Much has been written and talked about regarding magazines. Whether it is titles launching to reach a new audience or long-standing magazines going the all-digital route (see Newsweek)
or shuttering their doors completely, it’s hard to tell which direction magazine publishing is headed. Last week we told you about one promotion from Meredith that was developed with the goal of increasing advertising and filling the non-content pages of all Meredith’s titles. We won’t revisit that as you can go to that post and get the full update or at least our point of view on it. Today let’s focus on why advertisers need to be including magazines, whether in print or digital, as part of their advertising campaigns.
Recently The Association of Magazine Media published their 2012/2013 Magazine Media Factbook, outlining how readers interact with magazine publications in print and online forms. The Factbook has more than 100 pages of in-depth magazine data to help advertisers understand why they should consider magazines. Taking a step further, there are four main takeaways advertisers should understand regarding reaching target markets with magazines.
1. The first thing to understand is that people are reading magazines. Take whatever you’re hearing about print dying and the imminent closure of all publishing houses and throw it out the window. Here’s why: 92% of adults (95% of those younger than 35 and 96% of those younger than 25) have read magazines in the last six months. Now to be fair some of this is happening in digital platforms, we can’t deny that. But not all, as only 38% of 18- to 34-year-olds read magazines on electronic devices. Now I’m no math wiz, but that leaves about 58% who are still holding the printed version of Sports Illustrated or Shape as they read. The audience is huge, and it can be sliced and diced however you want, with titles specializing in content and hitting very specific demographics. So find the magazine right for your product or service, and buy some pages.
2. You have friends right? Oh, sorry, I didn’t know that was a sore subject. OK, think about your family or co-workers, they have friends right? And I’m guessing they talk to their friends and tell them all about their new vacuum, favorite whiskey, or the car they just drove off the lot. That ‘telling’ and ‘sharing’ happens in a number of ways in addition to word of mouth. It also happens in social media, and magazine readers are trusted influencers. So get your brand in front of them (with great creative), convince them to buy your product, and they’ll tell all their friends. No really, they will.
3. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: We want consumers to see our ad, go to our website to get more information, do some more research and eventually make a purchase, either now or next time they’re in the market for our product. Guess what? No medium triggers online search more than magazines. The numbers range by specific age group and sex, but of adults 18+, magazines and broadcast trigger searches in 36% of consumers. Any major league hitter would be pretty happy with that batting average.
4. It is really this simple: Magazine advertising increases sales. Download the Factbook and check out slide 30. Brands advertising in magazines experienced a sales lift of 3% to 36% compared to the control group. If you’re a successful marketer maybe you see the 3% and think, ‘No biggie.’ But tell me anyone in your organization wouldn’t be interested in a 36% sales lift and I’ll tell you about some oceanfront property in Arizona I have for sale.
So there you have it, the data is real, and in case you missed it at the beginning, you can download the entire Factbook here. There is a ton of information in there and we’ll be back next week with some more details about magazine advertising and what you should be doing to create effective campaigns. In the meantime, if you’re ready to get some ads placed and want to stay out of the contracts magazines want you to sign, check out our eBook on the benefits of making your buys independent of contracts.
Scott Olson is the director of marketing at Mediaspace Solutions. His career has spanned marketing positions in the non-profit, software and utility sectors providing various marketing experiences. You can connect with Scott on Facebook, Google+, Twitter or LinkedIn.
I have a bit of a soft spot for JCPenney. My grandma worked there for more than 40 years, so every trip to grandma’s also meant a trip to JCPenney. (Gotta love those employee discounts.) I remember sifting through the JCPenney catalog each August marking all the back-to-school clothing I just had to have. There were a lot of dog-eared pages in that catalog when I was done with it. From ‘JCPenney, doing it right’ to ‘JCPenney, I love your style’ I knew the melody of each advertising jingle. That was until Ron Johnson stepped up to the plate.
Unless you’ve been living in the dark for the past 17 months, you know Apple’s Ron Johnson took the reins at JCPenney in late 2011, implemented a new strategy in 2012 and then things went terribly wrong. JCPenney reported a 25.7% decrease in net sales (sales minus returns and discounts) in the fiscal year most recently ended. Shortly thereafter, the board of directors gave Johnson the boot. Outlined below are a few lessons we can learn from JCPenney’s missteps under the direction of former CEO Ron Johnson.
