Passion, great content and tablet editions are some key factors for successful magazines today, according to Innovation Media Consulting partner and Innovations in Magazines World Report co-editor Juan Senor who recently spoke at Integrated Programs that work, an event organized by Magazines Canada.

Senor described tablets as the perfect platform for publishers, who are used to telling stories with a beginning and an end, not navigating the infinity of the internet.

He did note tablet editions must be done right, citing the average user rating of magazine apps on the iPad is 2.5/5 for a reason. “You need to reinvent the magazine for the iPad by deconstructing it,” he said. “Need to be innovative, design for both the eyes and for the fingers.”

Publishers need to be able to “unbundle the bundle,” he said and learn how to sell in fragments before Apple does to magazines what it did to the music industry, selling singles rather than entire albums. He said there is no reason a magazine can’t have three to five apps for its title, honing in on specialized markets like U.S.-based People magazine is doing on the platform.

Tablet versions must also be treated as a premium version of the magazine, said Senor. “iPad means I pay,” he said.

But it's not all iPads. Below, a few examples of International magazines Senor singled out as innovators in today’s marketplace:

“Mooks”: Senor used London-based Monocle as an example of a heavy, thick magazine which is more like a traditional book and sold at a premium price.



Gaming: National Geographic is a leader in creating games around its content, said Senor.


Green: U.S.-based Aqua Cabana publishes using limestone pulp, making it 100% waterproof, tree-free and very costly to make, said Senor.



Multi-platform: Brazil-based Capricho is a teen magazine which has built up it’s brand on TV, online and in print.