next Innovation Summit. The format is screen-friendly and easy to flip through.

For your next event, talk to us about how to plan a quick-turn publication promoting your business function.

An Event Brochure That’s Actually Attractive For Vendors

File this one under "Events," subtitle: "How To Stand Out To Vendors."

Also known as Trade Show Collateral That Actually Attracts.

When faced with drumming up sponsors and exhibitors for their annual show, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) faces the same challenges as any other event coordinator: how to convince people your show is worth it.

You can get your vendors and prospects information by the typical means: some printed promotional items and a PDF emailed to prospects. Or you could do what SME did and produce an engaging, exciting brochure.

Among the many things they did right, SMEadded a hint of animation to the graphs and statistics they provided exhibitor prospects. The animation is light, but it makes the information more entertaining to view. For examples, vendors want to know what types of people will be attending the event: what’s their industry, job function, buying power, etc. SME could have presented this information in a chart, and the facts would be sufficiently communicated. Instead, they create a full page, beautifully designed, lightly animated presentation to wow potential vendors: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sme/westec2012_postshow/#/5

Want to show off your attendees’ buying power? Flash your impressive stats across the page, one at a time, for impact.

Set your show apart in your vendors’ minds from the very beginning: present them with collateral that wows and inspires.

Response to Optimized Ads: “They’re prime sales leads.”

The highlight of last week, for me, was Thursday. That afternoon we had the pleasure of sponsoring a webinar through BtoB Magazine which was all about explaining the mechanics and benefits of optimizing digital editions. The speakers did an excellent job breaking down both the business ramifications and the design considerations necessary for a successful optimization strategy.

My favorite quote of the hour-long webinar came from Alan Berg, Vice President of TechGen Media Group, as he related the overwhelming response to advertising in the digital-only, optimized editions:

"Some advertisers were not used to getting sales leads. They said, ‘what do I do with them?’ We said, ‘Well, they clicked on your URL or your video. They’re prime sales leads. Contact them.’ And they’re doing it, and some have had so many sales leads, a few of them, that they’re ecstatic and they don’t know what to do."

Hear more from Alan Berg and from Rich Media Director at Cygnus Business Media, Dave Haglund, by viewing the archived webinar here.

During the webinar a few questions were asked but time prevented a response. Here are some of their answers now:

1. Are digital editions search engine friendly? The short answer is yes. The long answer involves understanding how we attach an XML file of all your content to your edition, which is then indexed by search engines like google and bing.

2. What is the cost of an optimized magazine? It varies. Variables include page or word count, and how much your team will tackle versus how much you’d like Nxtbook to handle for you. The easiest way to get a figure for your magazine would be to call one of us at 866-268-1219 and ask about optimization.

3. Can a digital magazine work on Apple devices? Absolutely. The whole goal of digital optimization is to make sure your content looks stunning and innovative on every device, including the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch as well as Android devices. We virtually eliminate the need to zoom, add videos, and enhance the overall experience for the reader so they can sit back and enjoy.

If you missed the webinar, or if you would like to revisit it again, click here to be taken to the archive link.

Number One Best Place to Work In Pa is No Surprise to Us

On Thursday, December 1, we had the honor of winning the #1 Best Place to Work in PA out of 65 small- to mid-sized companies (25-250 employees). Make no mistake, it is a big deal to make the list of 65 at all: Pennsylvania is a large state with a lot of businesses. The process for narrowing down the list is rigorous, starting with getting the employee’s perspective, then factoring quantifiable benefits and employer information. 

And though, when they counted down the list and finally named our company as #1 we exploded into cheers and applause, it was more from pride than surprise. Since its inception, Nxtbook Media’s owners have actively and intentionally created the best place to work. As CEO Michael Biggerstaff put it, they try to make Nxtbook, "the place we always wanted to work but could never find." Being one of the top 3 companies to work for the past 4 years is proof this mentality pays off.

Of course the success of this business depends wholly on everyone’s participation in making it great. Winning #1 is simply an external representation of the pride everyone takes in their jobs. When we get to work, it isn’t to drudge through 8 hours and go home. We care about what we do, about serving our clients, creating work we can be proud of, and about caring for each other. Think about how much better it is to work with someone who is glad to be where they are (and have an award to prove it) rather than trying to get through to someone in less optimal conditions. (Think of "Peggy" in those customer service commercials.)

