Smartphones and tablets make our lives easier as consumers, but for marketers they’re a blessing and a curse. Sure, they give marketers another potential way to reach and connect with prospects. But that doesn’t make it easy. Cluttered is an understatement when describing the digital world. It’s easy to be lost if a marketer doesn’t make moves to ensure that the brand can be found by your prospects.

Being discovered online happens two ways: organically through browsing sites and social networks (the prospect isn’t specifically searching for your brand) and through search engines (they are more often than not searching for your brand or something related).

In the last 10 years, marketers have focused on being discoverable through SEO. But these days, being discoverable goes way beyond traditional search. Of course, it’s still important that your brand shows up when prospects searching for related keywords. If you’re a small chocolate company based in Austin, Texas, if someone types on Google, “dark chocolate store in Texas,” you definitely want to appear in those results.

But the truth is that not every prospect knows specifically what they’d like to search for, and many surf the Internet to kill some time. We now live in a world of browsers and it’s common for someone to scan the headlines on Daily Beast then look for funny cat videos on YouTube and then browse through dessert recipes on Pinterest.

Being more discoverable on these heavily browsed sites can set brands apart in the digital landscape.

Here are some of our ideas to ensure that your brand is found amongst the crowds.

1. Create relevant, high-quality content with a focus on engagement rather than lead generation. Ask your customers what topics interest them and create content around that. Once you start to determine the themes/posts that get the most traffic/shares, you can then work on optimizing to make sure that you’re getting email addresses and other key information from your prospects. Keep this in mind for your blog and website specifically, but for other types of content too, including white papers, infographics and podcasts.
2. Social network thoughtfully. Before you jump in and create an account with every social media site out there, take a step back to determine where your current customers engage. Your brand’s presence should depend on where your consumers and prospects interact. If you’re a b-to-b company focused on researching the behaviors and attitudes of lawyers, it might not make sense to spend most of your time on Facebook. LinkedIn might be a better fit.  If you’re a brick-and-mortar store with customers that love coupons, Foursquare might be for you. Do your research, ask your customers which sites they’re on and use that to inform your strategy.
3. Engage in every way you can. Crafting your own original content is essential, but it’s also important to read and engage with your customers and prospects elsewhere. You should already read the magazines and newsletters they read. Is there an upcoming Tweetup related to your niche topic? Take part! Link to outstanding articles that you think they would enjoy on your blog. Retweet them when they say something your brand would agree with. Consider advertising on the sites they visit. Comment on their content. Get in front of them in all the places possible – not just on the sites you own. And above all, remember to be authentic.

What are your ideas for ensuring your brand is found online?

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Throughout college, the majority of the sports news I consumed was from the Chicago Tribune (my daily newspaper), ESPN (both TV and Web) and closer to graduation, Deadspin.com. The paper provided me with short and quick updates on my favorite local teams, ESPN gave me the big, national picture and Deadspin popped out offbeat anecdotes, sometimes controversial rumors and entertaining commentaries.

In the last two years, another media property has been added to my favorites list because it fills a void missed by the other three: long-form sports articles that are not only informative, but highly entertaining.

Grantland.com was launched in 2011 by ESPN’s “Sports Guy” columnist Bill Simmons. The articles range from intense “30 for 30”-type pieces to the latest pop culture news. Grantland pieces are original, thought-provoking and witty. Just like director Christopher Nolan challenges his audience with complicated movies filled with twists and turns, Grantland expects quite a bit from its readers. A grain of salt, an appreciation for sarcasm, maturity and a sense of humor.

What’s most telling about this site is that it’s been very successful. According to Compete, the site has more than 600,000 unique monthly visitors.  

This brings me to my larger point. Even though almost anyone can be a publisher these days, not all of these publishers will be successful, have loyal followings and make money.

Among the countless sports websites on the Web, Grantland has set itself apart because of its high-quality content—Simmons is an outstanding writer. Consequently all of the other elements for publisher success have fallen into place: like advertising, content expansion onto new platforms (apps, tablets, print, etc.), enhanced site design and specialized sponsors.

