The Print Advertising Blog: October 2004

Thursday, October 28, 2004

In the Works? The London Evening Standard Light

Associated Newspapers of London is considering plans to launch a new freesheet, slimed down version of The London Evening Standard. The new publication would be launched with the goal of sustaining / reviving Associated's languishing circulation numbers and would fly in the face of Richard Desmond who also has aspirations for a freesheet launch. With many newspaper publishers around the UK scrambling to beef up circulations, there seems to be a two edged trend these days -- tabloid and free. Recent success of the Metro titles has only added to the urgency. Associated for the time being has denied active plans to launch a "light" version. This however, may be to assume an element of surprise. Richard Desmond on the other has been quite vocal about his interest in the freesheet pursuit.

WSJ Offers 'The Morning Brief'

The Wall Street Journal Online announced it will begin providing daily updates of the previous day's news events through a new e-mail launch entitled The Morning Brief. The new subscription service will feature the past day's news from a variety of media outlets along with any overnight breaking stories. The Morning Brief will be posted on WSJ.com at around 6:30 a.m. ET and will highlight business, finance and world news. The e-mail version will include links to the featured stories. The Morning Brief follows in the path of the WSJ's previously adopted, The Afternoon Report. The WSJ now features three sources for e-mail updates. The Morning Brief, The Afternoon Report 12:30 p.m ET and The Evening Wrap 5:30 p.m ET. Subscribers can sign up for the new e-mail delivery service or view The Morning Brief, The Afternoon Report and The Evening Wrap from links on the home page http://online.wsj.com/public/us to the Email Setup Center, or they can go to https://users2.wsj.com/WebIntegration/WebIntegrationServlet?call=A_EC.

STAR Magazine Goes Wireless for $2.95 / Month

On the heels of last week's 'Us Weekly' "Us To The Minute" wireless launch, 'Star Magazine' today announced the launch of its own wireless news service tagged "STAR Wireless." STAR Wireless is designed for Sprint PCS Vision phones and is powered by 1KTV technology. Similar to Us Weekly's version, STAR Wireless will provide subscribers with up-to-the-minute celebrity news and gossip. Subscribers can receive unlimited access to STAR Wireless for a monthly fee of $2.95. STAR Wireless is the first java-enabled wireless service that features breakthrough interactive capabilities allowing users to vote in the STAR's famous "Flash or Trash Poll," cast their opinion about the latest celebrity scandal, or participate in celebrity trivia questions, and see the results instantly in a daily "Style & Error" feature of the hottest celebrities.

Allied Domecq Launches Holiday Campaign

Allied Domecq Spirits, North America, a marketing-led brands business, announced today its plans to increase the Company's holiday marketing spending by twenty percent over the previous year, to support the roll-out of brand campaigns for the holidays. The launch of new multi-million dollar television advertising from the world's number-one selling coffee liqueur, Kahlua(R); the introduction of new television advertisements from Malibu(R) Caribbean rum; and the recently announced "Frozen" ads from Stolichnaya(R), are among the campaigns leading Allied Domecq's 2004 holiday marketing efforts. Just in time for the holidays, Kahlua is launching its largest-ever television campaign aimed at showing millions of Americans how to make every day life less ordinary. Backed by a budget approaching $10 million, the TV spot depicts exotic variations of ordinary events from the lives of Kahlua's target consumers, and culminates with a woman enjoying a splash of Kahlua. The ads kick off in early November, just in time for the holiday selling season, on national cable and local spot TV on shows such as Desperate Housewives, CSI, Trading Spaces, Alias and Nip/Tuck. Malibu rum will increase its marketing efforts over the holidays with national cable advertising featuring two television spots entitled, "Melon" and "Bus." While the "Bus" spot launched in May 2004 on national cable, "Melon" will debut this holiday season in the US. Both advertisements represent Malibu's "Seriously Easy Going" marketing campaign and demonstrate how Malibu's easygoing spirit can help consumers take a break, loosen up and have fun with friends - a perfect reminder during the hectic holiday season. The spots are scheduled to run on such channels as BET, E!, FX, Spike, Style and USA. Stolichnaya recently launched its new fully integrated "Frozen" marketing campaign, set to drive more than 445 million consumer impressions through print and radio advertising, as well as innovative promotions. This campaign was developed to actively remind consumers that Stoli(R) genuine Russian vodka is brought to its highest quality and flavor when chilled to the freezing point. Print advertisements will be found in national magazines such as FHM, Maxim and Playboy. In addition, out-of-home ads will appear on billboards, kiosks and bus shelters in major metropolitan markets. Sixty-second radio advertisements will complement the print and outdoor ads in the same major metropolitan markets and will further the concept of going to extremes to enjoy Stoli. For more information about Allied please visit their web site www.allieddomecqplc.com.

