Ad Age redesigns, top to bottom

Advertising Age, the U.S. bible of the advertising industry, is undergoing a complete redesign, not only its print edition but also its website. It becomes officially what everyone has called it for years -- Ad Age -- and will have a new look, logo, colour and palate, said a story in the New York Post. 

The first issue on Monday will have a series of covers, including controversy-plagued NBC anchor Megyn Kelly and a trio of Facebookers including Sheryl Sandberg.

Braiker says the new Ad Age will feature a more contemporary aesthetic and (most crucially) heavier cover stock — a costly investment at time when many mags are reducing frequency. 

Editor Brian Braiker insists there is plenty of money to be made from print pubs — even those with limited focus and niche audiences like Ad Age. Editor Brian Braiker says the redesign will transform the publication from a mere trade to a bona fide cultural must-read.

"This isn't merely a new look," an announcement said. "This isn't window dressing. This is a new Ad Age for a new advertising age. Things are moving faster every day. Which means they'll never be this slow again."

Forbes offers readers "lite" ad experience for disabling their blockers

A  visitor to the Forbes magazine website may be surprised by the message that tells them they need to disable their ad blocker to continue accessing the site. In return, according to a story on Digiday, they are given an "ad-light experience" for 30 days, during which it is hoped they would "whitelist" the site. Forbes will still serve up ads, but they do not include autoplay video or animation. The company regards this as a test, during which they'll see how readers react and behave. 

“It’s about doing something based on what our users are looking for versus not doing anything,” said Mark Howard, chief revenue officer at Forbes Media.

(Other publishers such as The Atlantic are making polite requests that ad blockers be turned off. Most publishers and advertisers are puzzling over how to retain readers without losing ad revenue and how to respond to ad blocking software without coming out on the wrong end of the argument.)

The Forbes approach is interesting in offering a different experience for users of ad blockers, but it also creates something of a moral hazard of rewarding people who install ad blockers with a better user experience. 

“They’ve already chosen to install the ad blockers,” said Howard. “They’ve already chosen that Web experience. For us, is there an experience we can offer that they’ll whitelist us? It’s not all or nothing.”

Spread and popularity of ad blockers is a growing threat for publishers, study finds

A major new study by Reuters (summarized by a story in the Columbia Journalism Review), on the state of digital news says that the growing use of ad blockers threatens not only legacy publications (in other words, print) but also the disruptors (in other words, things such as Buzzfeed and Huffington Post). Just 11% of US consumers are paying for online news and this hasn't increased since 2013.

The report says that 47% of US internet users now use ad-blocking software, which is free and easily installed. And 55% of the valued 18-24 demographic do so. And  the situation is only going to get more dire as ad blocking is coming soon to the mobile web.

“A small number of loyal readers have been persuaded to pay for brands they like,” the report says, “but it is proving hard to convert casual readers” when there is so much else available for free, even if the quality isn’t as good as the paid-for stuff. Most of those not paying in the United States said they never would or that they could be persuaded for less than $1 per month, which is a lot less than they probably pay for coffee.

Readers are also not fooled by, or impressed by, so-called "native advertising" or "sponsored content", which they find intrusive and annoying. 

"More than 40 percent of US news consumers say they “have felt disappointed or deceived after reading an article they later found had been sponsored,” the study says."

It seems that readers are making their own rules and their preferences and behaviour will not have evaded notice of the advertisers and agencies; as the story says, if advertisers know people aren’t even seeing their ads, whether on desktops or mobile devices, in apps or elsewhere, why would they continue spending billions of dollars a year to place them? It's a real poser for publishers.

How to label "native ads" in a non-confusing way

If almost all media, including magazines, will soon be using "native advertising" (and it seems it will), it might be good to know how best to identify such ads for readers. A post on Digiday reports on some research by the native ad tech company TripleLift exploring typical terms or disclosure labels used and how readers and marketers react to them.

