Trend: Asia Pacific media spend on magazines increases

Asia Pacific magazines pulled 26 per cent more ad dollars in 2006
Nielsen Asia Pacific Media & Marketing Trends 2007 reviews three years of media ad spend trends and consumption insights across 12 markets, and consumer and marketing insights and statistical information across 16 markets. The markets included are Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Australia, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea.
In terms of Asia Pacific figures overall, main media ad spend, which includes terrestrial TV, newspapers and magazines, across the 12 Asia Pacific markets increased by 15 per cent from US$68.3 billion in 2005 to US$78.7 billion in 2006.
"The last 15 years have seen dramatic changes across the Asia Pacific region, driven by significant economic and demographic development,” said Lisa Lee, SVP of international communications for The Nielsen Company said in a statement. “The effect has been equally dramatic on the shopping habits of the region's consumers. Our combined research resources bring together the first regional and market review of changing consumer lifestyles, attitudes and purchasing behaviour, together with insights into advertising, emerging radio audience markets and consumer trends across key markets in the region."

Source: International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP)

Editorial: Alternative Story Forms

Finally a Study that proves what most editors and visual journalists have always believed. :)

According to Poynter.org, 'Alternative Story Forms' or tools like a timeline, a checklist, a fact box or a graphic—that are not part of the standard model of most newspaper or magazine narratives- are a good way to engage a reader’s attention.

As part of the Study readers were given one of six different versions (three print shown in the accompanying pciture and three online) of a story about bird flu. Each version included identical information fact for fact, but the design and story structure differed. When a reader finished reading one of these prototypes for five minutes, he or she answered questions about the story.

It was found that of the three print versions of the prototypes, the most visually graphic version (No. 3) resulted in the most correct answers and established that alt story forms helped readers remember facts presented to them.

Visit the original Source link to see the bigger version of six prototypes and more outcomes of the study.

Study: Websites of American Magazines

The Bivings Group has started a new feature called ‘Friday's Five’ to showcase a weekly top 5 list. This week's list builds on their study “Analyzing the Websites of American Magazines" and gives the rundown of the Bivings five favorite magazine websites.

1. TV Guide: Site has tons of content related to TV and movies, including reviews, previews, video snippets, listings and interesting blog features.
Cool features: The 40+ celebrity blogs (comments allowed!) are augmented by community blogs maintained by readers.
2. Rolling Stone: Photos, videos, and blogs. User reviews and ratings of movies and cds. The most interesting feature is their section for listening to music.
Cool features: After a quick download of a mini-Rhapsody player (no registration required!), users can listen to music featured in the print edition of Rolling Stone. Celebrity playlists are another cool feature.
3. Better Homes and Gardens: BHG.com has alot of nifty features starting with a the shnazy feature box on the homepage.
Cool features: The "clip it" feature lets you save tidbits of information in your myBHG.com account so you can use them later. A downloadable widget gets you updates from the website. Interactive home design tools are also fun.
4. Family Circle: Offers similar functionality as BHG.com–reader comments for articles and features, bookmarking articles and features in their site accounts, and a tag cloud linked to message boards appears on the main site.
5. US News and World Report: The content is professional, interesting, and easy to browse.
Cool features: Highly valued content (primarily in the rankings section ) is available to a larger audience. The design is sane–the site isn't overcrowded, loaded with doohickeys, or cluttered with too many headlines.

What do you look for in magazine websites and what are some of your favorites? Share in the comments.

Download the Bivings Magazine report here

Study: Spectacular Ads Get Spectacular Recall

Eric Sass of MediaPost reports that according to a new study by Starch Communications Research "Spectacular magazine ads--including multi-page spreads, three-dimensional pop-ups, scented ads and ads with an audio component--produce a big bump in measures like brand recall and the number of readers that read ad copy."

Philip W. Sawyer, senior vice president of Starch Communications Research, says the study, heralds a new era of creativity in magazine advertising. Sawyer predicts that "when we really start exploring spectacular ads, people will pick up a magazine to see the ads." Among the case studies in Sawyer's report are two ads that scored a remarkable 100% in reader recall and engagement. The first ad, for Pepsi Jazz (also featured on this blog) was a two-page spread featuring a three-dimensional pop-up of the opened bottle, with small audio chip in the page playing jazz music. This ad also allowed readers to use a scratch-and-sniff tab to "sample" the new flavour. The second ad, for (also called first sonic ad on a few sites) pairs a three-dimensional pop-up with an audio chip.

However, the study cautions against unrealistic expectations for their effectiveness: "If you have a six-page ad, you can't expect recall or these other measures to increase sixfold. It's incremental." But if you have a magazine with a readership of 6 million, he adds, "and the number of people who recall an ad goes from 500,000 to 750,000--it's only a 50% rise, but that's a huge number of people."

Original Story Link: Study Finds Spectacular Print Ads Get Spectacular Recall
Post about Pepsi campaign: "Advertising: Pepsi Brings Smell, Sound To Print" Posted October 11 2006
Case study: Clairol Herbal Essences conditioner: First Sonic ad

Study: No Link Between Magazine Engagement and Ad Success

Debunking the conventional wisdom, a new report conducted by Starch(R) Communications, a division of GfK Custom Research, North America, disputes the belief widely held in many advertising circles that ads in magazines with thorough, passionate and frequent readers are more likely to be noticed and read than ads in magazines with less "engaged" readers.

According to the report The Myth of Reader Engagement: "Advertising readership and engagement with a magazine are mutually independent phenomena. ... Advertisements in magazines with relatively large, committed audiences are not more likely to be seen and read than ads in magazines with less committed audiences." The report also found that the key to advertising effectiveness is the creative content of the ad.

Read the industry perceptions of the study in AdvertisingAge article: Study Rebuts 'Engagement' Assumptions

To request your copy of the report visit: GfK website