Lesson #1: Do your research before implementing a new advertising strategy
Ellis Verdi of advertising agency DeVito/Verdi had this to say of Johnson’s strategy at JCPenney, “Johnson misunderstood the role of advertising in retail. He tried to use advertising to change a behavior that had been ingrained for years. You can’t reeducate consumers that way. Consumers control their perception of value, not retailers. They need to feel like they are getting a deal, and they’re not just going to take the store’s word for it. Consumers just aren’t that loyal.” Johnson may have had a great idea, but it wasn’t an idea that appealed to JCPenney’s target consumers which was an ultimate fail. A few focus groups with JCPenney’s target consumers, along with other qualitative research, would have helped the company realize this at much less cost.
Lesson #2: Organizational change should be a marathon, not a sprint
In January 2012, JCPenney came out guns a-blazin’ with revamped circulars (absent of coupons), new store layouts with boutique shops and much more. They had a new pricing strategy focused on offering everyday low prices which meant the retailer wouldn’t need to have sales every other day of the week because they offered products at a single low price all the time. This upset a lot of loyal JCPenney shoppers who had become accustomed to 
seeing “buy one, get one for $0.99” deals and $15 off $75 coupons in the newspaper. Johnson said JCPenney customers were addicted to coupons as if they were drugs. Needless to say, the cold turkey approach didn’t go over well with consumers. Sales decreased immediately after the new pricing strategy was implemented. When you pair that with the additional expenses needed to remodel hundreds of stores, you can see why JCPenney is in the red. They expended a lot of resources across a variety of initiatives much too quickly.
Lesson #3: Admit your mistakes and learn from them
In an effort to win back customers and save the sinking ship that is JCPenney, new creative agency Young & Rubicam created an apologetic TV commercial with the central theme being “We screwed up.” The ad features women dressed in their JCPenney best and concludes with a pretty strong call to action: “Come back to JCPenney. We heard you. Now, we’d love to see you.” I give JCPenney a lot of credit for admitting their mistakes so publicly and wanting to make things right with their previously loyal fans. I hope this campaign gives the company a much needed step forward, even if it’s just a baby step. What are your thoughts?
While JCPenney tried a new advertising approach and failed, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider alternative methods to your advertising. The key is to do your research and make sure you don’t lose your target audience when you adopt a new strategy. Take a look at our new eBook to learn why moving away from traditional contract advertising increasingly makes sense. Download ‘The CMO’s Guide to Non-Contractual Advertising’ and take the first step toward getting out of advertising contracts and discovering new savings.
Hannah Hill is a marketing specialist at Mediaspace Solutions. Her marketing experience includes writing, inbound marketing, social media and event management. You can connect with Hannah on LinkedIn, Facebook or Google+.
In an effort to entice advertisers to their publications and fill their pages, Meredith Corporation is extending their Sales Guarantee program, to help manage advertising budgets. The program began in July 2011 and was limited to certain categories of advertisers and carried frequency and budget stipulations. In return, Meredith guaranteed to deliver a return on the advertisers’ investment in their publishing properties.
Budgets now more than ever are being segmented and fragmented into a variety of media. 
This isn’t news, you know this and have heard about it for some time. With dollars flying around faster than your local casino’s cash tornado, media outlets are scrambling for ways to ensure those dollars still fall in their pockets. This is Meredith’s attempt to keep their advertising dollars, and according to the report it’s working, at least for the advertisers.
The thing is, it needs to work for the publication, too. Meredith is reporting participants are seeing a $7.81 return on each dollar spent in the campaign. What they’re not reporting, is how many free ads they have to provide advertisers to get them that level of return. The model needs to be sustainable for both advertisers and the publication, or it’s completely one-sided. If Meredith is providing free frequency in order to get the return advertisers need, they could be giving up valuable publication space they could be selling to other advertisers.
Ad pages have been declining, so this could be a moot argument. Frequency works, but sometimes advertising costs are prohibitive when it comes to purchasing the frequency required to see the return. By guaranteeing returns and giving advertisers the frequency they need to get the returns, the risk is reduced for advertisers. In the long run, however, Meredith may be shooting themselves in the foot. The return on advertising costs is one thing, but the timeframe to get that return is another.