Using eye-tracking, the study shows respondents who most (%) saw ads with a "presented by" or "sponsored by" label and the fewest, who saw ads with the heading "advertisement". 

It's understandable why advertisers and marketers prefer the softer, more evasive labels since people may tend to avoid or skip over obvious ads. Yet the research shows that the exact opposite is the case when asked which label makes it most clear that the content is an ad.

Yet, when the [U.S.] Association of National Advertisers asked its members (63% of whom said they expected to increase spending on native this year) which terms describe native ad disclosure "very well", they answered:

Go figure. 

American Society of Magazine Editors adopts modified guidelines for making and placing ads

The American Society of Magazine Editors has released its latest set of guidelines for editors and publishers concerning ads and editorial and they are a marked departure from previous versions. For instance, it now no longer says ads should not be sold on covers; and it no longer specifically states that editors shouldn't write ads or collaborate with advertisers.

The slow evolution (erosion or watering down some would say) of these guidelines is apparently being forced on the society by changing economic circumstances of the magazine industry, reeling from loss of ad and circulation revenue to digital media. ASME apparently decided that rather than continue to publish an ever-lengthening list of prescriptions, CEO Sid Holt said in an Ad Age interview, the intention was to make them apply more widely across many platforms (print, web, mobile, apps, social media and even events) and to boil them down to one prescription: "Don't deceive the reader."

"The old guidelines were like a map," explained James Bennet, president and editor-in-chief of The Atlantic as well as an ASME VP who helped draft the revised protocol.. "We want to provide a compass that will help editors orient ourselves as the landscape continues to shift, regardless of whether we're operating in video, events or social.The goal was to focus on the principles rather than a set of specific, very prescriptive rules." 

ASME first published ad:edit guidelines in 1982 and has periodically updated them since. A committee of eight print and digital editors wrote the new guidelines, which were unanimously approved by the ASME board. 

"They are still the same principles from 1982, but with the media changing, these are the opportunities to say these are our core principles as magazine journalists and they have support of publishers and media buyers," Holt said.

Read more »

Print stable and growing, say U.S. B2B publishers; apparently marketers don't agree

While B2B publishers in the U.S. continue to see print as their biggest revenue driver, with 61% saying print will stay constant or grow in importance, the same cannot be said of the marketers who they expect to buy their advertising. According to a wide-ranging survey conducted by American Business Media, only 11% of marketers say they'll increase print ad budgets during the next year and a third plan to cut them. The results of the survey were reported by Folio:. 

Rogers Publishing helps launch Sears catalogue onto tablets

Rogers Publishing has collaborated with media buying agency Vizeum Canada Inc.and Sears Canada to produce what it says is a first in Canada -- an interactive digital catalogue for the iPad. 
The LOOK! report is 32 pages of content, supplemented with interactive videos and moveable graphics, with every link to Sears.ca, through which purchases can be made directly from the site. (A 32-page oversized print version was distributed through selected copies of the Globe and Mail in the recent week.)  
The content includes information about fall fashions, accessories, kitchen and home decor from the Sears 2012 line. It is to run during September across eight Rogers tablet editions: FLARE (where is it already live), Maclean's, Chatelaine,Châtelaine, Today's Parent, HELLO! Canada, and LOULOU English and French. Four-page print magazine components will run as inserts.

“We saw some interesting trends between the LOOK! Report customer and iPad use in Canada and brainstormed ways Sears could capitalize on that connection,” said Micheal Bispo, Senior Vice-President, Managing Director at Vizeum Canada. “We approached Rogers Publishing with the idea because of their slate of publications and willingness to try something new.”

“We’re very excited for Rogers Publishing to be the first in Canada to create an interactive tablet catalogue, and one that leverages our brands’ built-in audiences,” said Jeff Barlow, Senior Director, Innovation/Marketing Solutions at Rogers Publishing Limited. “Our goal is to use the tablet platform to inspire readers with moving elements, videos, social sharing, and the drivers to Sears e-commerce experience.”