Still, it hasn’t been a cake walk. Grantland’s ad sales team works hard to make money in a challenging environment. Eric Johnson, ESPN Executive VP-Multimedia Sales, tackled that topic in an Ad Age interview:

“We started with presenting sponsors, such as Subway, that have a customized integration into the site. Now we're looking at selling flighted sponsorships around events, so you might see us sell one around the Super Bowl or the NBA Draft. We don't have the desire to just sell display rotational ads. They don't fill a need and it's more profitable this way.

And in some ways, Grantland is like a Hollywood studio that creates different pieces of content, like some of the podcasts, that we can use outside of Grantland but carry the brand with them. One of the deals we have done recently is having Blue Moon sponsor "30 for 30 Shorts."”

Again, because Grantland has strong and diverse editorial content, high-quality advertising breaks have come a bit easier.

I don’t think success based on high-quality content is limited to online sports publishing. Any media company that has expertise on niche topics has a major opportunity if it can be unique, offer a fresh voice and appeal to a core loyal audience.

Grantland publisher David Cho isn’t ready to take a breather and rest on his laurels just yet. He told Ad Age:

 “We're fans of the New York magazine model, where they have the blogs Vulture, The Cut, Daily Intel. That's sort of what we want to do: create destination pages that are stronger and feel like products of their own. We felt like we are putting out some good stuff that's getting lost because we were relying on the home page.”

Online publishers should take note of Grantland’s approach and emphasis on content as they get their sites off the ground.

For years, many businesses focused their marketing and advertising efforts at a national level. But with the rise of social media, search and mobile, the game has changed. It’s clear that the key to cost-effectively reaching your best prospects is to laser-target campaigns and go local. In fact, an updated BIA/Kelsey forecast expects advertising revenue for all local media to reach $147.1 billion by 2016, at a 2.1% annual growth rate.

On the surface it may seem difficult to adapt a national marketing plan for a local market, but the creative itself doesn't necessarily need to change too much. It's all about determining how to best make it resonate for that audience and more importantly, where to place it so it reaches your target audience. Many marketers use SRDS.com to get the data they need to make informed decisions about local advertising opportunities. Here's why:

1. Any Media Type: Access detailed information on every available media property that accepts advertising, including websites, newspapers, radio stations, TV & cable stations, magazines and out-of-home opportunities.
2. Every Market: Conduct a DMA drilldown with comprehensive local media data for all 210 DMAs across the U.S.
3. Background Check: Research new markets with consumer demographic data.
4. Due Diligence: Even if you work with an outside agency, guarantee that they are selecting the right ad opportunities for your brand in markets you may be unfamiliar with.
5. Actionable Data: Listings include all the data points you need to compile a plan, including rates, contact info, audience metrics and much more.
6. Smart Spending: Small businesses, retailers and restaurants all use SRDS.com to find innovative and affordable ad placements that go beyond the budget-breaking TV buy.
7. Ask Around: Don’t miss out on this unique service. Marketers from Kohls, Dr Pepper, Crate & Barrel, Shoe Carnival and possibly your direct competitors already rely on SRDS.

See SRDS in action and let us know how we can help with your local marketing needs.

Marketers and agencies must drastically transform their mobile advertising strategy in 2013 if they want to succeed.

According to a new study from Forrester, seven out of ten mobile users say that automatically served in-app advertisements are disruptive. Two-thirds of respondents label these ads as annoying and 88% say they aren’t engaging.

This study is one of many I’ve seen this year confirming that mobile ads aren’t resonating with consumers. Most of these reports call out mobile ads for not being relevant, interesting or valuable to the user. For example, in November, we posted about an Adobe survey, which found that 45% of respondents prefer to see an ad in their favorite print magazine versus the 0% that prefers to see an ad in a mobile app.

For agencies and marketers, effectively using mobile advertising is both a major challenge and an opportunity in 2013. Mobile cannot be overlooked. Each brand needs a unique approach on this channel for many reasons, but for starters because it’s here to stay.