So the next time you call us, you can be proud that you’ve partnered with the best company to work for in the state of Pennsylvania.

You Might Think You’re Ready for Folio

You might think you’re ready for the Folio: show next week. Your bags might be packed, your tickets purchased and reservations made. But are you ready for the mind-blowing presentations we’ve got lined up for you?

For instance, our booth (#602) is going to have a special surprise for you, involving iPads, technology, and a lot of personality. Watch the sneak preview video here:

 

Don’t forget, Marcus is revealing the top 7 digital editions we found this year. Who knows, it might even be YOURS. Check it out to see who earned the honors. We’ll be in the "Wilder" room, 4th floor, at 10:35 am.

If nothing else, stop by and say hi. It’ll be great to see you.

 

Are You Going to Folio?

Man, I sure hope so. It’s going to be a fun time, including awesome key note presentations, a free Nxtbook sponsored run by City Running Tours and much more.

If you’re there, please be sure to check out my session entitled, 7 Sensational Digital Magazines for 2011. Rather than talk about what’s new at Nxtbook, we thought it would be more fun to shine the spotlight on YOU this time around, and show what publishers are currently doing to create some of the coolest titles of the year.

If you’re not going, we’ll try to somehow capture the magic on SlideShare or some other way, but do yourself a favor and hit the big apple next week! 

Stand Out Next Trade Show Season

It’s not easy to stand out during trade show season. Trade shows are still popular ways to gather thought leaders and vendors to share knowledge and products related to an industry. The trick is creating a value that sets you apart to both attendees and vendors.

Nxtbook clients have approached this many different ways. The American Association of Endodontists, for example, created a digital exhibit prospectus for sponsors and advertisers which made it easy for sponsors to find and print necessary documents for the event. They also created an animation which made it easy for potential sponsors to view the floor layout page, enabling it to flip vertically and horizontally so buyers can get a good look at the floor space available.

Georgia Tech went a different direction. They decided to focus on integrating a cutting-edge interactive show agenda in their brochure to connect attendees with networking opportunities before the show even began.

The Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium set itself apart by creating a screen-friendly design with optimized fonts and optimized layout so attendees could access the information on any digital device.

Your approach to differentiating yourself from the competing shows might look completely different from any of those samples, but one thing is clear: digital editions are a key platform for achieving that goal.

Questions Answered from the Education Webinar

Just yesterday, Nxtbook was proud to be a part of a webinar held by University Business which delved into digital editions in the education industry. If you missed it, you can register here to listen to the archived event. After the webinar, some people submitted questions, and I wanted to take a moment to address them here as more than just the webinar attendees may be wondering the same things.

"I have noticed flash mentioned a few times. Will this work on iPhones or iPads?"

Yes! We offer several options to get your materials on iOS devices, including web and native apps. You can check out one native app example by going here and downloading it to your iPad or iPhone.

"Would you consider replacing some web pages/sites with this format – or duplicating information on both?"

This question was originally directed at speaker Sherri Miles who talked about what Suffolk University did with their website and digital edition. (Click here to hear her presentation.) However, Nxtbook has long recommended that you consider digital edition a separate platform. Some of our clients do duplicate the information, but they’ll add extra content in the digital version. Other clients are successful by using the website to drive traffic to the digital edition for further information (like Sherri mentions), and vice versa. The two platforms work best when they complement each other, but each has its own separate value offering.

"What does a successful model look like? What kind of investment is required for every 10,000 viewers we could attract?"

That is a very specific question! We have clients who are very successful in what they do; the key is knowing how you define success. If your definition is to attract 10,000 views, then you need a model that focuses on circulation. If your definition of success is getting alumni to donate $10,000, then your strategy is going to focus much more on making getting reader feedback (and money!) seamless. The best way to get more information about success stories or to process what ROI means for you, get in contact with one of our Success Managers. Their job titles alone should tell you they know about successful models.

"Would a text-only version, or otherwise accessible digital publication, also be available online?"

Yes. We provide accessible versions for those who would like to offer that as a service to their readers. Additionally, you can offer your readers BOTH options, like Bold Voices did here, giving readers the ability to flip pages normally, or to click the "Text View" button in the toolbar to see the text pulled out.

"Will I get a copy of these presentations?"

Absolutely. Check your inbox for an email from us.

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