Survey on Interactive Advertising in Digital Magazines

I recently read some results from a survey by Smarter Media Sales that were published on Folio’s website. Questionnaires were sent to known readers of digital editions in an attempt to attain some of the first measurements of readers and the new genre of interactive magazine ads. The survey compared how readers responded to ads within digital editions as compared to other forms of media. Though the full results haven’t been released yet, they have found some preliminary results from the first half of the 5,000 readers who participated. Here are just a few findings.

The available enhancements to advertisements within digital editions; like video, audio, slideshows and animation are shown to have a positive impact on the reader’s overall experience. Furthermore, 26.4 percent of readers said that they are more likely to play with an advertisement with these digital extras to see if they “may become interested in an ad.”

Folio and Smarter Media Sales also reported,
“Another stat showed that while 32.4 percent of readers will skip an interactive magazine story that they are not interested in, a third—34 percent—will read a bit of the article and play the ad’s extras, while 21.8 percent will play only the digital extras. In terms of user engagement, interactive edition ads topped the charts at 66 percent as the most helpful and/or interesting form of electronic advertising, beating out TV ads (57.8 percent).”

Something they weren’t expecting to find, so far the survey shows that 36.6 percent of interactive magazine readers spent less time searching the web for content online that was similar to what they were just reading in a digital magazine. Smarter Media Sales said about that statistic, “The fact that this survey discovered that it is possible for niche interactive magazines to reduce readers’ search behavior is a huge finding,” he says.

I’ll be curious to see all the statistics when the final results from this study are published. We, at Dirxion, obviously hope they correlate with the preliminary results, giving proof that digital editions and their enhanced advertising features deliver more positive interaction between advertisements and potential audiences than other advertising mediums. This would not only be advantageous for us, but also magazine publishers who could better sell print ads combined with enhanced web features to help further leverage their investments in print, photography, and design and aid in the monetization of their content across more platforms.

EdgeClix and Performance-Based Advertising

Directory publisher Easier to Read recently added value to their Yellow Pages book by putting it online using Dirxion’s look and feel digital directory product, EdgeClix. In doing so, they discovered a host of new marketing opportunities for their existing local business advertisers.

While some publishers choose to simply use our product in its most basic form, which is designed to highlight and give added value to your existing ads just as they are seen in their printed counterparts, others like Easier to Read, see our list of expanded advertising features and cannot wait to seize the opportunity to not only help their advertisers enhance their online presence, but also monetize their new investment.

Cover Banner Advertising

iPick link appears within Popular Categories in the Table of Contents

When clicked the iPick window pops up highlighting your advertiser

Both the Cover Banner and iPick programs were designed so directory publishers could offer their advertisers exciting ways to insert ads at any time of the year. By selling premium placements like these, publishers can guarantee advertisers additional exposure, while also giving them the ability to keep their promotions current.

Easier to Read is just one excellent example of how our customers are using their digital directories to capitalize on the strong relationships they’ve grown with local businesses. Even without large changes to their sales structure, digital directories can be equipped with many of our advertising programs to help generate new, steady, profitable streams of revenue.

Allow your advertisers to use one or many of our exciting, interactive features to get the most activity out of their ads.

Fast Stats

Do people actually use digital page turn publications? Is online publishing really here to stay? The stats speak for themselves. While we don’t want to get into specifics for individual companies, here’s a quick look at some recent usage numbers for our customers:

In the previous six months, directory publications have seen over 1.5 million page views with more than half of that coming in the last three months.

Overall number of visitors to online directories is up almost 9% when comparing the last 90 days to the previous 90 days and the average time spent on the site is up 29%. Even more compelling is that the reach of these directories is expanding way beyond their traditional print distribution.

Catalog usage continues its steady growth. A six month comparison shows a 15% growth in page views and the last 90 days has increased 29% over the previous 90 days. Another interesting find is that the greatest growth has been for those catalogers that place a link to the online catalog in the top right or top center positions of their websites. This makes sense as those are two of the most valuable positions in online advertising, but it’s still good to see that links to the digital catalog are drawing an increasing audience.