As advertisers continue to look to put big data to work, and as marketers get better at analyzing and understanding what’s happening with their different campaigns, the ‘what have you done for me lately,’ mentality will continue to run rampant. This might be Meredith’s current response to that argument, but I don’t think it can last. Advertisers who know magazines work, and Meredith’s titles work for their products or services will, and should, continue to use them. And this might entice some categories or advertisers to give Meredith a shot. But in the long run, if the results aren’t there (in the timeframe the advertiser desires, not just ‘at some later date’), advertisers will move to a channel they can measure and test according to their schedule.
The Harvard Business Review recently published a story about how some traditional marketers are having a hard time with digital. That’s somewhat attributed to their lack of understanding, and in the end, fear of the medium. But that can’t last. As the story states, as today’s associates turn into tomorrow’s CMOs, they’ll bring with them experiences in multiple media and the ability to test and measure each different vehicle. And that day is closer than we might think, if it’s not already upon us.
In order for this guarantee to be sustainable and make money for the publication long-term, Meredith needs to understand how to deliver integrated campaigns to its advertisers, not just free print frequency in the hopes of keeping them in Better Homes and Gardens and Country Life.
If you’re interested in learning how to take advantage of integrated campaigns, check out our eBook titled the CMO’s Guide to Integrating Print and Digital Media. And before you pull the trigger on your next campaign, be sure to understand why the RFP process hurts your media buying process by reading our eBook on the subject. The one-voice method has proven much more effective.
Scott Olson is the director of marketing at Mediaspace Solutions. His career has spanned marketing positions in the non-profit, software and utility sectors providing various marketing experiences. You can connect with Scott on Facebook, Google+, Twitter or LinkedIn.
With less than a week until Mother’s Day, get ready for the uptick in ads geared toward mothers and their loved ones. According to Experian Marketing Services, Mother’s Day email campaigns sent within two weeks of the holiday receive 80% of the transactions and 75% of the revenue. If you’re an advertiser for products Mom is sure to love, then it’s not too late to create an email campaign and cash in on the business of the last-minute shoppers. Experian Marketing Services also discovered that advertisers who build urgency into their subject lines using phrases like “last day” or “final hours” achieve more than double the transactions of other Mother’s Day mailings. You shouldn’t need further convincing to amend your subject lines. In honor of Mother’s Day, let’s take a look at some brands that have relied on moms to help sell their products for years.
Campbell's Chunky Soup
Campbell’s Chunky Soup first aired its Mama’s Boy campaign in 1997 with the late NFL defensive end Reggie White and his mother. Actually, it was a paid actress pretending to be
his mother. With the help of the Mama’s Boy ad campaign and NFL football players Reggie White, Jerome Bettis and Donovan McNabb, to name a few, Chunky Soup revenue doubled from 1997 to 2002. Talk about effective advertising. This television advertising campaign was enjoyed by mothers and sons throughout the sporting community and beyond for more than a decade with many a household familiar with the slogan “Did you eat your Chunky Soup?” What made this ad campaign successful was the company’s use of celebrities. When celebrities take the forefront in commercials or other advertising vehicles, they influence consumer purchases while building awareness for the brand. Additionally, the Mama’s Boy campaign spoke to mothers and had them thinking if Chunky Soup was approved by professional athletes and their mothers, then they should buy it for their families, too.
Jif
Since this cheesy commercial was created in 1977, choosy mothers have been choosing Jif. I remember begging my mom to buy Jif peanut butter and using the infamous slogan on her a few times so we could try it, but my mom was (and still is) a pretty big fan of Skippy. Was my mom a bad mom for not choosing Jif? No. But that advertising campaign planted a seed and I’m willing to bet a handful of mothers never bought Skippy or Peter Pan again. When you are able to influence consumers to the extent that they start throwing dollars in your direction or become brand loyal to your product over that of your competitors, then you’re doing something right with your advertising. Way to go, Jif.
