The experiences readers ascribe to magazines greatly influence their readership of magazines, as well as the impact of advertising appearing in magazines. That is the central, if not so surprising finding, generated by an important new study scheduled to be released next week at the American Magazine Conference. The study is important, because it defines precisely which experiences inhibit or motivate magazine readers, insights which ultimately could be used to develop research that could be used to plan magazine advertising buys.
Recognizing that advertisers are often hesitant to promote their products in edgier programs, Comedy Central asked Frank N. Magid Associates to determine whether ads that run in risqué programming are more effective in terms of brand recall (they are, say the results). Additionally, based on interviews with the 400 adults sampled, the research showed that brands advertised are not negatively affected by the content of the show. "We found that agencies needed more ammunition to show clients that there is a positive value to edgy programming," said Ray Giacopelli, Comedy Central's vp, research and ad sales.
Wishful Americans who are still hoping President Bush will acknowledge that his imperial foreign policy has stumbled in Iraq and needs fixing or reining in, should put aside those reveries, argues Sidney Schanberg. The Bush Doctrine is a global military-based policy and is not just about liberating the Iraqi people, says Schanberg, who reviews the policy's origins and examines its founding documents to make his case.
Ziff Davis Media hopes to one-up the competition with a new online destination for video and PC gamers, 1UP.com. 1UP -- expected to become a major destination for enthusiasts -- will have a full- time staff of 25 under eic Sam Kennedy.
Advertising groups, under pressure from new state laws banning unsolicited bulk e-mail, today released a new standard for e-mail marketing that includes a requirement all e-mails include a working method for removing names from future mailings.
The Liberal provincial government, in a press release posted on its home page, announced that it would review the newspaper tax exemption policy that had Vancouver's 36- year-old alt-weekly facing the prospect of a fine of over $1 million: "Clearly the Georgia Straight is a newspaper, yet it is not treated as a newspaper under the current policy. Accordingly (we will) review this policy and how it is applied, in order to solve this problem."
The annual income and poverty report recently issued by the U.S. Census Bureau showed an increase of 1.7 million people living below the poverty line. But the Census Bureau calculated the 2001 after-tax- income figures using incorrect tax rates, according to the Boston Phoenix; had the correct data been used, the picture would have been far worse. David S. Bernstein examines the mistake and reviews the Bush administration's effort to hide important economic data from the public.
The media conglomerate's corporate Web site is advertising jobs for "soon-to-be launched weekly" newspapers in Indianapolis, where its INtake is set to appear on Dec. 11; Cincinnati; Louisville, Ky.; and Palm Springs, Calif., according to E&P's Lucia Moses. Cincinnati CityBeat Editor and Co- Publisher John Fox tells E&P that he's not overly concerned with the new competition. "We've been around for nine years," he said. "We have numbers, we have relationships. I think we're going to be fine."
Online job search site Monster Worldwide Inc. asked for permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell 6 million shares of common stock, the company said. Monster, which owns Monster.com, will use the sale proceeds for working capital and perhaps acquiring or investing in other businesses. There will be 118 million shares outstanding by the time the transaction is concluded.
Newspapers’ most recent attempts to weave an auction model into their Web operations take the form of local “events†that last from three to 10 days. Traditional and non-traditional advertisers provide products and, less frequently, services to the paper in exchange for print advertising space. Promoted in print and online, the newspaper- sponsored online auctions act as an additional selling channel for advertisers and exploit regional consumer demand. The auctions create a buzz for in-demand products and generate added awareness for area merchants and service providers.