RedEnvelope Sticks With Holiday Ad Push

RedEnvelope, as part of their 2nd quarter reporting, confirmed plans to pursue an outdoor and print advertising campaign throughout the balance of '04. The campaign, which is designed to increase brand awareness and drive holiday sales, will feature product-specific advertising. RedEnvelope is a multi-channel retailer of upscale gifts for every occasion, every day. RedEnvelope offers a unique assortment of imaginative gifts through its catalog and website, redenvelope.com.

Cingular Wireless Plans Massive Brand Ad Spend

Cingular Wireless is planning to up the stakes in their move to remain the largest U.S. wireless provider. This week Cingular announced that with the merger of AT&T Wireless they are now committed to strengthening the Cingular Wireless brand name and staving off customer attrition. To do so, Cingular is planning an ad spend that will exceed levels previously reached by Cingular and AT&T separately, an amount that came close to $800 million for the first half of 2004. The primary venues for the branding campaign will be television, print media and direct mail. Cingular's spending commitment is likely to cause a ripple effect among other wireless providers, such as Verizon, who also have a lot at stake. Cingular's initial push is planned to begin sometime in November '04.

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Stetson Ropes Matthew McConaughey for Fragrance Push

Matthew McConaughey will appear as the new Stetson man for Coty Stetson Fragrances. The $10 million account was developed by Select Communications. Print advertising is planned for November issues of both men and women's magazines. This story was originally reported by Adweek.

Campbell Group Gets Plucked for Turf Valley Resort

The Campbell Group of Baltimore Maryland has been chosen to handle Turf Valley Resort's half million dollar print advertising campaign. Ads are scheduled to run primarily in regional publications that include The Washington Golf Monthly, Meetings South, Southern Living and Medical Meetings. Other print components include The Baltimore Business Journal and weekly newspapers. News of Turf Valley's decision was originally reported by Adweek. Turf Valley's web site can be accessed by clicking here.

Hyatt 'Spliced' Campaign Comes Together

A Hyatt brand and Gold Passport advertising campaign created by Cramer-Krasselt, Chicago, is on its way with a $20 million push. The campaign, tagged 'Spliced', earned the title because of the campaign's unique format. Television spots will combine 6 or 7 different stories from Hyatts around the world to create a single 'Spliced' story. The brand spot is slated to run through 2004 and will include a lifestyle magazine component that will launch in early 2005. In addition, Hyatt Gold Passport's bi-annual promotion will be highlighted. Print advertising aspects of this promotion will include The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and consumer magazines. For more information view Hyatt's Businesswire press release.

Showtime Creates Multi-Million Marketing Huff

Showtime Networks is promoting its newest television drama series entitled 'Huff', staring Hank Azaria as Dr. Craig Huffstodt. The series will be pre-empted with a multi-million dollar advertising and marketing campaign that will feature national television, local radio, print advertising, outdoor and web components. Print advertising will include national publications such as Entertainment Weekly, Us Weekly, People, In Touch Weekly, Vanity Fair, Jane, InStyle and Star. Tune-in ads will appear in TV Guide, TV supplements, cable trades and Hollywood trade publications such as Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Exact spend amounts were not identified. Additional information on Showtime's 'Huff' series can be gathered at the Showtime web site. For more information on this campaign visit PR Newswire.

Monday, October 25, 2004

Dow Jones Launches Integrated Campaign for CIGNA Corp.

