NEW YORK - A Meredith Corp. executive speaking at the DMA Circulation Marketing Day 2012 said tablets and smartphones give publishers the opportunity to create new engaging types of content.

During the opening keynote the executive said that its mobile offerings entice new readers. The executive also discussed Meredith?s digital strategy and how mobile is playing a growing role.

?A cross-platform audience means that it is critical to have all touch points available to consumers,? said Liz Schimel, executive vice president and chief digital officer at Meredith National Media Group, Des Moines, IA.

The key to mobile publishing is thinking about what the secret sauce is that helps unlock content, per Ms. Schimel.

In the past few years, Meredith has made it a priority to look for new revenue streams, which includes acquiring mobile agencies to help the company with its digital efforts.

For example, Meredith recently acquired the Allrecipes.com network.

The publisher focuses on three main mobile components ? mobile Web, applications and tablets, per Ms. Schimel.

Mobile devices are primarily a utility tool for Meredith?s users, and women primarily use their handsets for accessing information and social networking.

Additionally, tablets are increasingly becoming a more prominent communication tool for Meredith?s consumers.

?The tablet is a multifunctional tool, but a lot of it is about enjoyment and entertainment, too,? Ms. Schimel said.

In particular, the tablet has many opportunities for families, which is Meredith?s core group of readers.

Compared to the Meredith?s smartphone apps, the tablet gives a richer experience to its publications.

Meredith has also recently started to tap into new tablet devices, such as Amazon?s Kindle Fire, to give users free trial subscriptions. By giving users the opportunity to try out a digital subscription for free, Meredith is able to attract new readers and give current readers an option on where to read their magazines.

Smart readers?
According to Ms. Schimel, Meredith?s mobile Web properties generate 12.5 million unique visitors per month with 84 million unique page views. 

The publisher has digital editions of 21 of its brands on multiple devices, including smartphones, ereaders and tablets.

Meredith operates 17 apps and has seen 15 million downloads, showing how magazine readers are hungry for digital content in multiple forms.

However, the number of apps also means that creating apps for publishers is fragmented.

In order to treat each platform individually, publishers need to develop separate apps that take advantage of unique experiences, which is both time consuming and expensive.

Based on the size of smartphones, Meredith has not seen a large demand for readers to view entire publications on the devices. Instead, it is better to focus on one particular segment.

For example, Meredith recently rolled out a digital initiative for the recipes.com brand that thought about a mobile-first approach to create a multiplatform brand. Women could find information on a Web site and then take it with them on the go with a mobile Web site and apps.

When looking at the difference between free and paid apps, scale should come first, per Ms. Schimel.

On Meredith?s free apps, the publisher uses sponsorships and advertising to help monetize them. 

Once a revenue stream is in place, then publishers can make the most from paid apps.

Ms. Schimel said that with the changing digital landscape, the role of editorial and advertising is changing in publishing.

?Digital required a level of collaboration between editorial and advertising,? Ms. Schimel said.

?It is a very collaborative community and pushes everyone together in a different experience,? she said.