A new show on HBO in the USA is supported by 42 posters in Times Square Station in New York. No big deal you would say. However you can listen-in to the Big Love Show by plugging your earphones in the ports on the posters. You can then listen to the secrets of the cast. Like the example I referred to in a post on June 3 2007, integration of electronics and paper can lead to some stunning advertising.
Today a new initiative was launched in the USA to support the newspaper industry. The Newspaper Project is to present "insightful articles, commentary and research that provide a more balanced perspective on what newspaper companies can do to survive and thrive in the years ahead".
Their first ad makes that point loud and clear.
On January 27 the first issue of The Printed Blog appeared in Chicago, using one of the most popular Internet applications to turn into one of the oldest media. The idea is simple, bring local news provided by free reporters (citizen journalism), attract local advertisers (buy an ad for $15-$25), offer it to local readers, for free and PRINT it. Joshua Karp, founder and publisher, hopes eventually to reach, twice a day, a multitude of neighbourhoods in major US cities. In Chicago for example, there could be 50 local editions. The paper printed on a 27 *43 format, presents news that has been chosen by the readers of The Printed Blog site, selected among articles of 300 bloggers.
The business model is based upon advertising revenues; advertisers can reach a well selected audience and are prepared to pay more for a printed advertisement than an online ad.
I came across a very interesting list of articles on the Life, Death and Rebirth of Media via Patou Nuytemans. It includes articles from the USA and Europe about the developments in the print media. An excellent read.
After three months of intense meetings, interviews and research the French government published the recommendations to support print media in France. In the context of the growing importance of online news and the economic situation of the print media "Etats Genereaux de la Presse Ecrite" was created. This Conference worked on four aspects of the print media business: the journalist function, the industrial process, print media and Internet and print media and society. Earlier this month the group presented its conclusion in the "Livre Vert". On the basis of these recommandations President Sarkozy decided to give all 18 year old French a free newspaper subsription of one year. The French government is also to double its advertising budgets spent in print media to 40%. Other measures have also been announced. Together with the ban on advertising on public broadcast television, the French have put together robust measures to support the print media.
The current economic situation will move advertisers to run more often the same commercial or ad. This despite the increased wear-out of TV commercials. Wear-out refers to a situation that an ad or TV commercial gets unnoticed - because of lack of interest- or even creates irritation because of the high showing frequency. For print advertisements this point is reached after three ads, which proves the effectiveness of print advertising. This figure has been stable over the last 10-15 years. For TV advertising the wear-out figure has plummeted from 15-20 exposures during that same period to only 8 now. Advertising Age has some interesting views on this subject in a recent article.
I saw this great example of integration of online and offline media in the German press recently. It uses a print ad, 3D software, a webcam and the internet to show a Mini Cabrio on the ad. It looks like the work of David Copperfield! You can be your own illusionist by downloading this pdf and by following the German instructions on this website. By the way this new technology also come with a new name: Augmented Reality.
This week marks the Magazine Week in the UK featuring a "buy one, get one half price" promotion, a poll on Britain's favourite cover and various promotional activities in retail stores. The theme of the PPA is "Indulge your passion.. try another magazine today". For the advertisers and media agency there are plenty of facts that support the strong position of magazines: consumers spend ₤ 2 billion on magazines each year, more of the internet generation read consumer magazines than any other age group, average reading time of a magazine is 50 min. and a magazine is picked up 5.4 times before it is finished with. I'm wondering whether the consumer and b2b sides of this campaign are compelling and unique enough to be convincing.
In the US the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) also launched a B2B campaign titled "Under the influence of magazines". This campaign consists of magazine ads, online ads and a website and is directed at the marketers and advertising agency industry. Key message is the sales impact magazines have. A separate website covers the research that supports this claim. The US magazine market also shows a decline in the number of ads placed. Over the first half of 2008 the decline was 7.4%. The initiative comes just a couple of days prior the the annual magazine conference titled Unleash the Power.
Claiming results to sell media space is also the message of online advertising and was the message of TV advertising. Despite the convincing facts it remains uncertain whether magazines will become HOT again among planners and advertisers thanks to this $ 1 million campaign.
I saw a graph in Wired confirming what so many analysts have already been suggesting: the collapse of newspaper advertising revenues in the USA. The Newspaper Association of America presented figures that indicate a loss of $3 billion (- 14%) of ad expenditures during the first six months of 2008. Total revenues for 2008 are expected to be below $ 40 billion, which is the lowest level in 12 years. Also online expenditures were down: - 2,3% in the second quarter, but showed an increase of 2.3% over the first six months.
(Chart: Alan Mutter)
I sat in a presentation some weeks ago about the effectiveness of newspapers. InBev, BrandScience and Nielsen presented their findings on the ROI of newspaper advertising. All of them used econometric models to demonstrate the value of newspapers (otherwise they would not have been invited to do their presentation). The presentation pointed out some stimulating data. BrandScience used a database of 200 cases including newspaper campaigns, the average Revenue Return on Investment ranked as follows: inserts topped the list followed by newspapers, magazines, radio, online, direct mail, outdoor, television sponsorship and television.
A case study on the support for the Jupiler Blue brand showed also the superior ROI of the combination of newspaper and outdoor advertising. The result mentioned a poor 8,8 % - 9,8% contribution of advertising to total sales of the brand.
In driving back to the office I thought about two things: one, where does the creativity of the ads gets into the equation? What is the role of the Cannes Advertising Festival and all other creativity awards, when everything can be modelled without taking into account creativity. In a world of product parity, creativity and design can call for premium prices and consumer interest. And two, when advertising contributes less than 10% to total sales, is that because we do not spent enough time, money and energy on creativity and design? The jury of the Effie Awards will be able to judge whether we have used the right mix of econometric modelling and creativity. If not we probably should be more humble about our role as communication specialists.
Kobalt presented research that indicates that brand owners can do with 40 percent less media budget while still obtaining the same result. With the analysis of data of thousand + campaigns the media agency concludes that cutting away the waste and advertise in a more selective way will result in a decrease of the TV budget of 5-20 percent. The online and radio budget can decrease with 10-20 percent and outdoor even up till 40 percent. Print is already very selective, cost can only be reduced by 5-10 percent. Managing Director Beijer of Kobalt adds that for FMCG's 76 percent of the total effect is derived from only 23 percent of the media target group. Time to make bold changes, but the marketing and advertising world is slow. And of course this piece of research calls for other research to confirm such dramatic changes.
Maybe another figure will make marketers and advertisers change their mind. Also in The Netherlands the number of "No Brochures" mailbox stickers has increased dramatically. Last year 14.6 percent of all Dutchmen did have such a sticker, an increase of almost 10 percent. On average every family receives 34 brochures and folders per week. Consumers are probably reacting on the overload of brochures, folders, flyers and door-to-door newspapers.
Both pieces of research call for a more personalised approach. This will probably be more expensive per contact, but also more effective because more relevant. Today's media options offer plenty of possibilities to become more personal in advertising.
