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"Sports Illustrated is set to release its famed swimsuit issue this week, and along with it, a robust digital strategy across a number of different platforms.  \nFor starters, the publication is back with its Swimsuit app for iPhone, which was downloaded more than 1 million times last year.  However, this year also sees an app for Android, as well as availability on iPad through SI\u2019s app (which uses a per issue pricing model) and Flipboard.\nThe strategy also extends to the web through SI.com, the social media presence that SI has built out specifically for swimsuit and a variety of live events that will be broadcast live through Livestream.\nContent Strategy\n\n\n\n\nNot surprisingly, the selling point of most of these initiatives is content -\u2013 specifically, bonus photo and video content that\u2019s not available in the print edition of the magazine. Chris Hercik, creative director for SI, told me in an interview last week that about 175 videos were shot during the production of the issue, and that those are being divided up across the various platforms.\n\u201C[We\u2019re] pushing the limits of video on a single issue,\u201D said Herick.  \u201CPrint is very one dimensional, video brings it all to life.  Now that we have tablets that merge these concepts this issue is going to be so experiential.\u201D  The videos themselves can be either downloaded or live streamed.  \nMuch of that additional content -\u2013 which also includes some 600 photos on iPhone -\u2013 is designed to get people to pay for the apps.  While there\u2019s a free version of the iPhone app, it comes with just one photo for each of the models featured in the swimsuit issue and only four videos total.  For $1.99, users get the 600 photos and around 80 videos.  Last year, the company says, about 10% of users chose the upgrade.  \nElsewhere, this year\u2019s issue also sees SI bringing 3D content to television for the first time through a deal with Sony.  As previously reported on Mashable, the 30-minute video will be available for rental on Playstation Network and via Sony\u2019s 3D-enabled TVs and Blu-ray players.  The viewing experience does require 3D glasses. \nSocial Media Strategy\n\n\n\n\nExclusive content is also the theme of SI\u2019s social media strategy for the swimsuit issue.  Just like it did last year, the company is going to be live streaming events all week, starting with an interview with the chosen cover model where fans can ask questions, and moving on to coverage of a red carpet event in New York City and a series of events in Las Vegas later in the week.  \nSI has gone with Livestream as its video partner this year (Ustream was used in 2010), and to get the live video content, you\u2019ll need to become a fan of SI Swimsuit\u2019s Facebook Page (which is separate from the publication\u2019s main page).  Fans of the Facebook page also get additional video content from the swimsuit shoots.\nThere\u2019s also a touch of social baked into the print edition.  Bar codes are back again, being utilized this year to prompt users to vote in a competition between up and coming models, with the winner securing a slot in next year\u2019s issue.  Snapping a photo of the bar codes with your reader takes you to a video gallery of the model, from which you can cast your vote and share it to Twitter and Facebook.  The more you vote, the more content you unlock.\nMaking Swimsuit a Year-Round Brand\n\n\n\n\nTo an extent, social media has allowed SI to make the swimsuit issue more of a year-round experience than it has been in the past.  Its Facebook page, for instance, includes a travel blog that documents SI models' travels around the world and has them periodically answer questions from fans on video.  Its Twitter page is a stream of updates about the magazine, behind the scenes photos, updates from editors and retweets of models like Brooklyn Decker.  \nThis year, the publication is hoping to take things a step further by giving the apps value that lasts beyond the initial release of the issue by adding new content throughout the year to its and including features like the SI Swimsuit Twitter stream in its mobile apps. Says Ben Kaplan, SI\u2019s social media manager, \u201C[We\u2019re] bringing the experience to the fans as much as we can.  We want Swimsuit to connect with users 24/7.\u201D  \nSIM will also be politely inviting those who downloaded the iPhone app last year to upgrade, a move the company hopes will lure more users into the more immersive 2011 experience and keep them coming back for the swimsuit issue \u2013- in digital or print form \u2013- year after year."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/02/14/sports-illustrated-swimsuit-issue/>