Here’s what you need to know to convince execs that a mobile strategy is no longer optional: 

Mobile has quickly become the media platform of choice for Millennials. Smartphones allow us to stay in constant contact with friends and family, have ready access to data and information and be able to be productive or relax at any given moment. If you’re looking to reach Millennials, mobile is the way to do it.

Consumers now use mobile phones to purchase products more than ever. This Cyber Monday, mobile transactions accounted for 22% of online sales, an increase of 100% over last year. Retailers cannot overlook this trend.

The good news is that at the very least, most companies are considering a mobile marketing strategy. Some have actually done a phenomenal job using apps, mobile-optimized websites and smartphone deals to reach consumers. But there’s still a long way to go.

According to the TNS Mobile Life study for 2012, many Chief Marketing Officers say it’s no longer OK for companies and marketers to just watch and wait. Experimentation is central to the mobile approach for many brands, with an emphasis on ‘learning by doing’ across marketing and business operations. Urgency is the keyword here.

In order to stay relevant and reach consumers, marketers and agencies must research, plan, develop and execute on their mobile strategies. And after it’s all said and done, they must find a way to serve users ads that aren’t annoying, obtrusive or irrelevant. It may be tough, but it’s necessary.

Another key point from the Forrester study for marketers/agencies to know is that:

“A significant portion of mobile users were open to mobile ad targeting based upon their personal interests (49%) and current location (43%).”

Consumers tolerate ads that have some sort of tie-in to where they live or what interests them. But with the rise of “Do Not Track” and Ad Choices, which allow users to opt out of behavioral targeting, it might be time for marketers to go back to the drawing board.

One idea, which is already being used at Google (no surprise!), is to treat consumer data as a currency and offer incentives for it. The company Enliken is trying to give users the ability to edit, control and prioritize the data they want advertisers to see, making the data richer and more valuable. If an ad is more relevant to the consumer, it’s not as annoying and can supply the user with information he/she is actually interested in.

But targeted ads still need to look good! Ten years ago, banner ads faced a similar dilemma. They had to back out of the scam-like ads offering free trips to the Bahamas, and start incorporating strong creative, interactive visuals and unique storytelling. Advertisers and marketers should take note.

Those three features, coupled with targeted content, can help elevate mobile to a new level of advertising in the coming years.

How will your mobile strategy evolve in 2013?

For years, mega-sized advertising agencies beat out their smaller counterparts 9 times out of 10 because they could access large-scale media buys for a better price. But Matt Murphy, Founder and Executive Director of fusion92, believes that this trend may be slowing, as hyper-local advertising allows “mid-sized and smaller firms with broad regional knowledge and full-service advertising capabilities that include digital expertise” to gain a clear advantage.

Hyper-local advertising targets individuals at the neighborhood or ZIP code level and delivers timely, relevant ads that often have a local component in the creative or messaging. Consumers are inundated daily with ads on every media channel, with most being ignored because they don’t have any relevance to the user. But hyper-local advertisers can create smarter, more targeted approaches that vary by location.

Agencies already use SRDS.com to reach targeted markets by DMA. They have access to media planning data for local websites, print magazines, newspapers, radio, TV and out of home.

But just because these agencies are tailoring their campaigns for local markets doesn’t mean they are ditching large national campaigns. On the contrary, it’s more about using data and technology to customize a large campaign so that it is better matches the targeted audience.

It makes sense that a message incorporating something about your neighborhood (a free appetizer at the Chili’s down your street, for example) has a greater chance of resonating. And not just for you, for everyone in your ZIP code. For users in Chicago, Chicago Bulls imagery or a sound clip from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra might make strike a personal (and memorable) note.

Another reason agencies should consider hyper-local advertising is that it’s cost-effective. Digital technology such as Foursquare encourages users to share location information, making it easy for advertisers to reach their target markets, both through traditional methods and digital channels. According to Murphy:

“Advertisers can segment target audiences to ZIP-code levels, build customizable creative for local components of national campaigns and use digital and traditional advertising channels to distribute hyper-local ads and generate market share gains across multiple regions.”

