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.

22 Magazines That Are Seeing Increased Ad Revenues

The Business Insider recently wrote an article about 22 Magazines That Are Actually Kicking Butt In 2009. They discussed how the Magazine Publishers of America keep records of 249 different magazine titles and of those 249, 227 saw a decline in their ad revenues in 2009 compared to 2008. Over 91% of the industry is suffering from the recent decrease in advertising.

Looking at the 22 titles that are earning more revenue than they were last year, five are published by Meredith Corporation. Patrick Taylor, of Meredith Corporation, says these magazine titles “do a good job of building their brand” especially on the Internet. He went on, saying that magazines can find a larger audience by making content available on the internet. Also, by going online, publishers can find new forms of advertising and creative ways to boost their print subscriptions. This is just another example of how going digital can help support your print and keep you afloat during tough times.

Here is a quick run through of the 22 Magazines that have muscled out increasing ad revenues over the last year.

Better Homes and Gardens - Up 1.9%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $547,346,531
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $557,534,448

Ladies’ Home Journal - Up 2.5%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $220,113,560
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $225,511,330

Soap Opera Digest - Up 2.5%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $12,894,257
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $13,217,837

Executive Travel SkyGuide - Up 4.0%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $5,470,212
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $5,689,007

Family Fun - Up 4.3%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $75,434,521
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $78,651,596

Woman’s World - Up 5.4%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $23,708,020
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $24,987,610

Endless Vacation - Up 5.7%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $10,493,050
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $11,091,905

Women’s Health - Up 8.8%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $58,709,640
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $63,900,299

More - Up 12.7% (Meredith,
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $82,346,521
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $92,812,076

Muscle & Fitness - Up 13.2%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $71,483,698
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $80,948,436

Scholastic Parent & Child - Up 14.5%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $34,688,914
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $39,682,262

Flex - Up 15.4%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $24,595,411
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $28,379,120

Organic Gardening - Up 17.4%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $3,198,473
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $3,754,516

OK Weekly - Up- 17.5%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $47,755,400
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $56,099,244

Fitness - Up 17.5%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $70,798,273
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $83,200,149

Saveur - Up 18.9%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $8,678,312
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $10,322,035

Family Circle - Up 21.8%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $254,590,657
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $310,058,104

Twist - Up 22.1%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $2,635,592
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $3,217,460

The Week - Up 30.4%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $19,760,226
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $25,766,774

People Style Watch - Up 32.2%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $19,675,743
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $26,005,532

Fine Cooking - Up 66.2%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $793,914
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $1,319,440

Spry - Up 550.6%
2008 Ad Revenues through September: $5,508,047
2009 Ad Revenues through September: $35,837,667

ADP Mid-Year Conference

Dirxion recently attended the Association of Directory Publishers Mid-Year Conference in Orlando, FL.  We were proud to be the exclusive sponsor of not only the Golf Tournament, but also a very exciting $10,000 Hole-In-One Giveaway.  The Jack Nicklaus designed New Course is a replica of the Old Course at St. Andrews and proved quite a challenge for even the best of players.

Aside from golf, there were some productive discussions between both vendors and publishers.  In a year when many publishers are challenged by a bad economy and a general decline in print advertising, it was important for publishers to hear new ideas about how they can best serve their advertisers.  Gone are the days when a sales rep can simply sell a print ad once a year to an advertiser and expect a regular healthy renewal.  Yellow Pages publishers have certainly seen the need for multi-platform providers like Dirxion.
There is an ever-increasing focus on being able to provide local search results for advertisers online and this comes at the same time that the publisher needs to be a source of information and leads for their advertisers.  It’s a tall order for many Yellow Pages reps to move from a traditional quick close sale to a consultative relationship.

While the conference featured publishers sharing with publishers, there still seemed to be lack of understanding and adoption of new strategies by the Yellow Pages publishers.  Part of the challenge is that newer techniques for communicating with customers (i.e. blogs and Twitter) simply aren’t being put to use.  Dirxion posted one of only two blogs about the ADP conference and was probably the only company in attendance to send out a tweet about it.

Don’t worry publishers; we are here to help.  The latest version of our digital Yellow and White Pages solution – EdgeClix - makes easy work of social media.  With our directory product, you can become the premier marketing consultant for your Yellow Pages advertisers.  Over 80 Yellow Pages publishers have chosen Dirxion as their choice in online directories and that number continues to grow.  We support the print like no other online provider and continue to add new programs that will help you sell more ads online and in print.

