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Denver Post builds mobile presence with revamped iPad app

The Denver Post has overhauled its iPad application to let users keep up with news through photo galleries and interactive content.

The app is part of a broader push from Denver Post-owned MediaNews Group to get news content onto tablets. The app is available for free download from Apple?s App Store.

? Delivering news and information on the platform of the customer's choosing has always been Digital First Media's strategy. The development, and release, of the new Denver Post iPad application is the first step in our company-wide roll out," said John Paton, CEO of Digital First Media, New York.

Digital First Media manages MediaNews Group and Journal Register Company. MediaNews Group publishes 57 daily newspapers and 100 non-daily publications in the United States.

On-the-go readers
Two different modes are available for reading content in the Denver Post iPad app ? a photo or article view.

Top stories are featured on the homepage of the app with swipable pages that let users browse through recent stories. Additionally, a drop-down menu lets consumers access specific areas of content such as sports, opinion and entertainment.

Consumers can also change the font size of articles and share content via Facebook, Twitter and email.

The app is ad-supported and includes banner ads that run along the bottom of the app. Examples of advertisers include Colorado-owned businesses American Furniture Warehouse and John Atencio.

Additionally, consumers with a print subscription can browse digital editions of the last 30 days? worth of newspapers.

Event listings with maps, video galleries, polls and a commenting program that will sync with the publisher?s Web site and mobile apps are planned upgrades for future versions of the app.

The Denver Post also has apps for the iPhone and Android devices as well as a mobile site.

An iPad version of the San Jose Mercury-News is also slated to roll out this month from Digital First Media.

Mobile news
As consumers continue to read more news content on their mobile devices, publishers are looking to roll apps and mobile sites.

However, one of the largest challenges from publishers is finding ways to monetize with ad-supported business models. For regional newspapers and magazines such as the Denver Post this often means getting local advertisers on board with mobile.

For instance, recent research from Frank N. Magid Associates Inc. found that consumers chose a local news source compared to a regional source by a two-to-one margin (see story).

Additionally, by including the tablet editions of print versions of the paper, subscribers have a bonus reason to download the app in addition to digital content.

"Mobile is a key area of growth over the next several years,? said Allen Klosowski, senior director of social media and mobile for Digital First Media, New York.

?If we create a personalized mobile media experience for users, they will take our content and our brand with them at all times ? wherever they go,? he said. ?They will literally put our logo on the home screen of their phone that they look at dozens of times a day, knowing that a plethora of relevant information is just a click away.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York