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 Internet is customizing the advertising you see based on your browsing history; why can’t magazines customize their content and advertising based on your likes and dislikes, too? Maybe it will be possible with a new 10-week magazine experiment devised by Time Inc. and Lexus. The initiative, called “Mine,” lets Time Inc. editors customize a reader’s magazine based on their answers to a brief survey and their selected favorite Time Inc. titles. Take a look.
Industry buzz advertising, content, customization, editorial, magazine
The magazine industry is mulling over yesterday’s article in The Big Money where Gabriel Sherman argued that magazines are not—in fact—dying. Instead, Sherman says, some magazines or spinoffs were created solely to capture certain booming segments of the market. Now that many of those segments are booming no more, those spinoffs became the martyrs of the magazine industry pullback. Why? Because readers never became emotionally invested with the spinoffs, like they are with the flagship publications. Sherman argues that magazines are emotional products that readers build a relationship with, and we agree! Moral of the story? Focus on your core product and put quality editorial—and your readers—first.
Industry buzz editorial, magazines, spinoffs
