Applied Arts magazine offers group benefits plan to subscribers

Talk about added value. Applied Arts magazine has announced a group benefit plan for its subscribers.Starting May 1 its current and new subscribers (many of whom are freelancers, self-employed or small business owners) may purchase insurance at three levels of coverage.

“As part of our 25th anniversary celebrations, which started last year with our bold redesign, we were looking to do something special for our subscribers, whose loyalty and commitment to Applied Arts has helped ensure our ongoing success,” says publisher Rosetta Heckhausen [in a posting on the magazine's website]. “We know, from research, that our audience is made up of mostly freelancers, or self-employed individuals. Further research revealed that many did not have access to affordable group benefits. We contacted insurance companies about the concept of offering a group plan to our subscribers. Through Simon Maxwell of CompleteBenefits.ca, ASSOCIUM Benefits and Green Shield Canada, a plan was created specifically for Applied Arts subscribers. Now, not only do our subscribers get the benefit of our great industry coverage, they can actually get benefits!”

As members of the group plan, subscribers will also get access to group buying of such business expenses as phone services and office supplies.

Page number "takeovers" latest trend in encroachment into edit space

 The creep of ads into previously well-defined editorial spaces of magazines continues; this time in the June issue of Condé Nast’s Bon Appétit, Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese is running a series of page number “takeovers.” According to a story in Mediaweek, the fractional ads, which are labeled as such, appear in the corners of 10 pages.

“The goal was to communicate the message of alternative uses of cream cheese,” said [Ron] Steinberg, svp, director of print investment and activation at MediaVest. “Using the page numbers was a unique idea. For Condé Nast, I think it’s a big deal.”

Print ads are increasingly creeping into editorial space. Scholastic Parent & Child has been running ads on the corner of its covers and interrupting editorial content inside the magazine. Hearst’s Esquire recently ran a cover flap that opened to reveal an ad on one side.

Needs no comment...

The things magazines do to themselves...It gives a whole new meaning to "belly band". This ugly banner wrap is what subscribers to Elle Canada see when they receive the current issue. It leads to a spread ad inside and $2 off coupon.

In-house ad customization a growing trend at magazines

Chasing the elusive and wary advertiser, magazine companies are doing more and more ad work in-house, which allows them to customize ads for various titles. According to a story in Women's Wear Daily, Hearst has gone on the road to agencies and advertisers with a one-hour presentation about the kind of customization they are willing and eager to do. The initiative started two years ago and now is showing results in various Hearst titles.

Dior Beauty, for example, recently selected five Hearst titles to advertise in, including Marie Claire, Seventeen and O, The Oprah Magazine. All three are read by different audiences so the brand’s ad design, from text to images, varies in each. The variations can be dealt with in-house at Hearst since everything is processed digitally. “There have been iterations of this before, but it’s never been done to this extent before,” Michael Clinton [of Hearst] claimed, declining to discuss pricing.

The story said in 2007, Hearst produced 415 pages of advertising in-house, and in 2008, almost 600 pages, or 22 programs, were published. This year, 16 programs have been completed, with three more about to close.

"Flapvertising" debuts at Esquire

I'm pretty sure that Harold Hayes is spinning in his grave. According to a story in Media in Canada, the February issue of Esquire magazine has a "mini-cover" that opens up, featuring an ad for Disney's The Discovery Channel series One Way Out, featuring escape artist Jonathan Goodwin.

When readers open the cover-within-a-cover, they encounter both the ad and various quotes from the articles inside.

The idea, created by Esquire's editor-in-chief David Granger, could lead to further covers of the sort in the coming months, and showcase one way that traditional print media are working harder to generate profits.

The ad cost Discovery Channel $250,000, including production and placement.

News flash: Major fashion mag bows to the muscle of major fragrance advertiser

If ever there was an example of the pressure under which consumer magazines feel from key advertisers, the current issue of Hearst's Harper's Bazaar is it.

The issue devoted 40 editorial pages to four celebrities and models who are also the face of a new line of fragrance from heavyweight advertiser Estée Lauder. The pages -- The package includes the magazine’s cover of Gwyneth Paltrow, 38 pages in the consecutive advertising-free section,” plus 2 pages in the beauty section.

Also featured are Elizabeth Hurley, Carolyn Murphy and Hilary Rhoda — who also star in the advertising campaign for Sensuous, a new fragrance from Estée Lauder. According to a story in the New York Times, the issue didn't contain ads from the company (but, then, why would they?) although ads are scheduled to run in the fall. John Demsey, a group president of the Estée Lauder Companies, said there was no quid pro quo for the expansive feature.

“Boy, they really sold out — Hearst — didn’t they?” said Allan Mottus, a beauty industry analyst who publishes the Informationist, a trade publication. Mr. Mottus added: “You have to take your hat off to Lauder. It is an enormous coup.”