The ad industry is only going to get more competitive, but if smaller agencies can take the bull by the horns and become more agile, then they have a big opportunity. Plus, the technology and data is already there, so why not use it? 

It hasn’t been an easy year for ad agency professionals, but that doesn’t mean they’re pessimistic about 2013.

According to a survey from RSW/US, the majority of ad agencies surveyed (62%) believe that new business opportunities will increase next year compared to 2012. The survey polled 168 agency executives and more than 100 marketing professionals.

About 45% of agencies surveyed believe that opportunities to pick up new business in 2012 exceeded those in 2011. While that may not seem like a huge percentage, it more than doubles the 21% who believe that new business opportunities decreased. About 34% said that the opportunities were about the same. According to the RSW report:

“We suspect that as the economy continues to move ever so slightly forward, and as the elections finally come to a close, we'll experience a higher degree of certainty in the market, which should give marketers more confidence in how and where they spend their dollars.”

Similarly, data from our October Kantar Media SRDS Consumer Magazine Media Planner/Buyer Research showed promising signs from an ad spend perspective.

We surveyed 114 professionals from advertising and marketing agencies, media planning and buying companies and in-house agencies. They estimate 5% growth in what they will spend on consumer magazine media in the next twelve months. Their average budget in the last twelve months was $3.9 million and they expect it to be $4.1 million in the next twelve months.

More than half of the respondents (59%) said their ad spend will be the same, while 27% said they would increase spending and 14% said decrease.

One more piece of insight from? the RSW/US survey: Agencies believe digital (76%) and social (53%) to be the two biggest business drivers relative to other marketing/media platforms.

While we don’t know what the next year will bring, it’s good to know that there’s a positive feel coming from agency folks and that many of them will increase their spending as a result.

What do you think? Will 2013 will be a better year for the advertising industry?

Do you think TV commercials are more effective than online advertisements?

Marketers and consumers don’t completely agree on the answer, according to the recent survey conducted by Adobe. The survey said that U.S. marketers rated online ads as more effective than TV ads, but only slightly (51%). On the consumer side, two-thirds of (marketers? Consumers?) believe that TV commercials are more effective.

Moreover, respondents considered traditional media (newspapers/TV) the best buy for marketing and advertising, but indicated that might be true just because consumers are accustomed to it. It’s hard to say.

Respondents said they would rather see an ad in their favorite print magazine (45%) or while watching their favorite TV show (23%) versus on social media (3%) or in an app (0%).

Again, that might just be because we’ve been conditioned into thinking traditional media automatically comes with advertising. Digital is newer and it didn’t always come with pop-ups, banner ads and “enter your email address to see this page.”

Both consumers and marketers feel online advertising is effective, but the majority of consumers (68%) responding did not have positive perceptions of it. They frequently used words like “annoying,” “distracting” and “all over the place.”  

While respondents consider advertising created by professionals to be the most effective form of advertising, a little more than a fourth of marketers (as well as consumers) believe that user-generated content is the best form of online advertising.

So what do consumers want to see in advertising? They want the ad to “tell a unique story, not just try to sell” and the majority prefers videos and user product reviews.

 Ann Lewnes, Adobe chief marketing officer, says:

“This study is a wakeup call for marketers. We know there’s a tremendous opportunity – online, on mobile, in social – in terms of where consumers are spending their time and money. But as marketers we’ve yet to really break through. Serving customers relevant content, delivering experiences that are engaging instead of intrusive and, just as importantly, measuring what’s working and what isn’t so that we can improve our marketing are all critical. When marketers begin to master these things we’ll turn the corner – consumers will start to notice and we’ll start to capitalize.”

Do you think TV or online ads are more effective, or do you recommend integrated campaigns?