Best on Page agency roadshow highlights magazine advertising creative

For several years, Magazines Canada has been promoting magazine advertising creative through its Best on Page annual competition and show (see the 2011 winners) . Now, and for the next nine weeks, it is taking a roadshow of the best work into the advertising agencies themselves. Three, freestanding wall displays will be showcasing 72 award-winning Canadian and international magazine ads in various GTA-based agencies, where staff will be able to vote on their favourites. At the end of the showcase, a randomly selected winner will receive an iPad. The promotion is being done in collaboration with Newad,which created the display walls and manages installations. Assistance for the promotion comes from the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

Print takes a back seat in Rogers's "multiplatform" sponsorship arrangements

For all the talk of integration of multi-platform marketing and sponsorship in large companies like Rogers Media, its large stable of consumer print publications seems to take the rumble seat. A recent press release trumpeting the addition of five, heavy-hitting sponsorships to the launch of the show Canada's Got Talent on Rogers's Citytv starting March 4, gives nary a mention of the company's considerable print side (boldface emphasis added):

The five sponsors – BlackBerry® maker Research In Motion (RIM), Wrigley’s Excel, ConAgra Foods’ Orville Redenbacher’s, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada, and The Division of Tourism and Transportation of the Tobago House of Assembly – will receive variations in multiplatform sponsorship integration across Rogers Media platforms, which include television, online and mobile devices. Activations also entail on-site presence, in-show content, brandsell opportunities, billboards and bumpers, in-store point-of-sale, co-branded promotions, and an online microsite within CanadasGotTalent.com.

“The breadth and depth of our assets give us the unique ability to create customized integrated business solutions to meet our sponsors’ brand objectives,” said Dale Hooper, Senior Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, Rogers Media. “We are thrilled to round out our strong portfolio of sponsors for Canada’s Got Talent with these iconic brands.” 

These brand partnerships join previously announced Canada’s Got Talent founding partners Nissan Canada Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., and Tim Hortons Inc.  

Transcon sells its editorial so readers can be reminded that crackers go with soup

Canada's largest publisher of consumer magazines, Transcontinental Media, has apparently decided that editorial integrity is an optional extra. It says it is pleased and proud to have played a part in publishing an ad which is made to look exactly like part of an editorial spread. The ad for Premium Plus crackers is incorporated into an editorial food spread about soup shared across nearly one million copies of Canadian Living, Style at Home, Canadian Gardening, Coup de Pouce and Decormag, according to a story in Marketing magazine.  A sticker of soda crackers is strategically floated on top of the soup in a pot so that, when peeled off, it directs the reader to a site called AddSomePlus.ca where there are additional recipes and product information.The ad/photo is made to appear as an integral part of the spread.

The ad was developed in collaboration with agency MediaVest Canada on behalf of client Kraft Canada and Transcon makes no secret of its role in skipping over the once-clear line between ads and edit.  The ad contravenes both the letter and the spirit of the Canadian magazine industry advertising-editorial guidelines (whichTranscon played a part in developing.)

“It acts as a point of interruption and leverages editorial content to pique curiosity and inherently link soup and our crackers,” said Melissa Grant, senior brand manager for Premium Plus crackers [in the Marketing story]. “By using a captive audience of readers already looking at soup recipes, it acts as a reminder to use Premium Plus with soup and increases awareness of other Premium Plus varieties.”

According to a Transcontinental representative, the idea arose from planning sessions between the company’s national account manager, Monique Hourd, and a MediaVest Canada representative.

“We are always open to exploring creative uses for print that will capture the reader’s attention and add value to their experience,” said Janice Davidson Pressick, senior specialist, marketing and communications, for Transcontinental Media in Toronto. Asked about the apparent melding of advertising with editorial content, Pressick said: “It marries nicely with the editorial and is not much different than running a bind-in insert over the editorial magazine page or a pop-up blocker over an article online.”

