advertising

How Crowdsourcing Can Revolutionize Your Approach to Content

Should This Post Be Crowdsourced?

A few months ago an international team of gamers solved a complex problem that had scientists baffled for years. For a decade industry experts from around the globe had been unable to figure out how a protein-cutting enzyme from an AIDS-like virus found in rhesus monkeys folds. In a final attempt to solve the riddle, [...]

3 Things the Top 10 Viral Videos of All Time Have in Common

Old Spice Guy

Want to watch a baby do flips on rollerblades? How about people playing the piano with their feet? Maybe you’d rather see a biker riding on the tops of stores and jumping off bridges? Well I’m sure I have your attention now…or maybe you’ve already seen the videos I’m talking about on YouTube or some [...]

Mr. Editor, Tear Down This Wall

Advertorial Wall

You know what word I hate? Advertorial. I’m not alone. For those of us who cut our journalistic chops in the newsroom, the division of editorial and advertising is as sacred as the constitutional separation of church and state. My first reporting gig out of college was covering the use of technology in education. Eager [...]

Want Your Message to Resonate? Say it Again. Want Your Message to Resonate? Say it Again.

repetitive marketing messages

Growing up, my mom had to constantly remind me to do the things she needed me to do. After the fifth or so reminder, I’d reluctantly get up and put my clothes in the hamper (or complete whichever menial task she’d requested of me). On my way back to couch potato land, I’d let her [...]

Don’t Propose Marriage on the First Marketing Encounter

will you marry me

It’s pretty easy to get carried away when you’re excited about the possibilities of a potential relationship. You feel the connection. They’re just your type. And they even seem mildly interested in what you have to say. So then, of course, you pop the question. You ask them to marry you. And then they get [...]

The Difference Between a Crowd and an Audience

difference between crowds and audiences

In a former life, I was the lead singer of a band. Believe it or not, I used to get on stage, play guitar and sing, and not everyone booed. We had a demo CD, T-shirts, and a handful of people who would show up to our gigs who weren’t blood-related.

6 Steps to a Better Media Kit

better media kit

So, you did your job as a marketer and you got a nibble: someone wants to learn more about your organization. Maybe your company got some great press and reporters are hounding you for more info. Or maybe a potential advertiser finally admits they are, in fact, interested in advertising with you, and they want [...]

Big Red Things? Priceless Marketing

red shoe marketing outdoor mastercard

Last week I was rushing through Union Station’s marble halls to the Metro when I was stopped in my tracks by a very enormous red high-heel shoe (and a peep-toe one, no less). Other people were hovering around also marveling at the monstrosity, which seemed to have absolutely no explanation for its existence.

Free Beer

free beer

People will try anything to get attention. From publicity stunts, to false advertising, to straight-up lying, no stone is left unturned in the world of “how can I get people to pay attention to me?” I know from experience.

Showing Versus Telling in Marketing

googles nexus one

There was no shortage of buzz surrounding Google’s announcement of the launch of the Nexus One – an HTC-built smart phone which desperately wants to be lauded as the “iPhone killer.”

More of Your Magazine in 3-D

instyle magazine

December’s issue of InStyle’s will take advertising to the next level by making its Holiday Special Section three-dimensional. “Gifting in 3-D” will create a three-dimensional gift box on readers’ computer screens when they hold the pages up to their webcam. The gift boxes then open up to branded video content from each advertiser in the [...]

Google Launches Online Ad Exchange

On Friday, Google announced the launch of a new marketplace for online display ads—the DoubleClick Ad Exchange. The new service will allow companies to bid for ad space from different websites in real time, establishing a stock exchange of sorts for online advertising. Google believes that by taking an auction/stock-exchange approach to display ads, publishers [...]

Ma, My Magazine is Talking To Me!

Thumbnail image for Ma, My Magazine is Talking To Me!

