Digital is your destiny, magazines told

Embrace it, head of Hearst unit says

BY Marco Santana

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/

"We need to do just the opposite," said Netburn, the chairman and CEO of CDS Global. "It's time to go big and to go bold. It's time to strip ourselves of the fear factor and work from a position of belief and energy."

CDS Global, a Hearst subsidiary based in Des Moines, provides customer services for some of the world's largest publishing companies. Netburn's remarks opened his company's annual summit in downtown Des Moines with representatives from Meredith, Hearst, Reader's Digest and others listening.

The two-day gathering hosts various speakers and panels for attendees. Netburn said readers now drive the conversation in magazine publishing.

"This is just a test of how the consumer is changing the game and the field we play in," he said. "We have always wanted that."

The speakers at the event drove the point home, with industry analysts talking about magazine companies connecting with customers through digital. A panel discussion centered on the use of data to best benefit magazine publishers.

Chris Wilkes of Hearst's application laboratory talked in depth about the company's efforts to improve digital offerings, including the launch of weekly tablet versions of Esquire and Elle magazines. He also talked about the tablet and smartphone markets, quickly growing venues for Hearst to reach as many people as possible, he said.

"This is worth putting things at risk for," he said. "We are competing for people's leisure time."

Wilkes said an industry initiative called Nextissue, which brings more than 100 digital magazines to customers for a single price, has helped the industry grow.

In his opening speech, Netburn said the magazine industry needs to think of similar ways to continue to regain its strength.

"There is no interest in winning silver or bronze," he said. "We can't afford to and neither can you."