“We are so pleased to be working with an open-minded agency like MediaVest, which appreciates the importance of providing unique campaigns that are so well suited to our editorial,” said Lynn Chambers, group publisher with Transcontinental.

Advertising Age in the U.S. a while ago wrote that the demarcation between advertising and editorial was increasingly being worn down to a mere warning track. Uh-huh.

Annals of "flapvertising": Sharp magazine sells ad window in its logo

According to a story in Masthead, Sharp magazine has made a deal with the ad agency of automaker BMW to die-cut two separate flaps in its front cover, including one that alters the name of the magazine to become part of an inside front cover ad.

Noah Vardon, strategy manager at Media Experts who worked with Contempo Media [publishers of Sharp] on the execution, explained BMW, the creative agency (Cundari) and Sharp "were on board from the beginning and the final result is an execution that plays in a space (the title) that has never been advertised in before [emphasis added]– not something you can do every day. It’s something that really engages and connects with the reader, which is a big win for the print medium.”

We understand why an advertiser would think this was a great coup, but we find it hard to believe that a publisher or editor would think so. However, John McGouran, Sharp's publisher is quoted as saying

“...this means not only creating compelling print content, but also working with our advertising partners to enrich the way our readers interact with their message. We’re confident that this issue of Sharp continues to lead the way for print innovation in Canada, and we’re thrilled to partner with BMW on it.”

Related posts:

•  Cottage Life goes with a flapvertisement
• ASME calls two magazines on the carpet for ad encroachment on covers
• ESPN magazine takes "flapvertising" another step
• Ads creep onto magazine covers
• "Flapvertising" debuts at Esquire

Transcontinental Media signs up to rep About.com and other sites

Transcontinental Media is to be the exclusive Canadian sales arm for About.com and various sister sites including CalorieCount.com and Netplaces.com, all owned by The New York Times Company. The sites will be added to the digital ad inventory that Transcon is able to offer, adding about 5.8 million unique Canadian visitors monthly (based on May 2011 Comscore data).

"We are proud to have become About.com's exclusive representation firm in the Canadian market" said Andrew Osmak, vice president business development for the new media and digital solutions group at Transcontinental Media in a release. "The combined power of trusted expert content and user-centric sites is what makes About.com an ideal environment for Canadian marketers to successfully engage consumers online. We are pleased to grow our presence in digital advertising representation with such premium brands and extend these new opportunities to our business collaborators".

Marc Goldberg, senior vice president of business development at About.com added "Transcontinental has an impressive footprint and extensive sale expertise in Canada. The solid relationships they have built over the years with Canadian marketers and their strength in multiplatform sales played a key part in our decision to give them full rights to our advertising inventory. We look forward to innovative, exciting executions through integrated marketing campaigns for Canadian advertisers, helping them connect with consumers at the moment of need."

Recently, a representation partnership was signed with Ziff Davis. Transcon now reaches 11.3 million unique visitors per month in Canada through more than 1,000 websites, including its own brands such as ELLECanada.com, CanadianLiving.com and TheHockeyNews.com bringing its global reach to almost 1 in 2 Canadian Internet users.

The importance of editorial "earned media"

A weird term that has cropped up recently is "earned media", by which advertisers mean editorial content and public relations. A joint research study from Synaptic Digital and Kantar Video, reported by MediaPost, seems to say that brand messages from advertisers resonate best with consumers when packaged in newsworthy, informative formats rather than a straight-ahead paid ads (note that the research focusses on TV).  Perhaps "earned media" is the new term for "advertorial".  Hard to say.

The research asked 1,800 respondents to look at messages about a major American automotive brand, the messages being provided in a variety of ways and the results were measured against brand awareness, perceived favourability and persuasiveness. The study found that as consumers concentrate more on a purchasing decision (or to use the ineffable phrase "move through the sales funnel") brand ads work best when augmented by earned and paid content. In other words, being associated with editorial and public relations messages.