Dow Jones Integrated Solutions today announced the launch of a cross-media campaign for CIGNA Corporation. The CIGNA campaign, titled "The Benefits of Caring (SM)," is scheduled to run through the 1st Quarter of 2005 and will launch today. The campaign is "dedicated to educating employers and their employees about the benefits of focusing on health..." The integrated campaign includes print, online and WSJ.com. Specifically, print aspects will include The Wall Street Journal and SmartMoney Magazine and will feature original Dow Jones content and designs "paired with CIGNA-branded ads." CIGNA ran a similar campaign from May to November 2003. Throughout the '03 campaign Dow Jones tracked CIGNA's results and found that the program "reached more than 85% of senior executives with employee-benefits decision-making authority." The '03 print aspect was reported to outperform "advertising norms by an average of 23%." Information regarding this campaign was originally reported via Business Wire's press services. Here's a link for more information about Dow Jones Integrated Solutions

$30 mln BtoB Campaign for Canon

A new marketing drive is being pushed by Canon to highlight its new "imageRunner" line of monochrome and color copiers. The $30 million btob campaign will begin running this week during the World Series and is also slated to appear in such print publications as The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Forbes magazine. According to Gail Esbin, director of advertising for Canon, the focus of the campaign is how Canon's products can effectively "work within a customer's existing business model." The campaign represents one of Canon's largest marketing outlays for the year. The ads were created by Dentsu. For more information click here.

Nintendo Readies Multi-Media Blitz for DS

Nintendo has prepared a new multi-media, multi-million dollar advertising campaign to highlight the launch of the new Nintendo DS, a hand-held video game and communications system. Tagged "Touching is Good," the campaign lifts an eyebrow to the parental instruction, "please do not touch." Nintendo DS is a dual-screen, dual-featured product that includes video game functions, a built-in chat function, wireless communications and voice recognition. The campaign is being targeted toward a "full spectrum of hipsters," with print ads in gaming magazines supporting the launch. Nintendo's media agency of record, Starcom U.S.A., and its specialist division, Starcom Entertainment, negotiated media placement and branded integration with MTV and Dennis Publishing's Maxim, Blender and Stuff magazines. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at nintendo.com.

Friday, October 22, 2004

Luxury Homes & Estates Sets Ad Page Record

The New York Times reported this week that their Luxury Homes & Estates advertising section broke its 26 year history for total ad page insertions. The special section showed a 5.6% increase over last year with a total of 56 advertising pages. Luxury Homes & Estates targets real estate companies as an effective means for featuring client properties. Luxury Homes & Estates is a bi-annual special advertising section of New York Times Magazine. The upcoming section will be published on Sunday, October 24. No details were provided regarding total ad dollar spend.

Law & Order's Sam Waterson Takes the Stand for TD Waterhouse

TD Waterhouse has joined forces with television star Sam Waterson of 'Law & Order' to launch a new advertising campaign. Following a familiar theme, the TD Waterhouse ads encourage prospective customers to switch to TD Waterhouse as "the alternative to higher-priced brokers." The ads highlight TD Waterhouse's experience as well as the simplicity of a transition to their services. The ads are designed to target all investors but particularly those frustrated by high-priced, full commission brokerage houses. Ads will be featured on national broadcast outlets across the country including CBS, ABC, NBC and cable TV networks. Print aspects of the campaign include spots designed for national newspapers like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times as well as magazine elements including Fortune, Time, Sports Illustrated and other business and leisure publications. Total spend for this campaign was not disclosed. More information on TD Waterhouse can be accessed at their web site.

Metro Cover Feature Hitler: Well, Part of Him

Plenty of ink has been spilt on the publishing phenomenon Metro, the free daily tabloid newspaper raging across the UK and Europe. But now it's in the news again. Only this time not for circulation growth. As reported by mediaweek uk, Metro has designed a cover that pictures the head of Adolf Hitler graphically imposed over the body of a male model. The cover was designed to highlight a news series being launched by the Discovery Channel. The picture is intriguing and should certainly spur attention for both Metro and Discovery -- once again proving that an object in motion, in this case Metro, tends to stay in motion. Please visit the mediaweek article highlighted above for addition information. Metro web site.

