Dennis Publishing says: Over 50% of UK adults own a smartphone, while Apple has sold millions of tablets, and it’s clear the way people want to read is changing, and increasingly, time spent with content is time spent in front of a range of screens. COPE is a unified set of software tools and a strategy framework that enables Dennis Publishing to successfully publish premium content to a wide range of smartphones and tablets.
Alex Watson, Product Director for Tablet and Apps at Dennis, said: “The future of publishing is one of many screens, or many sizes, in many places, a problem to which COPE is the answer. We realised that to create apps readers want to read, and to operate profitably; we needed to take a leaf out of Apple’s book and look at designing “the whole widget”. We needed to be able to provide our content across a massive range of screens and be free to respond to user feedback when it came to the interface. And so COPE was born.”
COPE is a set of tools and designs developed both internally by Dennis’ in-house emerging platforms team, Dennis Media Factory, and by a number of trusted agencies supplying key pieces of technology. Linking together customised Drupal CMSes for each magazine, bespoke HTML5 templates, native app code and subscriptions logic, COPE is a set of strategic directives and the product of two years of learning.
“So far we have launched three COPE apps – The Week, Men’s Fitness and Auto Express, and all three have been rapturously received by their readers.” Continues Watson, “In 2012, these three apps alone served 3.13 million digital issues to readers worldwide. They’ve attracted 444,184 new users, racking up 7.6 million reading sessions. The numbers speak for themselves. In 2013, as we launch more titles on more platforms, we’re really excited by the possibilities this system gives us.”
In addition to finding new audiences worldwide, custom building COPE apps has enabled Dennis to provide innovative ways for existing print readers to add digital components to their subscription. The result has been the rise of the brand superfan, premium consumers who want to engage with Dennis content in print, on their phone and on their tablets. As well as spending more time with the Dennis titles, superfans have significantly higher renewal rates than print-only subscribers, allowing Dennis to demonstrate clear return on its significant investment in app technology.
The COPE strategy has already proved popular with advertisers who can see the value in a deeply engaged audience – Partners include Rolex, Coutts, JP Morgan, Amex, Ford, Mazda, BMW and Audi to name a few. In 2012, Dennis ran over 300 interactive ad pages across their portfolio, more than any other publisher. With longer dwell times, learn-back engagement and the opportunity for direct response, this model is proving more and more popular with advertisers.