Online editions of magazines and guides are following the same great trends as online, page flip catalogs - up in unique users, up in page views and up in URL clicks.

With new opportunities to sell into online publications and an always improving set of features to enhance user interactivity, we are very excited for our publishers to see continued growth in their online publications.

Koocanusa Adds to its Growing List of Online Publications

So you’re a publisher with more than one type of publication, or maybe you’re a marketing company that works with a variety of publishers. Either way, does it make sense to try to put a catalog into an online travel guide format or a magazine into an online directory format? Of course not.

Like many publishers, Koocanusa Publications has a diverse portfolio of magazines, guides and directories. Koocanusa recently added a magazine to its growing list of online publications provided by Dirxion. In addition to their existing directories, this Canadian-based publisher has just produced a digital edition of the Rocky Mountain magazine. The Rocky Mountain magazine provides visitors to the Kootenay Rockies with information and articles about what to see, where to go and local events occurring in the region. Koocanusa’s online publications give advertisers a way to reach beyond the traditional print audience.

As a provider of a variety of customized interfaces, we are well-positioned to serve customers like Koocanusa that have a diverse portfolio of publications. You can learn more about Koocanusa through their blog at: http://www.kootenaybiz.com/blog/ and learn more about Dirxion’s customizable interfaces at http://www.dirxion.com.

ETC Utilizing AND Promoting Dirxion’s New EdgeClix Platform

We love to spotlight customers who are actively promoting their new online publications, and this week, we wanted to give the spotlight to the new ETC online phonebook. After their new online directory went live, they sent out a monthly newsletter and wrote a nice piece about their new online phone book.

The results?

A ton of clickthroughs! ETC’s customers were obviously curious and excited about the mention of the new directory online, as ETC saw somewhere in the neighborhood of a 400% increase in usage. In other words, people were “quick to click” and enjoyed the experience.

As we’ve said before, all it takes is mentioning your new digital directory to your customers via email, social networks or your website, and it’s nearly a guarantee that people will click through to see what all the buzz is about.

Take a look at this quick snippet from the ETC Internet eNewsletter that went out just a few days ago to their customers:

That little paragraph was responsible for a HUGE spike in traffic to their new online publication.

Great job, ETC!

Visit the ETC online phone book by clicking on the cover below:

Valuable Features And Enhancements For Your Online Directory

Dirxion offers our directory customers a wide variety of features and enhancements that can transform a good directory into a revenue generating machine. Below, you’ll find a list of our most popular features. These features are readily available to all of our directory customers, and a list detailing features available to our catalog customers will be announced soon.

Are you ready to blast your directory revenue channels to the next level?

We’re not only here to provide you with an innovative online directory, but we also want to help you get the most out of it. Dirxion offers a wide variety of add-on features and enhancements that will have advertisers knocking on your front door to get in on the action.

Take a quick look at some of our exciting features that will set your directory a cut above the rest!

Audio Profiles – Give your advertisers a chance to talk more about their company or even offer special promotional deals to your users. The clickable audio profile link can highly influence choices made by your directory visitors, as it gives advertisers a way to add a personal touch.

Video Profiles – We’ll create a video for your advertisers that open in a small player window right on your directory page where advertisers can put a face to their name—something that will immediately attract the attention of consumers. Videos not only enhance your search engine visibility, but are also all the rage in the online world.

Animation – Animated flash advertisements attract eyeballs to the page, and are an easy and simple way for your advertisers to stand out among their competition.

Search Engine Marketing – Dirxion provides a total search marketing program for you and your advertisers that will gain more visibility, and drive laser targeted traffic to your directory. Getting started has never been easier – just fill out a sheet with some basic information and your advertisements can be live in major search engines such as Google and Yahoo within a very short turnaround time.