Thursday, October 21, 2004

Catholic Bishops Launch Two-Week Stem Cell Campaign

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) this week launches a nationwide two-week ad campaign highlighting the issue of stem cell research. The ads draw a clear distinction between embryonic stem cell research, which requires the destruction of human life at the embryonic stage, and adult stem cell research. "Our ads explain that adult stem cell research is already helping people with heart disease, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's and many other diseases. Embryonic stem cells, on the other hand, have not helped one single human patient, and they come with a hefty price tag: the deliberate destruction of human life," Ruse said. "As our ads state: science does not have to kill in order to cure." The ads will appear in USA Today, The Washington Times and the National Catholic Reporter. The ads have also gone to dioceses nationwide for use in local publications. The ads are part of an ongoing effort by the Bishops to provide more information on the Catholic Church's position on stem cell research and human cloning.

New 'Red Dot' Campaign for Kotex

Kotex, a Kimberly-Clark brand, builds off the familiar pattern of their 'Red Dot' campaign, first launched in 2000, to bring a new marketing effort that features the brand's 360 degree communication.
Kotex Brand Really "Gets" Women:
Based on its understanding of consumer insights, Kotex, which is the only feminine care brand to offer products across all three major product forms (Pads, Liners and Tampons,) has created products and packaging that makes women feel special, rather than being just simply functional.
The advertising campaign is illustration-based and initially includes three television spots, three print advertisements and the use of a national mall tour. "As part of a 360 degree communications strategy, we expand the campaign's brand message literally beyond traditional advertising to directly connect with our target audience of young women aged 18 to 24," said Dave Rasmussen, Mindshare. "Utilizing nontraditional media such as sky murals in high-traffic shopping. Media was placed by Mindshare Chicago and includes buys on ABC, NBC, FOX, UPN and WB as well as MTV, Fuse, E!, Family Channel, Comedy Central, USA and VH1. Three initial print advertisements are in Entertainment Weekly, In Touch, InStyle, People, TV Guide, Woman's World, Health, Elle, Teen Vogue and Lucky.

Royal Philips Electronics Launches Print Campaign

Royal Philips Electronics announced the launch of a new trade publication campaign featuring Edward Hospital of Naperville, Ill. The campaign was designed to highlight Philips medical technologies being used today in healthcare facilities. Seven ads have been produced for the campaign. In a statement, Karin Daly - vp of brand management for Philips Medical Systems said, "We seek to truly understand our customers' needs and the particular issues they face in trying to balance patient outcomes with operational efficiency. Philips then works to provide technology and services that simplify that day-to-day challenge." The campaign is based around the brand promise of "Sense and Simplicity." The ads take on a photojournalistic style featuring critical moments in medical diagnosis and treatment. Ads will appear in more than 65 national and international medical trade publications and will continue to run into 2005. The ads were created by healthcare ad agency Harrison and Star, part of the Omnicom agency network. Royal Philips Web Site Link
- No Sample Available for this ad-

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Blurring the Lines of Advertising Sales