Open up the Sept. 18 issue of Entertainment Weekly and CBS TV stars will greet you through high-quality video and audio. It’s true! The actors will appear on a paper-thin video player, packaged within a print ad spread for CBS and Pepsi. This “VIP” (video-to-print) technology invites readers to interact and watch five different videos—straight [...]

Publishing’s Page Turners

According to the Publishers Information Bureau, there were 12 magazines that hit the jackpot this year, booking more ad pages in this first half than they did in 2008’s first six months. They are: Fitness, Cooking With Paula Dean, The Week, OK!, Family Circle, Scholastic Parents & Child, Organic Gardening, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Country [...]

CD Booklets Becoming Mini Magazines

When you buy a CD, do you take the time to flip through the CD booklet and read the lyrics, the funny notes from the artist, the thank-yous? This space—hallowed ground for the artist—was wrapped in graphic design that styled the feel of the CD jacket and sometimes the music itself. Now those booklets are [...]

Big Ad Page Gain In the First Half for Meredith’s Fitness

Ten magazines made big gains in the first half of 2009, including Meredith’s Fitness magazine, which has a circulation of 1.5 million. Its ad pages rose 18.4 percent to 408.76, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. Fitness publisher Lee Slattery spoke with FOLIO about their magazine’s ROI and how they achieved the growth. Read the [...]

Your Magazine, In Augmented Reality

Thumbnail image for Your Magazine, In Augmented Reality

Magazines are dreaming up creative ways to sell their top real estate—the cover. But trying to bring in cover revenue while still appeasing ASME is a sticky situation. You could be as blatant as Parent & Child, with its corner cover ads. You could be sneaky like Esquire, with windows or flaps that reveal ads. [...]

Magazine Stats Catching Up to the Web

Media buyers and advertisers rely on studies to determine where they’re placing their advertising. For web advertising, they get click-through numbers and page views. For TV, they get ratings data. For magazines, they get data from “a technique favored by Civil War-era salesmen,” said The New York Times last week, referring to the door-to-door readership [...]

Give Print a Chance

I love digital. I love videos. So much that we are changing our name from The Magazine Group to TMG. We’re performing all sorts of non-traditional media services for our clients. But I am sick of hearing that magazines are dead. The hype is what’s killing magazines, not the reality—particularly when it comes to highly [...]

Blurring the Ad-Edit Line

Thumbnail image for Blurring the Ad-Edit Line

It’s a tough economy. So magazines are coming up with creative ways to bring in advertising revenue. But lately these solutions seem to be blurring the line between advertising and editorial content—which might not be the best tactic. Note Parent & Child’s recent issue, which features an ad on the bottom right corner of the [...]

Magazines Deliver Twice the Number of Ad Impressions

A new study was released today that claims TV and magazine ads are more effective than Internet ads. The study, from McPheters & Company, in co-operation with Conde Nast and CBS Vision, compared 30-second TV ads; full-page, 4-color magazine ads; and internet banner ads and used eye-tracking software to determine if the ads were actually [...]

People Pay More Attention to Magazine Ads

The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) just wrapped up its 55th annual Re:Think Convention and Expo in New York yesterday, where corporate leaders and marketing execs gathered to discuss media research and marketing innovation. According to Advertising Age, executives from Avon made a compelling case for not abandoning magazine advertising, especially for youth brands. Avon discussed its marketing strategy for its youth-focused Mark makeup brand [...]

Study: People Pay More Attention to Magazine Ads

The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) just wrapped up its 55th annual Re:Think Convention and Expo in New York yesterday, where corporate leaders and marketing execs gathered to discuss media research and marketing innovation. According to Advertising Age, executives from Avon made a compelling case for not abandoning magazine advertising, especially for youth brands. Avon discussed [...]

Study: Magazines Deliver Twice the Number of Ad Impressions

A new study was released today that claims TV and magazine ads are more effective than Internet ads. The study, from McPheters & Company, in co-operation with Conde Nast and CBS Vision, compared 30-second TV ads; full-page, 4-color magazine ads; and internet banner ads and used eye-tracking software to determine if the ads were actually [...]

← Previous Entries