Hallmark
Since Mother’s Day is the third largest card sending holiday in the United States, Hallmark deserves to be mentioned as they have been creating Mother’s Day cards for nearly a century. With a slogan like “when you care enough to send the very best,” it’s no surprise Hallmark has created some great advertising campaigns through the years; and the best ones seem to be geared toward moms and Mother’s Day. Television ads like this one pull at our heartstrings and make us cry, usually happy tears, and ultimately get us to buy Hallmark cards. Hallmark’s use of emotional advertising has been their ticket to success.
When it comes to creating a successful advertising campaign, mother knows best. Whether you are currently running a Mother’s Day email campaign, television commercial or print ad, remember that an integrated advertising campaign is the way to go. Download our eBook ‘The CMO’s Guide to Integrating Print and Digital Media’ and learn how you can reap the benefits of multi-channel advertising for next year’s campaign. To my mom and other mothers who happen to read this post in its entirety, I wish you the happiest of Mother’s Days.
Hannah Hill is a marketing specialist at Mediaspace Solutions. Her marketing experience includes writing, social media and event management. You can connect with Hannah on LinkedIn, Facebook or Google+.
As the adoption of smartphones continues to grow, advertisers are looking for ways to target
mobile consumers with their advertising. As with any media advertisers are looking for a proven return on their investment and the ability to track who is seeing their message and the impact it is having on those consumers. Mobile advertising hit a record $3.4 billion in 2012, representing 9 percent of online dollars spent. However, as advertisers look to present mobile consumers with coupons and offers as they walk down the street, another facet of mobile programming is on the rise offering mobile consumers the opportunity to opt-out of behavioral targeting.
One of the most recent companies to develop and release an opt-out app is Evidon, a privacy compliance company. The app works with mobile ad networks Jumptap and Tapad and there are 14 other companies who have said they will get on board with Evidon to offer opt-outs. The opt-out option is extending beyond just the ad networks themselves, as agencies such as GroupM, VivaKi and IPG Mediabrands are now requiring their mobile network partners to offer opt-outs according to the MediaPost Story.
The question is how many mobile users truly understand what’s being tracked on their mobile devices and how open or closed they are to the idea of being targeted based on their behavior? Surfers on the web have had the option for an extended period to turn off their cookies and increase privacy options in an effort to inhibit advertisers and sites to track their activity and determine what waves they are catching on the World Wide Web. The thing is, most of us don’t take these opportunities, although available. General users don’t go into the settings in their browsers and modify the defaults, which most of the time leave them subject to tracking and in turn, behavioral targeting. And I don’t see it happening on mobile devices either.
Some of us actually look forward to being targeted; in an effort to increase the relevancy of the ads we are being served. As a 30-something active father of two, I’m more interested in 
ads from REI than the local model train store. Although my personal likelihood of clicking on most display ads is slim, I’d rather see things that are based on my searches and sites I’m visiting. Plus, the opportunities to receive ads based on my geo-location bring new options for me to take advantage of. This is in stark contrast to the opt-out options Evidon and the ad networks will offer mobile consumers.
So while opt-out options grow, Valassis announced targeting capabilities through Brand.net, called Geo Commerce Retail Zone. Brand.net uses retail zones to put together “local stores with transactional data, behavioral data, and data from larger retail trade areas where relevant advertising can be delivered to high-potential consumers via mobile devices and other advertising channels.” This seems like a better route to take, both for advertisers and mobile consumers.
We’re all going to be subject to advertising, as companies continue to try to get our attention and in turn our dollars in return for their products and services. Do you want to be hit with ads that mean nothing to you and aren’t based on anything you’ve looked at or purchased, or would you prefer to see ads you might actually take action on? Personally, I prefer the latter. While the mobile opt-outs may be easy to set up and a requirement for those overly concerned with being tracked, for the majority of the mobile consumer population, we prefer targeted advertising. And from my experience with advertisers and agencies, they like going after consumers like me much more than those trying to shut out the world around them.
Digital advertising will continue to grow on standard display as well as tablet and mobile devices, and hopefully your company is taking advantage of the opportunities available, especially at the local level. If you want to learn more about integrating your digital efforts with print campaigns to extend your reach and effectiveness, check out our eBook on integrating print and digital media. You can also check out the benefits of local advertising to be sure you’re up to speed on the ‘how and why’ of hitting local targets.