There is a term floating around among advertising and marketing departments these days called Integration.
According to the dictionary, to integrate is "To make into a whole by bringing all parts together; to unify."
Seems self explanatory... right?
There's no denying the fact that today's marketing personnel are focused on this idea of integration, and with good reason. Reaching one's customer is an increasingly complex process that potentially involves many individual parts.
It's safe to assume that most marketers want to keep and succeed at their jobs. So, with that in mind, let's consider our options.
Not too long ago marketers looking to reach customers had several valid alternatives. These for the most part centered around print and broadcast media, direct mail and telemarketing. However, not long into the beginning of the twenty-second century the model began to change. Seemingly, overnight the Internet grew, cable broadcasting blossomed offering choice and diversity, broadband communication opened valid new doors for information and entertainment, desk top publishing became a hot new industry with targeted publications popping up everywhere, e-mail became a standard form of communication, telemarketing became a dirty word, buses, trucks, cell phones and video games began to offer advertising opportunities and the list goes on. Suddenly, marketers were faced with a complex and growing problem. How were they to best reach customers? And which were the optimal mediums for insuring the highest return?
In an attempt to cut down on risk, marketers did something similar to investors on Wall Street, they created a sort of advertising mutual fund. The goal was clear, develop a marketing portfolio comprised of individual elements, based on a high probability for positive return and minimize overall risk. Using such a system marketers were able to protect their customers, their jobs and provide an acceptable level, whether perceived or real, of return on investment.
The advantages or disadvantages of this method of marketing remains a subject of discussion and will be reserved for some other time. However, as it relates to print ad sales personnel, the implications are important.
Anyone who has sold print advertising, even for a short period, will likely concur that today's marketing professionals are interested in options. Beyond run of press ads they want to know if you offer on-line advertising, e-mail advertising, list rental, event sponsorships and more. In short, they want to know how many ways you can help them successfully reach their customers and minimize risk. This has caused traditional print advertising sales professional's boundaries to blur into new territories. As a result, to be successful in print advertising sales one must deepen their understanding and knowledge of what assets can be made available to marketers. This means creating a company-wide portfolio or "product mix" with marketing options that allow companies to diversify their risk and increase potential returns.
Simply put, the advertising sales people and media companies that will succeed at generating strong growing ad revenue in the days to come will be those that know their customers needs and educate themselves with the knowledge, understanding and skills to meet them no matter where they lead. This means advertising sales professionals must become proactive, constantly looking for ways to improve their knowledge of options and alternatives. They must learn to think ahead of advertisers and, rather than being content to respond, become innovators and leaders. So armed, they will take charge of a murky environment and help marketers find their bearings. The lines of advertising sales are most certainly blurring and change is never easy. But, remaining relevant requires a response. It is a wise response that will begin to bring clarity.

Air Canada Launches New Look, New Ads

Celine Dion joins Air Canada in a new effort created to promote the jet liner's new look and leading edge In-Flight enhancements. In a cooperative effort, Air Canada will join forces with the Canadian Tourism Commission to promote Canada as a preferred travel destination and Air Canada as the means for getting there. A print and broadcast campaign is scheduled to begin in the first part of 2005 for select markets in the United States and Great Britain. A fact sheet regarding the broadcast portion of the campaign can be viewed (in pdf format) at Air Canada's web site. The ad agency handling the account is Marketel of Montreal. Additional information on this campaign can be obtained at Air Canada's press release page.

The Only Way to Go is UP... 7UP Plus That is

7UP, with the help of Young & Rubicam, has launched a new multi-media advertising campaign for 7UP Plus, a new drink that combines 7UP with real fruit juice, calcium, vitamin C and berry flavoring. The tongue-in-cheek spots feature Regis Philbin, Kelly Ripa, Kristin Davis and Cynthis Nixon. The ads aim to show that "When You Add It All Up, the Only Way to Go Is UP" with New 7UP Plus. The ads are nationally oriented and targeted primarily to women ages 25 - 49. The main component of the campaign features prime time television and cable spots but also includes radio and print aspects. Visit 7UP.com for additional product information.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Us Weekly Goes Wireless

Us Weekly has launched a new wireless service that enables readers to receive up-to-the-minute celebrity gossip and news via text messaging on their cell phones. The new service is tagged "Us to the Minute" and is being offered as a fee for service product. Subscription options include $.50 per story or a $3.99 monthly flat fee. The service is being powered by Kargo, a New York based wireless software company. Text messaging is an idea being tested by many European and U.S. publishers. However, Us Weekly will lead the celebrity news bunch with this launch. More information can be gather directly from Us Weekly's web site.

BrownCo Active Trader Ad Campaign

BrownCo, the subsidiary company of J.P. Morgan Invest, is planning an all new ad campaign directed at growing the on-line broker's active trading clientele. The campaign, as developed by McCann Erickson, highlights BrownCo as the solution for on-line traders who are frustrated with promotional gimmicks, high fees and a lack of flexibility among other on-line alternatives. Print ads have been designed by McCann for publications like The Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, Barron's and the New York Times. The entire multi-media campaign is price tagged at around $15 million. BrownCo's typical / targeted customer has between 15 - 20 years of investment experience, investable assets in excess of $200,000, and trades more than 50 times a year. More information can be gathered on BrownCo by visiting their web site at http://www.brownco.com. The source for this information was BrownCo's businesswire press release dated 10/18/04.

