InStyle’s December issue 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 section—and an option to click and buy. This Time Inc. initiative follows Bonnier’s 3-D Popular Science cover in June, but InStyle is taking the technology a little further by actually bringing engaged readers to the point of purchase. Read the FOLIO story here.
Industry buzz 3-D, advertising, holidays, Time Inc.
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 will earn more revenue and advertisers will buy more space because its being aggregated across more web pages. Google will take some cut of the ads brokered through the service, but yet haven’t announced how much. Keep an eye out for this service. There are other online ad exchanges out there, but with Google’s AdWords and AdSense interfaces being brought in to the mix, the stakes are higher here. A PDF of Google’s explanation of the Ad Exchange can be read here.
Industry buzz ad exchange, Adsense, advertising, Adwords, Google, online
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 from the page. The video player will appear in Entertainment Weekly’s Annual Fall TV Preview Issue, but will only be sent to subscribers in Los Angeles and New York. Read the press release or the AdAge article.
Industry buzz advertising, interactive, print, technology, video
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 turning into mini magazines, complete with brand ads, thanks to a new partnership between Island Def Jam Music Group and Elle magazine. The first of its kind will be released with the Mariah Carey CD on Sept. 15. Written and designed by Elle, the 24-page mini-magazine will include the usual CD booklet elements, alongside ads from Elizabeth Arden, Angel Champagne, and the Bahamas Board of Tourism, among others.
Then a condensed version will be inserted into 500,000 subscription copies of Elle’s October issue. If all goes well, Def Jam is looking to convert the CD booklets to mini mags for Rihanna, Bon Jovi, Kanye West, and others, according to MediaPost.
Industry buzz advertising, CDs, Def Jam, Elle, mini-magazines, music industry
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. You could be tricky like Entertainment Weekly, with it’s “pull this!” pocket cover that reveals an ad for a TV show. Or you could be high-tech like Popular Science.
Check this out: Popular Science’s July issue has a 3-D cover that, when you hold it up to a computer Webcam, your computer displays “Flash-based imagery” that you can blow on (through your computer’s microphone) making the windmills’ blades rotate and revealing a GE ad. This “augmented reality” encourages readers to interact with advertisements, and it’s becoming the next big marketing gimmick. Papa John’s is making pizza boxes that, with the help of a webcam and some augmented reality technology, turn into a virtual car. Beef Jerky company Jack Link is doing it, too.
If you don’t have Popular Science, you can print a copy of the cover and do it yourself here.
Industry buzz 3-D, advertising, augmented reality, cover, magazines, marketing
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 surveys, such as M.R.I., that are done twice a year.
Well, the magazine industry is catching up, as the two main research houses—Mediamark Research and Intelligence (M.R.I.) and Affinity (Vista) —are both introducing new studies, and are becoming more competitive in the process.
According to The New York Times, Vista plans to introduce the American Magazine Study next year. The study will be a “a web-based survey that will let Vista add readership data to its ad ratings and estimate for the whole population,” which is kind of what M.R.I. already does.
Today, M.R.I. announced that it will launch AdMeasure, a system “designed to elevate magazine audience measurement granularity to the level of TV and Internet.” Using an online survey, it will figure the ad readership to the national figures so advertisers can estimate how many Americans saw and reacted to a magazine ads, which is kind of what Vista already does. Hmm .. crossing paths? Check out today’s FOLIO story for more.
Industry buzz advertising, data, measurements, MRI, readership, research, statistics, VISTA
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 cover—totally against the American Society of Magazine Editors’ guidelines. And Time’s recent 3-D story on the new movie Monsters vs. Aliens. Cool idea, but sponsored editorial? Really? In Time Magazine? This week The New York Times published an article highlighting other examples of where consumer magazines are “diminishing the gulf” between editorial and advertising “to the size of a sidewalk crack.” The article notes that the only penalty for breaking ASME’s guidelines is not being eligible for National Magazine Awards. But perhaps there’s more of a downside than that. Will these short-term advertising solutions end up causing long-term damage to magazines and their readers’ trust?
Industry buzz advertising, ASME, economy, editorial, New York Times, Parent & Child, Time
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 and cited its recent study that found “that people are much more likely to pay attention to magazine ads than online ads.” See the full Advertising Age article here.
Industry buzz advertising, ARF, magazine, magazines, marketing, media, research
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 seen. After perusing all the mediums, the study’s respondents had to fill out a survey asking which ads they recalled seeing and the medium they saw them in. The results? Within half an hour, magazines effectively delivered more than twice the number of ad impressions as TV and more than 6 times those delivered online. Take a look at the other findings here.
Industry buzz advertising, magazines, online, studies, TV
In today’s troubled economy, usually the first business expenses to be slashed are advertising and marketing. But hold the red pen, because cuts like these can cause short- and long-term problems, according to Kevin Randall. In this article he says “hundreds of studies of marketing over ten recessions in the 20th century have concluded that not only did sales and profits decline for brands that cut brand-oriented advertising during the recession, but also that performance continued to lag upon the recovery.” Learn how to manage your budget cuts without cutting back marketing your products and services with his 7Ps of Branding.
Industry buzz advertising, branding, budgets, marketing, recession