Banner Advertising – Allow your advertisers to purchase prime virtual real estate within your directory. You can offer full or half-sized banners, and take advantage of our banner rotating script and sell banner ad space to multiple advertisers.

Animated Scrolling Text – Another hot advertising opportunity, animated scrolling text links can be displayed at the bottom of your directory, featuring all of your best advertisers. This is a very “clickable” space that your customers will want to be a part of.

iPik – iPik is an exciting new way for your advertisers to insert an advertisement in your directory at any time of the year. With this premium quick and easy placement, your advertisers will absolutely love the additional exposure and ability to keep information/promotions current.

Upon reviewing all of our best in class features available to help monetize your online directory, do you have any questions? If so, give us a call at 888.391.0202 to discuss any of these options in greater detail!

Press Release: EdgeClix For Directories

We’re happy to report that our press release announcing “EdgeClix for Directories”, was released at midnight and can be found in several places online!

Press Release

Digital Publishing Provider Dirxion Increases Advertiser Value with EdgeClix for Yellow and White Page Directories

If you get a chance, check it out!

(Editor’s note: If you’d like an economical and highly effective way to promote your new digital publication, a press release is the way to go! With enhanced SEO features and even the ability to insert images and videos, press releases have come a long way. We use PRWeb.com for our releases, as they do a wonderful job).

Badlands Directory - A Search Engine Marketing Success in the Works

Ever heard of Dickinson, ND? No? Well, most of us hadn’t either until we started serving Badlands Directory Company, which serves Southwest North Dakota, as well as portions of South Dakota & Montana. Using our very new Search Engine Marketing platform, we recently provided a SEM campaign for Badlands Directory Company, helping them become more than just a little place on a big map.

Our first task was to determine if people were searching for a local yellow pages site in communities covered by Badlands Directory Company. Using a wide range of keywords, keyword phrases, powerful ad copy, and targeting the search engine results to show up in their region, we have seen a dramatic increase in site usage. Over a 30-day period, page views are up 36 percent, URL click-thrus are up 71 percent and overall activity within the online phone book is up an astounding 57 percent.

As with any SEM campaigns, we continue to monitor it’s progress. By doing this, we can identify underperforming keywords or ad variations. We can also identify what to target in future campaigns. The next step is to identify categories that are being searched in the Badlands Yellow Pages and target those in future campaigns.

The bottom line: A SEM campaign can add significant value to an online publication, especially in its infancy. For more information about how you can use Dirxion’s Search Engine Marketing platform to boost your presence, please contact us at 866.391.0202 or sales@dirxion.com.

YPA Cover Art Contest Showcases Exceptional Artistic Talent

At the YPA in San Diego this weekend, one of the bright spots was the Cover Contest that allowed attendees to vote for their favorite of about 80+ yellow and white page covers.

Quite a few of our customers were represented, and we were excited to see two of them take first and second place in the voting. So congrats goes out to Ad Ideas for their Bayou Pages directory and Bahamas Telephone Company for their Bahamas White Pages.

It’s great to see smaller publishers recognized for their hard work in sustaining value in a print directory.

Take a look at the winning covers below (click on cover to enlarge):

Bayou Pages Cover

Bahamas Telephone Company

Dirxion To Attend YPA (Yellow Pages Association) Meeting

Next week (April 26th-28th, 2009) Dirxion will be attending the Yellow Pages Association meeting in San Diego, CA. We are very pleased to once again be a sponsor and show our support to the yellow pages industry. As we continue our roll out of the EdgeClix interface, we seek and value feedback from our publisher customers that will be attending the YPA.

In the very competitive yellow pages advertising world, we help publishers stand out with digital directories, that look and feel just like the print directory. Not only that, the EdgeClix format supports flash animation, video, audio, mapping, and other revenue generating options for the publishers.

In addition to our new platform, we support our publishers with programs including the Tear Pages On Demand sales tool, Search Engine Marketing management and implementation, managed video production services, and the creation of audio hotspots.

We’ll see you all in a couple of days!

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