Women are able to piece together messages delivered via brand advertising and newsy formats. Those score significantly higher on brand metrics than any one format, while men are influenced by earned media, or public relations, and little else, according to the study findings.

Best on Page showcases best magazine ad creative in the world, March 31

In less than two weeks there'll be unveiled over 150 award-winning examples of magazine ad creative from around the world at Best on Page. It's Thursday, March 31 from 5 - 8 p.m. at the Allstream Centre, Exhibition Place, 105 Princes' Blvd. 
At the same time, the winners of the Best on Page Awards for the best magazine ad creative in Canada will be announced.  
It's a free event, but you have to register, online. Presented by Magazines Canada, with support from Marketing magazine, the Ontario Media Development Corporation and Canadian Printer.

Rogers b2b publishing boss John Milne chuffed about new revenue stream

John Milne, the senior vice-president of business and professional publishing At Rogers Publishing, says his division has had great success with a new "fourth" revenue stream. He writes in a column in min, the media industry newsletter

At Rogers Publishing Limited in Toronto, the Business & Professional Publishing Group has been nurturing a fourth revenue stream over the past six years: research. Rogers is Canada’s largest publisher of business and consumer magazines in both of the country’s official languages.

The seeds of the business were planted in the mid-1990s, when discussions began with a pharmaceutical industry client around the importance of demonstrating thought leadership and sharing customer insights in order to develop new ones. Eighteen months of planning led to a project that has been—and continues to be—conducted annually.

As the initial project began to grow with each deployment, thoughts turned to replicating the success. After all, if one organization was prepared to invest in the high six figures for this type of branding, wouldn’t others?

In 2004, a new research sales/project manager position was created. Today, that individual holds a senior director’s position and is responsible for a department that consists of three full-time sales staff and six project managers. Last year, the group did more than 100 projects and generated revenues in excess of $2.5 million, with a 40%-plus margin.

(The column is only fully available to subscribers.)

Magazines Canada seminar for planners still naked after all these years

Magazine sales teams quite often mutter about the ignorance of young media planners about the virtues of magazines. Magazines Canada has been addressing this for 14 years now; its 15th annual half-day educational/promotion workshop The Naked Truth About Magazines takes place on Thursday, February 17 at the InterContinental Toronto, 220 Bloor Street West starting at 8:30 a.m. The free event (registration closes February 15) puts the emphasis on advertising effectiveness, engagement and receptivity and relevant trends and issues.

"This event [supported by the Ontario Media Development Corporation]  is a proven way to kick-start a young planner’s relationship with the magazine community, indoctrinating them with the many benefits that magazines offer," says an MC release. Media directors value Magazines Canada taking the initiative to train their staff, something that fewer and fewer agencies are able to do on their own. The result is a more informed media planning community better equipped to make positive magazine decisions."

Advertising Standards Council advertises that truth in advertising matters

The Advertising Standards Council is launching a new advertising campaign of its own to drive home the message that truth in advertising matters. The multi-media, national public service campaign is called "Truth in Advertising Matters".According to an ASC release

Developed by Cossette in Toronto, the multi‐media attention grabbing advertising campaign takes a tongue‐in‐cheek approach, presenting a variety of situations that have been purposely exaggerated or distorted, and then makes the point that “Dressing it up doesn’t make it true.” The advertising ends with the ASC’s theme line: “Truth in Advertising Matters.”

“We all know that maintaining consumer confidence in advertising is essential. That’s why Advertising Standards Canada exists. Truth in advertising is equally important to the advertising industry and the public,” says ASC President and CEO Linda Nagel. “Cossette did a great job in finding a way to deliver this message with a dramatic flair. Like all good advertising, it’s designed to stand out and drive our message home.”

Print ads use highly stylized and boldly painted illustrations and a 30‐second TV spot uses an awkward moment between a teenager and her dad to make the point.