Scott Olson is the director of marketing at Mediaspace Solutions. His career has spanned marketing positions in the non-profit, software and utility sectors providing various marketing experiences. You can connect with Scott on Facebook, Google+, Twitter or LinkedIn.
As the rain and snow continue to fall this April I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll ever see those May flowers the seasonal rhyme promises. Advertisers across multiple industries are getting down and dirty in their advertising campaigns this spring, doing almost anything to capture the consumers’ attention. Below are a few examples of irreverent, racy and suggestive advertising campaigns released throughout the month of April. Parental discretion is advised.
“I just shipped my pants.”
Kmart’s new commercial has been flying across the interwebs since it was released earlier this month. Replace “shipped” with a naughty four letter word and you’ll understand why this ad is 
getting so much attention. The commercial was created to market Kmart’s new Shop Your Way rewards program which allows customers to have products shipped to their homes at no cost. Throughout the commercial customers of all ages tell the salesman they’ve just shipped their pants, their nightgown, even their bed. Yes, some are saying Kmart’s new ad is immature and irreverent, but even still, it has generated buzz which is a success in itself. Plus, everyone can relate to the ad in some way because everyone poops, though maybe not in or on their Kmart goodies. Take a look at the commercial if you haven’t already seen it. But be warned. You might laugh so hard you ship your pants.
“I want to show off my new ass.”
Weight loss company SlimFast has embraced a new, provocative style to advertising. Their new “Get What You Really Want” campaign shows socially acceptable reasons for losing
weight in speech bubbles while revealing the real reasons women have for losing weight in thought clouds. For example, one ad variation has the woman saying, “I want to show off my new confidence,” while she’s really thinking “I want to show off my new ass.” A second variation depicts the spoken motive “I want to get into my new pants,” but the woman is really thinking, “I want to get into someone else’s pants.” While bawdy, these ads are getting attention among consumers and the media. Who knows? They may even provoke promiscuous women to start using the SlimFast product line if it means they’ll be more apt to get some action.
“With pulled pork on a cheeseburger, it’s barbecue’s best pair.”
Well, it’s obvious this Carl’s Jr. TV commercial is geared toward BBQ-lovin’ men as it features two bikini babes who get hot and steamy while cooking up a burger and some BBQ. It’s 
cheeky, to say the least, portraying more than your average hamburger buns. New Zealand officials were so repulsed by the ad that they banned the TV commercial saying it was sexually explicit and degrading while using unnecessary sex appeal to advertise an unrelated product. But that didn’t stop Carl’s Jr. from advertising to their New Zealand fans. They simply took a different approach: radio. Carl’s Jr. created a radio ad, leaving the visuals up to the imagination, which is arguably even more suggestive than the original commercial when you consider even just this line: "It's just attractive bikini-top-wearing women and flying meat ... and they want each other — oh hold on a minute, they want the burger." Needless to say, Carl’s Jr. got the final word in this argument and probably a little extra business.
Even if racy, provocative advertising is your style, you still need to make sure you are taking advantage of the benefits of integrating both print and digital media into your advertising campaigns. Download our eBook “The CMO’s Guide to Integrating Print and Digital Media” to learn more.
Hannah Hill is a marketing specialist at Mediaspace Solutions. Her marketing experience includes writing, inbound marketing, social media and event management. You can connect with Hannah on LinkedIn, Facebook or Google+.
Just 10 days ago the city of Boston woke up to one of its most exciting days of the year: Patriot’s Day and the celebration of The Boston Marathon. Runners woke up, ate their pre-race breakfast and got ready to run in one of the most celebrated races on the circuit. Volunteers prepared water cups, orange slices and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The frat boys stocked their coolers and solidified the rules around their Boston Marathon drinking games. Everyone was ready. Twelve hours later everything had changed, and the news was flying so fast it was hard to keep up.
Just 10 days ago I was in a hotel in Florida at the Newspaper Association of America’s annual mediaXchange conference. Typically during conferences it’s difficult to keep up with the outside world. There’s so much happening right where I am that snippets of SportsCenter and the front page of USA Today, courtesy of the hotel, is mostly what I get. However, with accessibility of social media, and the selection of individuals and media outlets pushing tweets to my phone, I’m better able to stay connected. On this day, I learned of the bombings as my colleagues were having a meeting with the Boston Globe, and undoubtedly heard about it before anyone at that table. I can be so confident in that because the mood didn’t change. The meeting wasn’t interrupted, and everyone left the discussion without bringing up the latest attack on our country.
