Success Story –
Hearst Magazines

Challenges

Hearst Magazines’ existing publishing infrastructure was no longer equipped to support the complexity and speed of modern multi-channel publishing. As a result, it was a cumbersome process to provide readers with content on their preferred channels and devices.

Evaluation

To streamline the production workflow for print and digital issues, the U.S. subsidiary of Hearst Magazines decided to migrate to a true multi-channel publishing solution, replacing a legacy publishing system. The general objective: building a streamlined and cost-effective environment for collecting, storing, creating, publishing, distributing, and archiving the vast array of content. The system should enable efficient publication of content to all major channels, including print, tablets, mobile, and social media. The team spent approximately six months evaluating WoodWing Studio (formerly known as Enterprise) against the existing system. The conclusion was that switching to Studio was more sensible and attractive than upgrading the legacy solution.

Migrating to a true multichannel publishing solution allowed Hearst Magazines to enjoy a streamlined production workflow, especially when it comes to creating digital edition content for various mobile platforms. 

 

Michael K. Sweet, WoodWing USA

Implementation and integration

Following the successful implementation of three pilot projects, all publications were migrated to WoodWing Studio, a process that was completed within just six months. As the team already had experience with content management, training needs were minimal.

At Hearst Magazines, WoodWing Studio is integrated with the page planning system Publisher Studio and with Scriba, an XML workflow automation tool.

Results and benefits

• WoodWing Studio offered the features that enabled Hearst to quickly enter the tablet and mobile publishing arena.
• Thanks to the blended creation of print, tablet,  and mobile issues, the efficiency of editorial workflows has been significantly increased.
• The ability to easily and efficiently manage media-rich content for a large number of supported devices ensures that the production schedule runs smoothly and in a timely manner.
• The system also streamlines the editorial review and quality assurance process, essential to each publication's daily routine.
• WoodWing Studio requires little management, and very little involvement of IT teams.
• Another positive aspect was the easy access to WoodWing's experienced in-house team.