Coke Introduces Full Throttle Campaign

Mother, New York will be launching a new campaign for Coca-Cola's high octane drink "Full Throttle." Introduced as an alternative to Red Bull, the campaign is targeting young men ages 20 - 30. Full Throttle is a high energy drink with ginseng extract, caffeine, taurine and vitamins. Print aspects of the campaign are planned for the first quarter of 2005. News of the campaign was originally reported by adweek.

Friday, October 15, 2004

Good News: Mag Ad Revenue Grows in September

We're only half way through the month of September and for the newspaper side of the print advertising world its been a tough month. Earning reports by some of the major newspaper companies such as Dow Jones and The New York Times were tepid. The SEC announced plans to investigate the circulation practices of certain key publishers. And more would be doomsdayers predicted the complete demise of the print media industry. But before you start updating your resume in search of a new career there were a couple of bright spots.

First, the Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) released the magazine revenue and page statistics for September 2004. What it showed was a 17.1% increase in magazine revenue over September 2003. In addition, total ad pages went up 8.5% over last year to a total of 25,165.36. This means there has been a 9.7% increase in total reported rate-card revenue for the year.

Of the twelve categories tracked, nine reported both revenue and page count increases. The categories include Apparel & Accessories; Retail; Toiletries & Cosmetics; Home Furnishings & Supplies; Automotive; Drugs & Remedies; Direct Response Companies; Food & Food Products; Media & Advertising; Financial, Insurance & Real Estate; Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts and finally Technology.

Of the twelve categories, Technology was the big looser with a 5.6% decrease in revenue and a 7.1% decrease in total reported pages. The technology sector also turned out to be a sore spot for newspapers like the Wall Street Journal which showed a 36% drop for the third quarter. However, technology being the exception, eleven of the twelve categories posted an increase in total rate-card revenue.

Second, in the Business-to-Business (B2B) category, ad pages showed an increase of 3.7% for the month of August 2004 and ad spending was up 4.6% for the same period. Seven of the eleven tracked categories showed overall increases in both ad pages and ad revenue. According to Gordon Hughes, president and CEO of American Business Media, "We appear to be on track for 2 percent to 4 percent revenue growth in 2004."

The figures reported above have been taken from the MPA's Publishers Information Bureau and American Business Media's BIN Report.

Drug-Impaired Driving PSA Launched by NSC

The National Safety Council released a new campaign intended to increase awareness about the hazards of Drug-Impaired Driving. The Public Service Announcement (PSA) is planned for print publications and radio. It describes the dangers of driving while impaired, not simply by illegal drugs, but also by many over the counter and prescription medications. While the NSC notes impairment from illegal drugs and alcohol are the leading cause of car crashes, prescription and over the counter medications can also impair one's ability to drive safely. More details about the campaign can be gathered at the NSC's web site http://www.nsc.org/issues/drugimpaireddriving/index.htm. In addition, the two page print advertisement can be downloaded in a pdf format at the following link http://www.nsc.org/issues/drugimpaireddriving/DrugImpairedDriving.pdf.

UniWorld Launches New Ford Campaign

UniWorld Group, Ford Motor Company's African American Agency of Record this week released news of its upcoming 2005 advertising campaign. The campaign will include both print and television and will feature spots for the new Ford Five Hundred, Ford Freestyle and Ford Mustang. The theme behind the new campaign is "Frontin." Print aspects of the campaign are planned for such magazines as Essence, Ebony, Jet, and Black Enterprise. Print ads are scheduled to begin in November 2004. More information can be gathered on UniWorld at http://www.uniworldgroup.com/home.html

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Unifying the Print Advertising Industry

PrintAdvertising.com has been around for a little more than a year and a half now. Over that period it has often seemed we were a lone voice in the promotion of a unified platform to serve the print media and advertising industry.