As soon as the explosions were reported, a number of ‘reporters’ were born. These were people just like you and me, who were watching Twitter and Facebook and getting their news and updates from people in Boston, then sharing with their followers and friends. And these reporters, no different than CNN, jumped to some conclusions:
A couple things to notice in this exchange: First, social media allows the conversation and corrections to be made in real time. The distinction between three hours into the race and 4:09 is that the latter is one of the most popular finish times for the ‘every (wo)man,’ running the marathon. At this time the finish line would be more crowded with cheering fans, supporters, and runners. Second, as stated in the top tweet, while a lot of people assumed the explosions were bombs, the confirmation of that was not immediate.
Once the initial news broke and the world had heard of the events, social’s role continued to be important, but traditional media got in the game and was able to start actually verifying what was happening:
The trouble is, even traditional media sometimes has problems with verification, and some outlets are so eager to be first, and beat social, they report false or inaccurate information.
The CNN Breaking News Blog reported this Wednesday, April 17: [Updated at 1:46 p.m.] An arrest has been made in connection with Monday's Boston Marathon bombings, sources tell CNN's John King and CNN contributor Fran Townsend. King's source is with Boston law enforcement, he said; Townsend's source is with federal law enforcement.
That’s more than 24 hours before the shootout in Watertown resulted in the killing of Suspect 1 and the fleeing of Suspect 2. Oops. Turns out even those making a living reporting the news don’t always get it right.
Now you’re thinking, ‘So what’s the point? If even CNN’s going to give me inaccurate information, why wouldn’t I just trust my twitter feed?’ Here’s why: social is taking over as the outlet for breaking the news, but the Associated Press and other media organizations are the ones doing the digging, filling the 24-hour news cycle with repeated information while they wait to break the next step. And sometimes that causes an over-eagerness and inaccuracies, but more often than not, traditional media are the ones getting it right.
I woke up Friday morning, nearly a full five days after the blasts, to a tweet pushing me to this video:
Much has been discussed about this video, and the outcry about it was so much that the family actually had to remove it for a period Friday to let everything calm down, and get everyone to understand Sunil wasn’t actually one of the bombing suspects. That tweet, which started conversations with my wife and co-workers, has been removed. Social media allows erasures of our mistakes, while CNN and other traditional outlets continue to display their mishaps. We’re all after accurate, timely and breaking news, and with more sources than ever at our fingertips, it’s up to us to determine how much weight we put in each outlet. Traditional media is still the most trusted, regardless of some of the recent mistakes, meaning it’s still a good place for advertisers to be putting their dollars to reach their audiences.
If you’re looking for ways to maximize your dollars while staying out of hindering contracts with traditional media, take a look at our recent eBook on the benefits of non-contractual advertising.
Scott Olson is the director of marketing at Mediaspace Solutions. His career has spanned marketing positions in the non-profit, software and utility sectors providing various marketing experiences. You can connect with Scott on Facebook, Google+, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Crowdsourcing (noun): The practice of obtaining needed services, ideas or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, especially from the online community, rather than from traditional employees or supplies. Not to be confused with crowdsurfing.
Okay, so now that we’re all on the same page, is it a good idea for your company’s next advertising campaign? The answer is: it depends. For some brands, crowdsourcing is easier to incorporate into ad campaigns than others. If Ben & Jerry’s were ever interested in crowdsourcing new ice cream flavors or campaigns, I’d be the first one to jump on board. What a delicious project that would be! (Note: Less than an hour after drafting this blog post Twitter told me Ben & Jerry’s was currently running a “Design a T-Shirt for Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream” campaign. It looks like I missed the boat on that one.) Other brands with strong followership and loyalty, such as Apple, would probably have a large response if ever they
decided to embark on the journey of crowdsourcing. About 20 percent of the advertisers who had spots in this year’s Super Bowl integrated it into their campaigns including Doritos, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, and Audi, to name a few. Even Jimmy Fallon got involved in the crowdsourcing effort for Ford’s Lincoln campaign when he used his Twitter followers to #steerthescript of the ad. Which Super Bowl XLVII advertiser did it best and why? Tell us in the comment section below.