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Newspapers, radio stations and magazines are still adapting and rethinking their business models in response to the digital revolution of the last decade. For most, there still isn’t a clear-cut answer as to how to fit into this new digital world, satisfy their audience and make money.

But digital audio is really making things work, according to Rockie Thomas. Thomas penned an opinion column over at iMedia Connection last month. She discusses digital audio advertising and says that we’re “finally seeing the perfect ad storm forming.”

Yes!

If you listen to Pandora or any digital radio, then you know that you’re not just listening to music, you’re also listening to ads.  According to the article:

 “Research from comScore finds 27% of mobile subscribers have listened to music on their mobile devices.  We no longer need to clutter up the mobile screen with companion banners, pure digital audio advertising is clean and effective. Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman summed up the synergy on audio and mobile best when he said, ‘There’s probably no product category that fits mobile on a content basis better than radio because the screen’s very little, it goes dark as soon as you turn your head, but it continues to give me audio so I think we’re tailor made for it.’”

Here are 6 perks of buying digital audio ads:

1. Digital audio is very popular. According to the post, “Recent research from Alan Burns and Associates show 25% of those surveyed stream music on a smartphone daily; weekly usage grows to almost 40%.”
2. People constantly consume it. Think about all the things you do in your day while listening to music. “This ‘constant’ consumption helps increase ad effectiveness.  Recent research from TargetSpot and Parks Associates show both ad recall and response have increased 11% since 2011 to 58% with digital audio advertising,” says Thomas.
3. There are now ways to track audio ads, so you have the metrics your executives crave.
4. People use digital audio on their phones and tablets, but the ads don’t need to be on the screen. Audio ads are effective enough.
5. Some people already use digital audio in their car and in the next couple years more and more cars will have smartphone integration, which is a plus for mainstream advertisers.  
6. Thomas says that digital audio buys are similar to video and graphic in that they are CPM-based with listen-through rates metrics and post engagement tracking. Adding digital audio ads won’t require learning a new language.

SRDS.com includes over a dozen online radio and streaming music sites that accept advertising. You can find them either in the music classification of the Consumer Media database, or in our Radio Digital database in the national section.

Have you had any experience with digital audio advertising?

As more publishers and media companies create tablet editions of their magazines and newspapers, they must start thinking about innovative ways to monetize this strategy. Selling ads is one strategy.

The SRDS Tablet Media Library includes more than 600 apps that accept advertising, including apps for iOS, Android, Zinio and Nook. Clearly there are companies already making money off of tablet ads, but e-commerce is a fresh way for them to obtain some much-needed returns.

eMedia Vitals editor Rob O'Regan touts online shopping opportunities within tablet publications in his article, “Can tablet commerce help publishers break free of the magazine paradigm?”

"The promising future of 'couch commerce,' driven by the tablet’s rising status as an at-home, lean-back leisure device, should grab the attention of media companies looking to expand their digital business models."

It makes sense. Increasingly, people want to sit back, relax and do as much as they can from their La-Z-Boys. We can deposit checks, purchase a new pair of jeans and order a movie all from the comfort of our homes.

So, publishers need to get creative too and develop multichannel e-commerce offerings to satisfy their consumers, but perhaps even more importantly, drive revenue.  

O’Regan uses the following stat to support his point and it’s quite telling.

"comScore says 39% of tablet owners purchased items in the past month, compared with 18% of smartphone owners. Tablet owners appear more engaged as well: 43% have researched items and 42% have compared product prices in the past month, compared to 21% and 22%, respectively, for smartphones."

While there isn’t a golden strategy as to how to make tablet commerce work, it’s apparent that media companies and publishers would likely have to mix editorial and advertising in a way that they may not have been comfortable with 20 years ago.

Sure, it’s a slippery slope, but print publications have been hit hard in the last decade, so if they can create a way for their readers to purchase the products or services in their articles, they might be able to successfully walk this tightrope, make money and enhance reader engagement.