Long Live the Catalog

Advertising Specialty Institute®, the largest media and marketing organization serving the advertising specialty industry, just recently announced results of an end buyer study that shows paper catalogs drive 93% of purchasing decisions. Also mentioned is that paper and online catalogs are not only effective sales tools, but also assist buyers in sparking creativity, discovering new products and realizing the importance of customization.

We at Dirxion think that the components of a printed publication cannot be beat: the attractive layout, the vibrant images and the aesthetics neatly blended with content. And well, buyers agree. While everyone may appear to be going online to purchase, it’s still the look and feel of print that gets them there.

What Marketers Want

Since the introduction of moving type, never has the world of publishing seen so much refinement. Even if that may be a little exaggerated, you’d think it was true by the constantly breaking news and blog reels spinning out of control with stories of new websites, applications and devices that will change the way people read forever.

If you were following the events of the last month, you’d probably think the publishing industry was going to make a complete about face away from paper. It almost seems logical with devices like desktops, laptops, iPhones, smartphones, the kindle and a slew of new tablets and e-readers being introduced what seems like everyday. On the surface, it seems like the publishing industry could start saving the truck loads of money it costs to print and deliver mountains of books, magazines and catalogs to their large audiences. But what many articles aren’t considering is the actual driving forces behind print - advertising.

Subscriptions to magazines aren’t a publisher’s main source of revenue. It’s the advertising inside. Marketers believe that those physical pages of a magazine continue to prove enticing to potential customers in a way that computer text and images cannot. In the same way, catalog publishers keep showing statistics that by paying the price to mail catalogs they are actually helping advertise and drive more sales to their web sites. One study showed that consumers who received catalogs from a retailer spent 28% more on that retailer’s website than those who didn’t receive catalogs.

We believe that print and web are two elements that, when working in harmony, are stronger than the sum of their parts. Why not mail a catalog or magazine to subscribers, but also make yourself available in the same outstanding visual quality on the internet. A digital edition is the perfect medium between a printed magazine or catalog, and a website or e-commerce site. It brings the reader and/or customer that same intuitive look and feel that you spent such resources designing and editing, while providing them with a fully-integrated, media-rich web experience.

It’s finding that right balance between digital and print that’ll maximize your audience and appeal to advertisers like never before.

Special Magazine Issues Made Even More Special

The New York Times has just published a good article about magazine publishers making some waves with special issues – ESPN’s Body Issue for example, where athletes are featured in mostly nude poses.

Gary Belsky, editor in chief of ESPN The Magazine brings up a great point in the article: “These days, people are skeptical enough about print, or at least wary enough about print, that they’re looking for executions that differentiate print.”

This couldn’t be closer to the truth.

Belsky goes on to say, “Print can’t deliver music, video, but what print can deliver is beautiful, in-depth visuals and journalism that explores subjects in a particular kind of way.”

That’s a HUGE misconception with print. Print can actually deliver more now than ever. By distributing your “print” on paper and online in the same form, like a special issue, it can differentiate your publication and attract more advertisers.

Digital editions not only cost less to publish and distribute, they also allow publishers to up-sell really exciting features to advertisers like music, video, animated ads, rollover windows and hyperlinks. All of these things add an element of “cool” among audiences and allow advertisers to offer more dimensions and in turn, value, to their ad.

“Magazines need to offer these creative alternatives to standard pages,” said Charlie Zakin, vice president for corporate media at Hasbro in response to Hasbro running an ad on the November cover of FamilyFun magazine, the first time FamilyFun would do such an ad. (The cover would be a pocket and contain a pull-out sheet promoting Hasbro’s family-game-night initiative.)

Imagine a digital edition of FamilyFun, where an animated section of the cover would promote and link to a pop-up window, which would contain all of the information found in this fun pull-out sheet, complete with animation, audio or video about the family-game-night initiative. Cool, eh?

I’ll end with this quote from Deborah Mignucci, publisher of Disney FamilyFun:
“Print is not the medium that is in vogue right now, and so we have extra pressure to overdeliver to our advertisers.”

Magazine Publishers, use a digital edition to spring up some new advertising sales. With animated, interactive ad pages you can start overdelivering now.