Let’s consider the benefits of this advertising tool. Crowdsourcing isn’t new to advertising, but social networks have brought it to the forefront once again. Because of their social nature, crowdsourced ads can spread like wildfire while further increasing brand visibility and word of mouth marketing. This advertising practice can lead to fresh ideas and ingenuity from contributors that propel the brand forward. Companies such as Zooppa and Tongal have built their business around the idea of crowdsourcing and would be a great place to start if you are interested in learning more about this growing advertising solution. The key to crowdsourcing success, according to Zooppa, is creating clear direction in your creative brief. With this guidance you can steer your campaign in the direction you want it to go while at the same time opening the opportunity for creativity.
Now, let’s take a look at the other side of the coin and consider the potential drawbacks of utilizing crowdsourcing as a means to advertise to your customers and prospects. Of course, you run the risk of losing brand positioning when relying on strangers to take your concept and run with it. Also, it will take time and energy to sift through the creative submissions you receive, but if you are a well-known company with a great reputation, chances are you’ll get some pretty good ideas from your fans. For example, Nabisco’s “Daily Twist” campaign for Oreo was right on the money. To commemorate Oreo’s 100th anniversary, the company released one new cookie design each day for 100 days. Oreo lovers were involved in selecting the theme for each day’s design, as well as crowning the winner.
What are your thoughts when it comes to crowdsourcing your advertising? For those of you who have experimented with it, what has been your experience? Let’s start a dialogue in the comments section below. Also, if your brand isn’t Oreo or Pepsi, but more focused on local markets, how can you efficiently use crowdsourcing? Often local advertisers have smaller budgets and resources, but the importance of reaching local audiences is becoming clearer every day. If you’re interested in learning about the benefits of local advertising, download our research report titled “Ten Benefits of Local Advertising.”
Hannah Hill is a marketing specialist at Mediaspace Solutions. Her marketing experience includes writing, social media and event management. You can connect with Hannah on LinkedIn, Facebook or Google+.
I’m asking that question seriously, and hope you have or are as well. Following the 2013 mediaXchange conference organized by the Newspaper Association of America, there’s a lot 
going on to process all the conversations had and how some of them have changed but many are staying the same.
Here’s what I mean by that: I just spent three days talking with publications who are saying things that are making me think twice about some of the ideas I had when I went to bed Saturday night. Thoughts like:
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We need to move to all digital platforms
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Paywalls and page-view meters are the best way to monetize digital content
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The print newspaper is falling off in terms of ROI (aka the golden goose) for advertisers
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Expanded reach, whether free or paid, is what advertisers are looking for
Let’s start with that last one. This is where publications seem to be singing the same song in terms of stating the benefits of their TMC and Sunday Select programs. To be honest, we don’t see it. As counter-intuitive as that might sound, advertisers are most interested in where their advertising is going, and knowing who’s receiving it. This is where that whole idea about big data comes in. Targeting and picking the people you want to target, then sending them the message you want them to receive, and determining how effectively you did it. When agencies and advertisers don’t know who’s receiving their ads it’s harder for them to determine the effectiveness of their campaign, and how to modify it to produce the ROI they need.
Continuing to work our way back up the list we move to ROI. Now we all know and read about the imminent (?) death of print and there are those picking dates on when it’ll come. Based on my conversations during the last few days it’s time to tell the grim reaper to hold his horses. Newspapers aren’t ready for death, and advertisers who know how to create good campaigns, products or services, still look for ways to use newspaper more. I heard similar messages from 
more than one publisher during my time in Orlando, and that message was that they are continually finding advertisers increasing print budgets and campaigns. Reasons vary, and we can speculate as much as we’d like, but the reality is advertisers don’t typically continue to spend money on things that don’t work and aren’t providing them returns on their investment.