The way we see it, newspapers have their associations, magazines have their associations and advertisers have their associations but no one has brought the three together in a simple, comprehensive platform for the good of the industry. As a consequence, advertisers wanting to promote in newspapers and magazines are forced to follow an antiquated system analogous to that of finding and buying a book prior to Amazon.com's arrival.

The benefit Amazon brought to the book publishing industry was that it closed the loops, gave buyers a central, easy to use platform for finding and buying books, gave publishers a simple and easy to use platform for bringing books to market and overall strengthened the industry. For Amazon it wasn't about protecting territories, a vendor’s market share or pricing, the old way of thinking. Rather, it was about giving consumers the broadest possible choice, for the best possible price, in a central location that was easy to understand and easy to use.

The print media and advertising industry would do well to take notice today. Just try to run an advertising campaign that uses magazines and newspapers. Either you or your underpaid media buyer will find it isn't easy. I work in the print media and advertising industry. But if I want to promote my business where do I look? I look at options like Google and Overture. Why? Because they're comprehensive, affordable, easy to use, centralized... need I go on? Where's the print media industry's answer to Google or Craig's List? They don't exist. Not that the print media industry has done nothing. To be sure many publishers are joining hands to develop resources like CareerBuilders.com and other centralized marketing products. This is to be commended. But still the comprehensiveness is lacking.

Today, more than ever we need a unified platform that brings publishers, big and small, together with advertisers, big and small, into a marketplace where they can grow their businesses. It's a big goal; a year and a half of going it alone has shown us that. But it's also a good goal and one that would dramatically change the future and shape of the industry. All in all one thing is for sure, the industry will never accomplish as much separately as it can by joining together. Together is where it will be strong and together is where it will regain some of its lost luster.

Cosmopolitan Gets a Multi-Million Dollar Gift

Cosmopolitan Magazine is getting ready to celebrate its 40th birthday and the magazine is buying its present early. This year's present is a multi-million dollar advertising campaign that celebrates the publication's success "as today's leading women's magazine" tag lined "We're Cosmopolitan."

The multi-million dollar campaign launches in such publication as Advertising Age, Mediaweek, Automotive News, Cosmetic World, Women's Wear Daily, Interview and The New York Times. Indeed it seems Cosmo has reason to celebrate. The magazine currently sells around 3 million copies per month, boasts the largest circulation for a monthly women's magazine in the United States and offers more than 50 editions around the world. Cosmopolitan is published by Hearst Magazines, a Hearst Corporation unit.

So, Cosmo from all of us here to you... Happy Birthday!

Sex 'Tourism' Campaign Begins

Writing for the PrintAd Blog is for the most part an enjoyable activity. I get to write on subjects I know something about and I have the opportunity to provide information that is helpful to others. However, on occasion a subject comes along that quite frankly, I would prefer didn't. This posting is just such a time.

This week I learned of a new campaign that is being launched by a consortium of groups that include... World Vision, the U.S. State Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a Costa Rican cabinet minister. These organizations have joined forces to "combat the sexual exploitation of children by Americans overseas." The campaign, which includes Cambodia, Costa Rica, Thailand and the United States, involves print advertising as well as other media platforms. The various ads carry the message that "sex tourists," those traveling with the intent of sexually preying on children, will be exposed and face up to 30 years in prison. The campaign is being funded by the U.S. State Department but for those publishers who regularly set aside pro bono space for good causes, this might be a chance to get involved. The print ads have been professionally designed and can be viewed in a slideshow at the following URL http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/wvususfo.nsf/stable/globalissues_stpslideshow_1
Further information on this project and campaign can be located at http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/wvususfo.nsf/stable/globalissues_stp

Gold Toe Launches Print Campaign

Stuart Elliott of The New York Times wrote and excellent article this week on a new advertising campaign being launched by Gold Toe Brands. For those who may not be familiar with it, Gold Toe Brands is the company which produces socks with the familiar gold band along the toe area. A casual walk through the clothing accessory section of most major retail stores will likely provide examples. Gold Toe Brands makes socks for men, women and children that include dress, casual and sport related activities. As part of a new marketing campaign Gold Toe has enlisted the services of Bartle Bogle Hegarty of New York. The new campaign launches under the theme "Enlighten your feet." Print ads are planned for magazines like Business Week, Gold Digest, Marie Claire, People, Self and Sports Illustrated. To learn more about the brand visit the Gold Toe Brands web site at http://www.goldtoe.com/. Also, to you may want to sign-up for Stuart Elliott's weekly e-mail that provides insight into marketing campaigns and brand activity. It's offered at our favorite price... Free!

