Monkey shows last shall be first

Digital magazine Monkey has overtaken commercial print rivals Nuts and Zoo for circulation, according to the latest ABC's.

Figures for July to December 2007, gave the interactive, weekly page-turner an average 271,667 users for its most recent edition - ahead of Nuts Magazine (270,053), and Zoo’s 179,066.

Ford drives new magazine through Dennis

Ford, the major car manufacturer has appointed Dennis to create a title promoting its S-Max model, using the same format as the publisher's digital consumer men's magazine, Monkey. The two companies have been liaising on the project since last year.

Havas and Zinio team up to drive digital magazines

From Mediapost

IN A MOVE TO LEVERAGE the global distribution of the Internet, digital magazine publisher Zinio has team with a unit of Havas Media to extend the reach of consumer magazines into Europe and Latin America. The deal, which combines Zinio's digital magazine publishing platform with Acceso, a powerful media management system jointly owned by Havas Media and ISP, is expected to greatly expand the number of consumer magazine titles utilizing Zinio's system from about 850 currently to more than 2,000 over the next year, executives at the companies said.
The move comes as Zinio, already the magazine world's dominant digital publishing platform, has been seeking to step up its profile on Madison Avenue. Earlier this month, Zinio raided Jeanniey Mullen, a top digital media executive at WPP Group's OgilvyOne unit, to serve as chief marketing officer.
By tapping into Acceso Group, Zinio gains both expanded global reach, as well as access to a system utilized by some of the biggest consumer magazine advertisers. Acceso, headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, is used by Havas Media to provide media content intelligence services and communications management solutions for leading multinational marketers such as Vodafone, Repsol, Nike, Coca-Cola, Telefonica, Nabisco, Volkswagen Group, Wrigley, Sol-Melia and BBVA.
"We believe that Zinio's superior technology and online marketing services for publishers will drastically increase the appeal and usage of digital publications," Alfonso Rodes, CEO of Havas Media, stated. "We want to be ahead of this process and be able to fully exploit for our clients the possibilities of this promising interactive channel,"

Dennis builds a new Gizmo

Dennis Publishing is following up its digital lads' magazine Monkey with the launch of consumer technology title Gizmo.

Gizmo, a free fortnightly digital magazine, launches on March 11 and, like Monkey, will be delivered to readers' inboxes.

The new digital offering will mix elements of magazines, websites and video to review and demonstrate products. Gizmo will target ABC1 men aged 25 to 45 and is up against print heavyweights Stuff and T3.

A new Spin on downloads

Spin magazine has struck deals with MySpace and iTunes to promote its first digital issue, making music and information available to members of MySpace Music.

The promotion also allows members to read Spin Digital for free for 12 months.

The January issue of Spin Digital was posted exclusively on MySpace about three weeks ago in a "soft launch"; the official launch comes with the February issue, including interviews with Pete Doherty and Lenny Kravitz.

The digital version hews close to the print magazine itself, unlike Spin.com, where the magazine's editorial staff posts breaking news and updates. Spin Digital includes links that take readers to musician profiles on MySpace as well as the iTunes Store, where they're able to buy songs mentioned in the magazine.

The digital edition also includes audio samples, video footage, and interactive ads that can, for example, take them to a company's official Web site.

Spin president Tom Hartle boasted: "We are already seeing a dramatic increase in readership from the soft launch--over a quarter of a million page views in the first week alone." He added: "Now instead of just reading about a new band or an album, readers can hear what they sound like, get involved with the community and purchase music, all with just a few clicks."

The magazine is also hoping that Web exposure will drive print subscriptions. According to Hartle, renewals and new subscriptions increased 50% in January 2008 compared to the same month last year.

Organic Growth

Organic Style magazine returned Wednesday, Feb. 6, as a digital magazine. The new issue includes an interview with Maria Rodale, publisher of the original Organic Style magazine, and in-depth features about organic cotton farming in India, wildlife conservation in Kenya, sustainable flower growing in Ecuador, a tribute to civil rights icon Rosa Parks. The pub will publish quarterly and subscriptions will initially be free.

The magazine itself is easy to read and fast to download; and in what may become an increasing trend, it allows users to share articles and features from the magazine on social sharing sites like Digg, Delicious and StumbleUpon.