As we near the launch of the iPad, we’re seeing more and more invention around it. One of the most surprising and interesting set of inventions coming to the Apple device are those from the world of magazines.
Here’s the summation of the recent events as shouted by mussed-hair newsies on streetcorners:
EXTRA, EXTRA: PUBLISHERS REJOICE OVER IPAD.
Magazine publishers continue to worry about falling circulation numbers, hoping this faddish Internet disappears as if it were a bad dream. As such, they’ve been working hard trying to re-invent themselves, with their latest scheme surrounding Steve Jobs’ iPad. The device, with its blend of old media charm and new media interactivity, may well be the savior of their medium, which has driven them to start experimenting with iPad apps.
What follows are three of the best examples and demonstrations that we’ve seen:
Wired was first out of the gate to launch a really neat iPad app demonstration:
Some have started to experiment with what the iPad means for magazine covers
And others still have been experimenting with what feature stories could look like.
Conde Nast has even made a commitment to build iPad apps for each of its top publications, leading the charge of “let’s go save our medium.”
From everything we have seen so far, it appears the iPad has become the future-hope of magazines to become relevant in the digital age.
With all the invention happening in the space, there is a surprising lack of reference to how advertisers expect to interact with this new medium. Unilever, Toyota Motor, and Fidelity Investments have already signed on to $200,000 marketing programs with Time magazine, and the most we know about what those deals entail is that they’re full-page ads.
We are left with merely a lot of questions:
-
What new ad platforms will rise from the ether?
What iPad capabilities will we be able to leverage?
Can we link over to our own apps?
How much fun can we have?
How standardized will the offerings be?
And maybe most importantly, who will actually pay for and use these apps?
There are plenty of questions rising from what we’ve seen so far in the magazine on eReader space. One thing is for sure: As magazines reinvent themselves on the iPad (or whatever supercharged eReader wins out), so will print advertisers.
So, as our clients begin to plan their strategies for the iPad, we’ve pulled together a few ideas of how we’d like to start:
-
1. Reach out to publications, especially those we run in regularly. Ask if they’re planning on building something for the iPad; ask what kinds of opportunities there will be for advertisers.
2. Be a part of a pilot program. As we saw with iPhone and Facebook apps, a novel technology experiment rewards those advertisers that get in on the ground floor. Also, publishers will be greeted with enough skepticism and uncertainty that we can also get in for cheap.
3. Build creative executions that push the available technology. Don’t be satisfied by repurposed or limited creative. This is a unique space which will deserve a unique execution.
4. Know what other brands are doing in the space. See how they leverage the technology and the audience.
5. Watch iPad sales and audience data. While the technology is really cool, we, of course, need to make sure someone sees it. The marketplace as a whole is still pretty unsure about the iPad.
No Comments | Trackback | Categories: Uncategorized | Email This Post
Leave a Reply