Magazines "must buy" campaign launched by Magazines Canada

Magazines Canada is launching a three-pronged print advertising campaign aimed at advertisers, agencies and consumers, highlighting the engagement and effectiveness of magazines. Member magazines are being asked to carry the full-page ads.

“As today’s consumers and business leaders become harder to reach in meaningful ways, magazines more than ever have powerful stories to tell,” said Gary Garland, Executive Director of Advertising Services at Magazines Canada. “They engage, they connect communities and they sell. Member support of these new ad campaigns will remind the advertising community and industry influencers that magazines are not only open for business but a must-buy.”

The first of these campaigns, a “torn insert,” running in Marketing and Marketing QC, November 22 issue (street date November 15) is a die-cut insert that looks like a ripped page in a magazine, a reference to research showing a high percentage of consumers tear ads out of magazines for future reference.

The second consumer-based campaign features a series of whimsical ads that begin with “Dear Magazine Reader.” The ad then apologizes for magazine ads being so successful at prompting purchase. Each ad ends with, “We’re sorry we’re so engaging.” (Member magazines will also be able to create their own customizable version of the ad based on their own experiences.)

The third campaign (example shown), is geared specifically to business media titles, and promotes the power of b2b magazines in keeping business decision makers in the know—wherever they are.

In addition to the print ads, online ads will also be available for the consumer and business media campaigns and an overrun of inserts will be made available to members for use as bookmarks in magazine copies sent to advertisers as comps or proof of performance.

Ads work better next to edit or, even better, next to the table of contents Starch finds

Starch Advertising Research knows a thing or three about ad positions in magazines, gathered from looking at their own research conducted for publisher clients. They have recently done a study of adjacency, looking at nearly 68,000 ads  in 1,884 magazine issues Starch has measured from January 2009 through June 2010. (Its part of upgrading Starch's database so that clients can look back over time to see how positioning of an ad can vary by magazine type, specific magazine and ad sector.) In a Q & A with MediaPost, Mickey Galin, senior vice president outlined some of what they found out.

• Ads next to editorial, on average, are read by 51% of magazine readers compared to 46% of readers who noted ads adjacent to other ads -- an 11% lift. 
• Type of edit doesn't seem to have much impact -- except being placed next to a cover story or a relevant article (defined as one about the same subject). 
• Being placed next to a table of contents has a strong impact on readership resulted in an 8% difference in average readership, compared with ads next to other edit.  
• Ads next to TOC had a 28% readership lift compared with contents pages being next to another ad.
• Women's fashion and beauty magazines show no difference in average readership  
• Women's fashion and beauty books and bridal magazines show virtually no difference in average scores for ads opposite edit as opposed to ads opposite other ads. 
• But ads in business and finance books show an 18% lift in readership by being placed adjacent to an article as opposed to another ad. 

"Publishers can use this data to understand how their title or genre performs for different advertising categories and develop strategies from there." said Galin. "And to educate advertisers on the power of print. What other medium offers 50+ percent of ad recall on a consistent basis?"

Aspirants aren't getting the education they need for entry level ad agency jobs

Karen Howe, senior vice president, creative director of Due North Communications in Toronto has written an interesting, tub-thumping rant in Applied Arts about the state of education for people who want to work in advertising,and specifically agencies.

I’ve attended portfolio nights for many years. I also review student books constantly. I’m seeing epic erosion in the quality of education that advertising students are now receiving. Judging by the state of their books, most are not remotely prepared to walk into an entry-level agency position.

Students should be outraged. Tuition has skyrocketed, yet the quality of their education has plummeted.

It’s fixable. But colleges and students will have to roll up their sleeves. Ad schools: please start with the basics. Teach your students how an agency is structured and how it makes money – it will help your students figure out how they get paid and how to stay employed. Teach them about the individual roles of those in an agency, so they can understand their own.