Buy 1 book, get 3

Thomas Nelson, a publisher with a 200 year track record and a strong position in Christian media, announced this month that it will publish content that will be available in a physical book, audiobook and e-book. By buying a printed book, consumers will also be able to download the audioversion and the e-version for the same price. Says Joel Miller of Thomas Nelson: " ...By freeing the book we free the reader to get greater use and enjoyment of titles." The concept called NelsonFree got positive press " ...taking advantage of the internet and cheap distribution methods Nelson has dragged the book world into the 21st century."

Present bad news nicely

The New York Times reported a couple of days ago on the dramatic situation of newspapers in the USA. It used a, now often applied, data visualisation technique to show the the changes taking place in circulation of the major titles. AdAge, the advertising industry magazine, mentioned that this technique is becoming the new narrative of the online business. As data is getting more and more complex and difficult to capture in PowerPoint-based charts, and as consumers want to be able to absorb data fast and in an interesting way, data visualisation has plenty of growth potential. Visa applies the technique already in a microsite.

Direct mail in transformation

A recent report from the Winterberry Group analysed the Direct Mail trends in the USA. One of the most important conclusions is that, under influence of the recession, the use of mass mailings is shifting to more targeted direct mail. In 2008 direct mail spending declined 3%, this is the first decline in more than 60 years. Two other noticable developments are: most marketers have found that online direct mail campaigns are complementary to hard-copy direct mail and an increasing powerful array of marketing automation technologies permit marketers to be more targeted in their direct mail programs

Transpromo summit

Transforming transactional documents like bills and statements into promotional items is the growing area of Transpromo. Major digital printing press companies have launched activities. Xerox, Kodak, Agfa and others are sending out their "evangelists" to promote this new channel for client communication. Infotrends will be organising the first European transpromo Summit on October 6-7 in Brussels.

Most beautiful book in the world

The German Award "Schönste Bücher aus aller Welt" will be handed out in Leipzig on March 13. Of 704 books from 36 countries 14 books were awarded. The highest award went to Blexbolex, L'imagerie des gens (Paris) and the Gold medal to Vinex Atlas (Rotterdam). The criteria have to do with text and visual integration, the material choice (ink, paper, cover) and production qualities.

Printed content on a touch screen

Plastic Logic will be introducing a new e-reader, a super thin plastic touch display using polymer-based circuitry (which is a lot cheaper than silicon microchips). The reader has about the size of an A4 and weights as much as a notepad. The company not only introduces this reader, but also groups content partners for its Content Store. The Financial Times, USA Today and Zinio (providing over 1000 digital magazine titles) already signed up.

Magazine subscriptions the new way

Michael from Microsoft suggest a great service from Maghound. Maghound offers online membership which allows you to choose, change and manage magazines for a fixed amount per month. For example for $4,95 a month you can choose 3 magazine titles from the hundreds of titles. Seven magazines will cost $ 9,95 a month. This Time Inc company understand the needs of today's "zapping" behaviour of consumers; adding or changing titles is easy.

Win Heidelberg Scholarship

Heidelberg offers a scholarship for Creative Leadership in Print at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership. The key question in the application form is: "What can be done to ensure that the importance of print is not forgotten in the digital age?"

"Magazines, no endangered species"

Advertising Age ran an article from Cathie Black, the President of Hearst Magazines, on the future of magazines. A great read when you want to hear some positive news, like 2008 featured 715 magazine launches, readership of magazines increased since 2000 with 14%, whilst newspapers and TV lost readers and viewers and total magazines circulation in 2008 was flat compared to 2007 at 345 million copies.

Smart posters

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.

Credit crisis and the graphic industry

Digitalisation of information is affecting the graphic industry for the last couple of years. And the credit crisis is amplifying the effects of consumers turning more often to the Internet than the printed word. As we're now feeling the impact of the credit crisis on our personal life, we're more often asked how this could happen. I came across a beautifully made video that explains the origins of the increasing rate of unemployment, the problems with Fortis, GM, RBS ..., the plunge of the ad spend and the worries of the graphic industry.


The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Printing a book as fast as preparing an espresso?

Jason Epstein, a book publishing authority and currently with On Demand Books, referred in a recent speech to the Espresso Book Machine (EBM). This high speed duplex printer produces library quality pocket books in seven minutes. The University of Alberta has one installed and prints about 100 books a day, seven days a week at a penny a page for consumables. Epstein sees great potential for the successor of Gutenberg as the cost of the hardware will eventually be comparable to that of an office copier. In his view the EBM can find its place in bookstores and other book selling outlets, as these stores do not carry sufficient stock.



Pretending you're reading a book

Wired's Gadget Lab showed how to pretend you're reading a book and not an e-book. The book remains the standard, also for the digitally savvy.

Which agency integrates print and digital?

Integrated media planning - using print media, TV, radio, direct marketing and online- depends to some extend of the way agencies are organised. I came across an interesting point-of-view from Giles Rhys Jones. He points out that the digital agency should be able to handle all aspects of the communication job: PR, advertising and DM.
Today though, many digital agencies exist next to traditional advertising, public relations and direct marketing agencies offering through-the-line brand activities. The role of print media is obviously better understood by this group of agencies, than by the pure digital agencies.

Traditional media consumption by Internet users

New research from Ketchum and USC Annenberg among Internet users (18+) in the USA shows the mixed media use and the dominant position of TV and local news. The table shows the evolution over the last three years.

The future of...

Not so often has 'The future of...' been the title of presentations. The economic downturn is accelerating the need to know in which direction industries will move. The UK Institute for Practioners in Advertising (IPA) released a report on the future of advertising titled: 'Social Media Futures - The future of advertising and agencies in a networked society. A 10-year perspective'. The focus of the report is on social networking, and the way this is transforming society. When social media could take the lead in future brand communication, and the ad industry does not react appropriately, the market face a growth of only 1,2% per year in 2016. With social media growing in importance, the paid-for advertising will represent a decreasing share of all advertising activities. The report includes advice for agencies about to benefit from this shift of channels.

IPA Social Media Report

View more presentations from NigelG. (tags: agencies delphi)



Xerox launches Lab 1:1

Xerox Belgium sent out invitations today to announce the launch of their Lab 1:1 on March 17. Lab 1:1, which already exist in Canada and the USA, assists brand owners in developing innovative and personalised multi-media solutions. With the help of a team of Direct Marketing experts from the Belgian Post results will be analysed.

Selling newspapers the USA-way

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.