“There is nothing either kosher or unkosher about what is going on,” Mr. Mottus said. “These are hard times in the prestige fragrance industry. It is advantageous for people to partner and make a larger statement than they could otherwise.”

Hearst issued a statement that said:

“Like many magazines, we often feature celebrities to coincide with their beauty and fashion launches.”

Kim-Van Dang, a former beauty director at In Style and Good Housekeeping magazines, predicted that other companies will brandish Bazaar, demanding similar editorial attention.

“Advertisers have something to show now and say, ‘Why am I not getting this treatment?’ ” Ms. Dang said. She recently started a marketing firm, KVD NYC, and has consulted for Lauder. “In the current economy, I think advertisers have more muscle.”

Hearst sells exclusive supplement, across six titles, to Wal-Mart

Canadian publishers will doubtless be looking hard at Hearst Publishing's decision to make an exclusive advertising deal with Wal-Mart to publish a new magazine supplement that will be carried in six of Hearst's consumer titles. The supplement is called 30 Days of Home and the retailer will use it to promote its new line of home furnishings called Canopy.

According to a story in Brandweek, in addition to appearing in the June issues of Country Living, Good Housekeeping; House Beautiful, O at Home, O: The Oprah Magazine and Redbook, the supplement will be distributed free at Wal-Mart stores and will be featured on a dedicated website called 30DaysofHome.com. This will include audio, video, with clips of Hearst editors dispensing decorating tips.

"In today's economic climate, big, glitzy, red-carpet events are fine, but the advertiser is really looking for ways they can have a connective experience with the consumer," said Michael Clinton, CMO at Hearst, New York. "Ultimately the consumer is led to action, going to their site to shop, going to a store and, in a perfect world, shopping for product."

The program represents Hearst's first-time use of Web technology DigiMag. The software lets users explore Wal-Mart products at 30DaysofHome.com by scrolling over them and then lets consumers click to buy.

"Knowing that home furnishings are high-consideration products, the site enables users to touch them with their mouse," said Chris Actis, vp/group media director at MediaVest, Wal-Mart's media agency. "It does a lot in trying to convey the quality."

"We wanted to change the perception of product; to surprise the consumer that they can buy quality for less," said Robin Steinberg, svp/director of print investment and activation at MediaVest.

Your name and rep here; Graphic Arts hyper-customizes its covers

Graphic Arts magazine, a Newmarket-based business-to-business title has published an October issue in which all three covers are customized to the customer receiving them, according to a story in Media in Canada. The project was carried out for Fujifilm Canada and, in the process, the magazine produced more than 428,000 variations on its covers.

Graphic Arts is published 10 times a year and has a request and controlled circulation of 12,700 trade professionals in Canada and the United States.

Selective binding and inkjet customization are commonplaces in the industry, but this is much more sophisticated. The covers are customized based on the position of the customer, company size and type of business.

The front covers had a zipper ad for Fujifilm along the bottom, with pictures of the subscriber's local Fujifilm account representative and ad content based on whether the subscriber is a current Fujifilm customer, plus sales territory and customer status.

The inside front cover showed how the cover was generated for each recipient and the inside back cover showed the subscriber's actual Fujifilm team depending on what territory the customer was in. The back cover had ads from companies that were involved in the production, RP Graphics and Data Business Solutions, personalized with each subscriber's name and company.

Fujifilm initiated the project, bringing in industry expert Terminal Van Gogh, a marketing and database specialist, for creative, programming and production. After the creative was finished, the first step was for the magazine to provide TVG with subscription information. TVG then extracted key demographic information and overlaid the combined database with Fujifilm's own customer database.

TVG CEO David Murdoch says the process generated more than 428,000 different covers and combinations - not including names and addresses. The bottom line for marketers, he adds, is, "You no longer have to fit a square peg into a round hole."

(There was no indication of what it cost Fujifilm. An outside back cover on the magazine would normally cost $3,200.)

Now THAT'S added value! Consumer Reports posts vehicle crash test results

Consumer Reports has posted videos of crash tests for more than 200 makes of cars, minivans, truck and SUVs, according to a story in MediaDaily News. CR teamed up with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and posted the results at www.ConsumerReports.org/crashtest.

The tests include both front and side-impact collisions and the videos are searchable by make and model. As other vehicles are tested, the magazine intends to add other videos.

"These videos bring the crash test data to life, showing the real safety differences between a Good car and a Poor one," according to Jeff Bartlett, deputy editor of automobiles for the CR website --referring to the high and low rankings of automobiles on the Consumer Reports scale. In a nerve-racking aside, Bartlett added: "Rest assured, you will demand side air bags on your next car after watching these videos."