For example, Facebook is one social platform that added e-commerce to its offerings this year. Through Facebook Real Gifts, users can buy real-world presents for friends, such as cupcakes, toys and digital gift cards. This is another fantastic way for Facebook to make money, appease investors and offer a valuable service to users.  Plus, Real Gifts is mobile optimized so users don’t have to be at a computer to buy gifts.

It’ll be interesting in the coming months to see if media companies and publishers begin to offer something similar.

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Gain an understanding of the marketing trends driving one of the highest spending sectors in the media landscape. Over the past dozen years, financial services companies have pursued new innovations and aggressive marketing campaigns to combat a recession and historical financial crisis. Confronted with increased competition, federal regulation, and turbulent market conditions, these marketers have adapted their strategies and messaging to echo the realities faced by millions of Americans today.

Topics covered will include:

• Ad spend breakdown by advertiser, category, and media (Syndicated, Network, Cable & Spot TV; Newspapers; Magazines: Radio: Outdoor) 
• Overview of financial services marketing by category, including insurance, consumer banking, credit card, and investment & retirement products
• Best practices for television advertising, digital marketing, and creative messaging

Presenters: 

• Richard Fielding - Chief Client Officer, Kantar Media North America
• Julie Liesse - Reporter, Advertising Age

Financial Services: Navigating Rough Seas

Thursday, October 25, 2012 • 12:00 - 1:00PM ET

Register today!

Newspaper ads continue to be at the heart of local market media plans. SRDS has two services that compliment your current newspaper planning solutions and may make your local market planning a little easier: Circulation 2013 and our Digital Media database.

Which market to choose?

Use SRDS Circulation 2013 (available October 2012) to find the best markets for newspaper advertising. This annual print resource shows you which newspapers have the best reach in your target markets.

• Over 1,300 dailies, 169 newspaper groups, 25 consumer magazines and 4 national supplements — make comparisons easily so you can make the best decisions. Now includes free dailies!
• Listings organized by metro, state and television viewing areas — research quickly using convenient organization to find your best options fast

Ready to move local ads online?

Find and compare all local media websites within a DMA(s) with the SRDS Digital database. You’ll find everything from newspaper, TV, radio websites as well as local online-only ad opportunities.

The SRDS Digital Media database gives you access to planning data on almost 23,000 national consumer, b-to-b and local websites, including:

• 11,300+ local sites in all 210 DMAs, including 1,400+ local online-only sites
• 4,800+ consumer sites in 80+ standard industry categories
• 5,100+ b-to-b sites in 190+ standard industry categories
• 130+ online networks

Ready to get started? Give us a call at 800.851.7737!

If you're even a little bit interested in consumer magazine advertising and consumer demographics, you should make sure you take some time to explore MPA's Magazine Media Factbook.

Billed by MPA as a "comprehensive guide of magazine media facts for advertisers, advertising agencies, media planners and consumer magazine marketers," it's full of great tidbits on the value of magazine media to include in your client presentations.

Here are some of the takeaways I found most intriguing.

Magazine media audiences are growing and young adults read heavily

• Adults under 35 years old read more issues per month than adults over 35. 93% of adults overall, 96% of adults under age 35, and 97% of adults under age 24 read magazines.
• The number of magazine readers has grown over the past five years

Magazine readers are the least likely of all media users to engage in other non-media activities while reading

Magazines readers appear more highly engaged while they read, as a consequence of the medium itself. When consumers read magazines, they are much less likely to engage in other media. For instance, only 21% watch television while reading a magazine.

Have you checked out the factbook?

Did any of the statistics surprise you? What will you show your clients?

Tablet apps continue to grow exponentially. In Fall of 2010, SRDS noticed the fast take-off of this new media option and launched the SRDS Tablet Media Library. Due to our industry relationships, it was obvious that publishers were leading the way in the development and implementation of tablet apps, and as they developed them advertisers came—so they learned how to bring them to market faster.

SRDS started collecting and databasing those tablet apps that accept advertising. We're excited to announce that the Tablet Media Library now include over 800 tablet apps, in multiple app stores, that accept advertising!

