Digital Magazine and Newspaper Editions: Best Practice Cases
Graduate Prospects
Out of the ashes
Graduate Prospects is the commercial subsidiary of the Higher
Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU). HECSU is a registered
charity that supports the work of higher education careers services
in the UK and Republic of Ireland and funds major research projects that benefit the
higher education careers sector. HECSU is jointly owned by Universities UK and the
Guild HE. Graduate Prospects works in partnership with the Association of Graduate
Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) to maximize the opportunities and support available
to all students and graduates throughout their career search.
Graduate Prospects is a fully interactive digital magazine offering the speed
and accountability of online recruitment with impact and branding of
traditional printed publications.

Nxtbook Media, LLC (www.nxtbookmedia.com)
transforms the way people read on the Internet.
Working with magazine publishers, catalog publishers,
and corporate marketers, they find ways to leverage traditional print material for
optimized use online. The Nxtbook team provides publishers with a service that reduces
their costs while simultaneously expanding the reach and effectiveness of their
materials. In doing so, the readers of our digital editions enjoy a media-rich experience
that causes them to return to participating publishers' digital editions and Web sites
time and time again.
The Challenge
Graduate Prospects was the first of several publications in the UK devoted to job-
hunting for new college grads. When universities started offering email distribution
lists for campus recruiting, Graduate Prospects circulation dwindled and advertisers
dropped out. Graduate Prospects needed a technology solution that would reduce
production and distribution costs, yet retain the character of the previous print
magazine and reach the new generation of digital readers.
Meeting the Challenge
For many years, Graduate Prospects had an enduring franchise and very profitable
business in providing a printed publication — Immediate Vacancies — that alerted new
graduates to positions that had recently become available within their chosen career
track. The publication was distributed by mail and via delivery to university placement
offices. Unfortunately, the service provided by this publication was replaced by
technology as placement offices started to send out new job openings via email. This
change caused circulation to drop and advertising revenues to diminish. The ad rates
39
©2008 Gilbane Group, Inc. http://gilbane.com