Montréal and Toronto-based Digital marketing and communications agency Twist Image president and author of Six Pixels of Separation, Mitch Joel spoke to the crowd at CDS’s annual Strategic Partnership Seminar yesterday about the importance of online.


Joel said that publishers need to realize that online advertising is fundamentally different than print. Publishers need to build communities around their magazines, he said, citing the statistic that 80 percent of people now place as much value in their online communities as the ones in-person. “The web is not about how many people you reach but who,” he said. “It is about creating real communities. Brands can evolve by engaging in community. You build communities around the constituency you serve.”

He said the iPad is going to be huge for the publishing industry, noting Wired’s popular demonstration video. “The iPad adds the intimacy of paper,” he said. “You don’t need to know how to reboot, or to use a keyboard to interact with the product. It is going to be a game changer.”

Joel also talked about content, saying magazines need to give readers value, not just advertising. He noted Wired editor Chris Anderson who says his magazine redesigns itself for each issue, placing the content and advertising together “like a Fabergé egg.” Joel said getting content online as fast as possible isn’t as important as it might seem, because the value is in the longevity of the link. “Content adds value the longer it is online,” he said. “People can link to it and read it. If you look at your most popular links chances are they are not your newest.”