As apps pick up steam, everyone seems to be looking for more data on them. You may have seen that the AAAA has asked for more metrics from publishers.

When we launched in 2010, the general response was "It's nice to know it's there but our clients are slow to ask about advertising on tablet apps." I imagine that has changed considerably, but you tell me.

Are your clients as hungry for apps as consumers?

Chicago Magazine Day is an annual event where publishers, media planners and buyers get together for a luncheon, a presentation, and the magazine grab.

Today's event was no different, and the mag grab is one of the highlights of the day. There are current magazines from Field and Stream and People to InStyle and ESPN, with at least 100 other titles available. Loving media like we do, we grab as many magazines as we can. And, of course, check out the shoes of our fellow attendees.

My colleague, Ginny Ewing, and I were excited to hear the keynote speaker, Tracey Scheppach, EVP/Innovations Director/Vivaki/Starcom MediaVest Group Exchange. She had some terrific slides to go with her thought-provoking presentation.

Besides her opening comment about purchasing a new pair of shoes for today, here are my takeaways:

Digital Warming is the Digitization of Content.

Think of melting glaciers and global warming. Tracey cited some examples of business/market leaders that failed to develop with the times. What was once solid is now liquid (digital). Photos were once solid, now they're digital and liquid. Kodak was once the industry leader, synonmous with photography, now it is bankrupt.

Similarily, music was once a solid commodity, now it is digital. Tower Records is no longer around, but iTunes, Spotify and the like are making music available in a variety of new ways. We are tasked with "finding new business models that fit the new normal."

Tablet Media is Game On

Tracey encouraged the publishers to take advantage of new platforms such as tablets. In fact, it's a necessity.

She also stressed the importance of giving the consumer what they want, and they want free. Therefore, advertising is going to play an increasingly critical role moving forward and it shouldn't be static. Consumers expect more interaction with their tablets and the brands they love.

Tracey closed by paraphrasing Charles Dickens: "it is the best of times." It is an exciting, sometimes scary, always evolving business—and SRDS is here to help you navigate the options. Our Tablet Media Library continues to grow and we are adding new digital media opportunities to SRDS weekly. 

We're all in this wild ride together, so hang on, keep moving forward and looking ahead.

Has the magazine business gone totally liquid? Here I am with a stack of new print magazines, but which do you prefer? Are you reading your favorite magazine on your tablet or do you prefer the print edition? How do they differ for your clients?

Media Life Magazine has a compelling Q&A with Stephanie Sarofian, senior vice president and managing director of The Third Act: at Digitas, a Publicis Groupe agency.

According to a new study on video viewing trends from Digitas, 46% of digital video viewers report being at least somewhat likely to look up a brand after watching a video that mentions a new product or brand.

That power is part of why Digitas will host the first Digital Content NewFronts later this month, "the online equivalent of the upfront, along with founding partners AOL, Google/YouTube, Hulu, Microsoft Advertising, and Yahoo."

Says Sarofian:

Media buyers and planners have a new opportunity—their jobs have moved beyond planning media using a small set of variables and into lots of choices in how to organize paid, earned, and owned media spend for brands. All planners (brand, consumer, media) are now in the upstream process.
 
Media dollars are shifting into digital experiences, including video, and that demands that dollars are spent in different ways, be it through content creation, co-creation, curation, display advertising, talent, audience design and others. Media dollars are marketing dollars and we are in an era where the media mix and ROI equations are rapidly changing.

Addressing the need for a dedicated digital video upfront:

The traditional upfronts offer important opportunities for brands, but those opportunities are in limited supply—the upfront currency is scarcity.

The newfronts offer an infinite amount of untapped content opportunities, and the currency shifts from scarcity to quality and engagement. The opportunities in digital are always on and always optimized. 

Read the full story at Media Life.

Here's something useful to read on your new iPad: Kantar Media has released an informative snapshot of the state of advertising on tablet media, its Top 10 Insights for Magazine Tablet Advertising.

