Latest Edition:
Summer, 2010
Thoughts on the past, present, and future of American magazine publishing.
_____________________________________
Features
and Fancies
______
A Publisher's History of American Magazines
Another one bites the dust! Herculean effort allows us to add two new sections and complete an entire chapter. Read about the great forgotten craze that launched American literature. Shoot, you can read the whole chapter, starting here.
Ever wonder which ads work best in actually raising brand awareness and driving sales? The results of this research may surprise you.
Grub Street
Although it’s now called Milton Street, the original name was Grub Street. That was where publishers of the 17th century looked when they needed a writer for hire, and today the world of hack writers is still called Grub Street.
A writer who would churn out anything for anyone was sometimes called a penny-a-liner. Today we call them hacks, another London allusion. Horses for hire were stabled in Hackney—hence hackney cabs.
Our source points out that a career in publishing can be long and slow… but it's really only five minutes from Grub Street to Fleet Street.
____
Out on the Links
______
Print Ads Are More Effective! Or Are They?
A new study from Microsoft says that print advertising delivers better results than TV or online. But there's more than one response to the conclusion.
Those interested in how Americans really spend their time will find this new Nielsen study interesting. It turns out that we invest more than 30 percent of our waking hours watching TV. And the trend is pointing up.
Research Society for American Periodicals
An outstanding resource for anyone interested in the history of American magazines and newspapers. Broad-ranging... interdisciplinary... fascinating.
____________________________
Consulting Services
Give Your Problems to The Magazinist!
All Projects Great and Small
650 440-2247
June, 2010 Links over there on the left lead to some findings from Ace Metrix, a research company specializing in TV ad measurement. While we here at the Magazinist know very little about television, the measurement of advertising effectiveness is a subject close to our hearts. What do you think were last year’s most effective TV ads? High profile Super Bowl ads like the spots from GoDaddy or Dockers? Clever, attention-getting ads like the “Smiles” spots from American Express? Think again. According to Ace:
-The top-scoring ad overall was “Neat. Not.” from Rubbermaid…
-The top-scoring ad with women was “Messy Hands” from Delta Faucets…
-The top scoring ad with men was—once again—“Neat. Not.” from Rubbermaid.
Faucets and plastic kitchenware! Who would have guessed?
Coke took the blue ribbon in the Beverage category, which is no shock. But it wasn’t the buzzworthy Charlie Brown balloon character who carried the trophy back to Atlanta. It was the low-profile “Bottles in Recycle Bins” ad from Diet Coke.
Let’s look a little more closely at the year’s most effective TV advertisement. Here’s how Ace Metrix described it:
“The Rubbermaid ad features the dichotomy of two women and their food storage cabinets. The ad also features a call to action, driving consumers to www.easyfindlids.com for coupons and mentions the newest in the line of containers in the Easy Find Lids family, Rubbermaid Lock-its.
“Steve Goldman, co-founder and CEO of Ace Metrix, says
‘Consumers clearly connected with the Rubbermaid creative treatment. The
combination of a simple message, a clear call to action and a differentiating
product offering all helped this ad stand out from others and resulted in an
outstanding Ace Score.’ "
In other words, the most effective ad of the year was a pedestrian spot for an everyday product, not a showy, CLIO award winner destined for the highlights reel. And what made the winning ad effective wasn’t expensive, ground-breaking CGI or even outstanding creative—it was execution of two fundamental components of good advertising: clarity in the message and in product positioning.
It’s worth keeping in mind that the methodology Ace Metrix uses in determining effectiveness is different from simply measuring recall. The curious reader can refer to the Ace Metrix site—they tell their own story better than we can.
Saying there’s a lesson here is probably going too far, but the story certainly serves to remind us: you can’t beat the basics. In advertising, smoke and mirrors or cleverness can’t substitute for describing customer benefits and asking for the order.
Our hats are off to Rubbermaid. Looks like Tupperware may be the wrong company partying.
"Not only an Itch, but a kind of Colourable Right and License"