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

U.S. Mag. Ad Revenue Jumps 17.1% in September

The Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) yesterday reported an increase of 17.1% in reported rate-card magazine advertising revenue for September 2004 over the same month in 2003. Total dollars for September 2004 were $2,286,636,158. Total 2004 ad pages were 25,165.36, a 8.5% increase from the previous year. Comparing 2003 to 2004, nine of the twelve major advertising categories showed September increases... good news for the magazine publishing industry. For more information visit PIB Revenue & Pages.

Friday, October 08, 2004

Charging for Response Not Circulation

Dai Nippon Printing Company of Japan is preparing to launch a new response driven advertising service for marketers. Under the new service Dai Nippon's magazine properties will begin allowing advertisers to pay a fee to the publisher based solely on each sale their ads generate. The program allows readers to use their mobile phones to scan a bar code found on the ad, which then in turn takes the reader directly to the advertiser's direct response (see article below) web page for the featured product. At this time it is unclear whether Dai Nippon is also providing the web page hosting service. However, for revenue tracking purposes it would seem likely. In the United States marketers tested bar coding advertisements under the now defunct "Cue Cat" system. Though the idea had merit, the system quickly failed for a variety of reasons ranging from technology to legal issues. Using technology capable mobile phones will make the success of this venture more likely and if it works there will undoubtedly be a lot of advertisers taking notice.

Thursday, October 07, 2004

Image vs. Direct Response Ads

Work in the advertising world long enough and you'll quickly learn that there are basically two broad categories of advertising. The image or branding category and the direct response category. The biggest difference between the two? Image ads focus primarily on mental and emotional impact while direct response ads encourage an immediate or semi-immediate reader response. Here are two examples.

Volvo Image

Direct Response

Generally speaking, for an image campaign, the key is to burn an idea into the recipient's emotion or mind. This is why car ads typically center around themes like performance, safety, luxury, etc., The immediate goal for the ad is to get you, the reader, thinking in a specific way. For example, if you are particularly safety conscious Volvo's safety theme will catch your attention. This is important because car marketers know that buying a car is different from entering a sweepstakes contest. For most people, buying a car is a decision that takes place over time whereas entering a sweepstakes contest is whimsical. Therefore, if over time Volvo can successfully convince you that their car is the safest, then there's a good chance you'll consider a Volvo when it's time to buy.

On the other hand, direct response advertisers are primarily interested in getting an immediate and sometimes even impulsive response from their readers. Consequently, though direct response ads may focus on a theme, they will also incorporate various response elements. The contest advertisement pictured above serves as a good example. The headline pulls the reader in by promising a chance to win, a deadline on the contest encourages the reader to act quickly, and the coupon at the bottom provides the venue for doing so. Direct response advertisers closely track and monitor responses to their ads and use this data to tweak the ads further.

In addition to goals, there is also a difference in the way advertisers have typically priced these two categories. Since image advertisers are primarily concerned with brand recognition, brand recall and brand affinity (as opposed to immediate orders) there has been, at least in the past, a lower level of price sensitivity when it comes to the cost of an individual ad.

On the other hand, because direct response advertisers track each ad's performance, they know how much they've either made or lost on the cost of an ad. This in turn allows them to come up with a mathematical formula for determining ad prices that are most likely to achieve their desired financial goals. This formula is called cost per thousand or cpm for short.

If you're interested in getting additional information on types of advertising a good place to start is with David Ogilvy's classic on the subject Ogilvy on Advertising. The book is around 225 pages long, comes in a paperback and last I checked was around $20.00. A picture of the cover is shown below and you can order direct from Amazon by clicking on it. Enjoy Learning!

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