If you're interested in tablet ads, you might want to also bookmark the SRDS Tablet Media Library, a list of consumer, newspaper, and btob tablet media that accept advertising, updated every week.

I’ve just returned from the 4As (American Association of Advertising Agencies) annual conference that was held this year in Los Angeles. For the past four years this conference has been titled “Transformation,” and the content has been built around the recurring theme that traditional media communication is transforming into digital.  It’s a path many of us continue to travel down and there is truly no shortage of relevant content for our industry professionals to learn and share. 

But a new transformation theme emerged for me this week.  It’s not just the traditional guys that are going digital…..the digital guys are going traditional. 

A few examples from this conference.

Google

On Tuesday morning most of the breakfast chatter surrounded the WSJ report  showing that in 2011 Google quadrupled their media spend (mostly  in TV, Magazines and Newspapers) to $203 million. 

For their newer products like Google+, Chrome and YouTube, Google clearly gets that not every marketing objective can be solved via search. Their spend confirms a confidence in traditional media to help build brand awareness.

Microsoft

Jaron Lanier (Partner Architect, Microsoft Research) had a lively debate with WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell on the overall economic and societal impact of technology, big data and social media. 

Lanier cautioned the industry about our “silver-bullet lust” that we have for digital data sets. Digital media’s openness has a downside he noted because it  "allows scammers to jump in and ruin the data; you begin to question the links, the likes the reviews etc.” These are legitimate industry concerns that have been raised by others, but hearing a Microsoft  research exec refer to our digital waters as an “ocean of scammy-ness” certainly caught my attention. 

iheartradio.com

Clear Channel’s CEO, Bob Pittman (a former MTV and AOL exec), gave a compelling pitch to a room packed with agency execs on the power of Radio as a traditional media and now, with what they hope is a “Pandora-killing” iheartradio brand, a digital medium. 

He later brought on Ryan Seacrest and a great assembly of new musical talent to put clout behind his strong words. But to me, he didn’t need any wingmen. He had made his case with a single slide. It showed an enormous increase in iheartradio app downloads. The upswing occurred after all his stations began running their coordinated over-the-air ad campaign.

Facebook

As a Bronze-level sponsor of the event it was great to see some of Zuck's pre-IPO bucks being put to good use. But if Facebook did any social-media marketing at the event, they were quiet on the very active #transformla twitter stream, or I missed it. 

What I didn’t miss was their beautifully designed, 20-page print brochure, that touted successful advertising case studies launched on Facebook.  It was inserted in each attendee's bag and hand-delivered when we arrived. 

Yep, the 800 million-user social media giant went to the magazine-guys' favorite playbook:  the “thud-factor." They dropped a gorgeously expensive b2b bomb on a target audience of a few hundred decision makers. And I bet it worked. 

Apple

No, Apple wasn’t there, but creative advertising guru Lee Clow (TBWA Global Director of Media Arts) was. He shared the stage with Steve Hayden (Vice Chairman of Oglivy & Mather Worldwide) and the two reminisced about their career-long collaboration with Apple and Steve Jobs including some hilarious behind-the-scenes stories on the making of their legendary “1984” Macintosh Super Bowl ad.

Clow concluded by reminding everyone that the products marketed by Apple, arguably today’s most admired business, use mostly TV and Billboards to tell their story. The social media buzz they generate is largely earned media. His advice to agencies was to focus on telling great stories and not on manipulating the fragile digital and social media ecosystems where their customers reside. He left the stage to a standing ovation. 

So my overall 4As takeaway

Transformation really is a two-way street. It's not about traditional becoming digital or digital becoming traditional. We all need to become tradigital.

And the sooner our industry receives that message, the better we’ll find the right marketing balance that best serves our consumer.

In this day when everything digital is so hot, Hearst announced that they'll do 4 more print issues of HGTV Magazine this year, after a test of two issues. Funny that the topic is HGTV, but it's print. Who said this isn't an integrated cross-channel world? Advertisers liked it, consumers liked it.