"For us, Mobimag felt like the natural step in modernising our brand and the way we communicate with our customers," says Rebecca Torpie, the visionary behind The Vine, a quarterly publication from BriarPatch Food Co-op.

Continuing with our tradition of featuring innovative creators and their Mobimag success stories, this month we are thrilled to shine a spotlight on The Vine, a magazine that beautifully captures the essence of community, sustainability and local culture.

The Vine reflects the values of BriarPatch Food Co-op, offering readers a vibrant blend of stories about sustainability, recipes and quirky insights into local culture. Rebecca and her team have skilfully integrated Mobimag into their publishing strategy, adding extra content and expanding their reach while cutting down on print copies.

Discover more about The Vine here

In our recent conversation with Rebecca, we explored how Mobimag has enhanced their publication, transforming it into a platform that educates and inspires the co-op's owner-members while aligning with their broader mission of environmental stewardship.

Join us as we explore how Mobimag has empowered The Vine to not only tell the story of BriarPatch but also to engage its community in a more meaningful way.

How did you first learn about Mobimag?

Google! We were using Issuu and receiving complaints from our mobile readers that the magazine was difficult to read. We use a lot of spreads and are quite graphic-heavy, so the PDF book layout just wasn’t working. We tested several options—some were far beyond our budget, and others didn’t have the functionality we needed. That’s how we landed on Mobimag.

What was it about Mobimag that made you sign up?

At the time, alongside solving the mobile issues, our company was also working towards reducing paper usage wherever possible—both internally and externally. To do that, we needed to ensure that the mobile platform was robust enough to allow us to cut down on print copies. Mobimag has expanded our readership, saved us money on printing, and significantly reduced our paper usage.

Tell us a little about your Mobimag and to whom it is designed.

The Vine is a quarterly magazine designed to reflect the story, values, and culture of our food co-op. It is strongly aligned with our brand, featuring pieces on our sustainability goals, recipes, and quirky insights into our local culture. It’s intended to be the print embodiment of what our co-op stands for, while also serving as an educational platform for our owner-members

We use the digital version as a “bonus” version, adding extra content and articles to attract more people to the digital format, with the ultimate goal of phasing out the print version.

What are your favourite features of the Mobimag Platform?

Our graphic designer particularly appreciates several features of the new layout. They find the navigation bar, which acts as a table of contents, incredibly useful. The ability to upload PDFs with hyperlinks is another standout feature, providing added functionality. Additionally, the extra space available compared to the print version offers a more spacious design. Overall, the user-friendly design greatly enhances the reading experience.

What are some of the best comments you have received from your readers?

For our advertisers, Mobimag provides a direct and simple way for readers to visit their websites and explore their offerings. More readers now access advertisers’ websites through the digital version than by scanning QR codes from the print version.

And in a way, no news is good news, right? We haven’t had any more complaints about readability, which is something we absolutely love!

What would you say to someone who is considering using Mobimag?

For us, Mobimag felt like the natural next step in modernising our brand and how we communicate with our customers. It has also provided us with more opportunities to diversify the content of our issues and the way we present them. We really like Mobimag and hope it continues to evolve with new features.

Wrapping up

Looking to get the most out of your Mobimag experience? Check out our support page for helpful training videos designed to boost your skills and maximise your account.

You can also explore more features by signing up for one of our premium plans. It’s a great way to elevate your digital publishing!

Curious about the benefits? UPGRADE today and discover what Mobimag can do for you!