The whole paywall and page-view meter thing is still working itself out. Some publishers are using them, others not so much. Last week, Media Life Magazine published a story titled “Surprise: Newspaper paywalls are working.” The idea behind the story is that as time goes on, people adopt and adapt to paying for their content. It happened with cable TV as news moved to a subscription-based model, and the same will hold true for newspapers. While this might be true, the ‘right’ method for administering the paywalls and meters is still being worked out. What we all should have confidence in is that because of all the testing and variations happening, there will be a clear winner.
OK, now we’re up to the top of the list of my pre-conceived notions as I laid my head on the pillow Saturday night. This is a pretty short discussion. The answer is a resounding NO. Advertisers still use print, and use it effectively. People still read print, and want to have a tangible, printed newspaper in their hand, either daily or on Sundays. It’s just that simple.
At this point it should be clear print continues to be a media those who understand it have confidence in. At the same time we all understand changes are happening and as we work together to solve some of the difficulties, the future is still as bright as an incandescent, if not the latest LED. If you’re interested in learning more about print advertising, whether it’s the benefits of staying out of contracts or integrating print and digital, we have some resources you can download now.
Scott Olson is the director of marketing at Mediaspace Solutions. His career has spanned marketing positions in the non-profit, software and utility sectors providing various marketing experiences. You can connect with Scott on Facebook, Google+, Twitter or LinkedIn.
You’ve all heard of Theodor Seuss Geisel, though you probably recognize him by his pen name: Dr. Seuss. From “Horton Hears a Who” to “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” he wrote in such a way that he kept his readers entertained from start to finish and that’s no easy feat. We owe Dr. Seuss a lot of credit as he taught most of us how to read, rhyme and use our imagination. But we ought to give him credit for teaching us how to be better advertisers because he did that, too. Outlined below are just a few lessons we can learn from his Seussical stories.
The Cat in the Hat
The Cat in the Hat is by far one of his most popular works. In fact, every book written by Dr. Seuss is branded with an image of that darn cat, so brand awareness is one of his strong suits. This just reinforces the importance of putting your mark on your messaging. You put a lot of time and money into your company logo and tagline, so use them. The Cat in the Hat introduces Sally and her unnamed brother to their imagination one rainy day. Does he need to pay you a visit? Using your imagination is a must when creating ads and striving to reach your advertising goals; however, don’t let it get out of control to the point where it creates a mess, similar to what happened in this story. Long story short: Keep Thing 1 and Thing 2 at bay.
Green Eggs and Ham
In this tale, Sam-I-Am struggles to get the narrator to eat green eggs and ham. He refuses them repeatedly saying, “I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam-I-Am.” Now, just change “ham” to a more processed form of meat and you’ve got a story to which we all can relate: Green Eggs and Spam. Now we all know spam is bad; it’s formally defined as “unsolicited usually commercial email sent to a large number of addresses.” To be successful advertisers and marketers, we cannot be spammers. When you target your audience you increase the effectiveness of your ads while at the same time refrain from spamming the masses. Remember, the Dr. prescribed ham, not spam, so advertise accordingly. Put yourself in your prospects’ shoes: You would not like spam here or there. You would not like spam anywhere.
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
There’s no false advertising in the title of this book. With a quick glance you know exactly what the book is going to be about. (Note: I’m not advocating that you judge a book by its cover.) Don’t be misleading. Use your ad messaging to tell your audience exactly what benefits they will receive if they start using your product or service and how soon they can expect results. Failure to do so is unethical and oftentimes illegal. Use Seuss’s example and tell your customers exactly how many fish they will receive and the color of said fish, if applicable.
Oh! The places you'll go if you adopt these advertising best practices. “You’ll be on your way up. You’ll be seeing great sights. You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.” So pick up your tattered copy of “The Lorax” or “Yertle the Turtle” for inspiration and modify your advertising practices with Seuss in mind. If anything, his stories will get your creative juices flowing once again. Speaking of new ideas, you should consider avoiding advertising contracts altogether. Take a look at our eBook “The CMO’s Guide to Non-Contractual Advertising” to learn about the benefits of this non-traditional advertising approach. Otherwise "The CMO's Guide to Integrating Print and Digital Media" is another good read.
Hannah Hill is a marketing specialist at Mediaspace Solutions. Her marketing experience includes writing, inbound marketing, social media and event management. You can connect with Hannah on LinkedIn, Facebook or Google+.