British Vogue Research: Ad-blocking has limited impact on visually-oriented publishings

  

Fears have been mongering around since Apple unveiled its most recent iOS system allowing ad blocking. Nevertheless, this trepidation, according to Vogue UK’s research, is overblown, and that there could be a silver lining for publishers and brands should they start to shift onto digital platforms.

 The 2015 British Vogue Business Report surveyed 2787 upper-middle-class women to look at the evolving reader relationship with magazines in print and online, and concluded that people’s overall attention to advertisement across all platforms has never been higher, with significant increases for websites and digital editions.

            In addition, over 75% of under-35s said they trusted advertising and other paid-for communications, and a whopping 94% of magazine readers said they paid attention to website advertisements. The premium ads featured on Vogue’s website were described as “genuine” and “appealing” by the likes of Vogue.

            Besides British Vogue’s studies, other researches also bolstered the conclusion that the panic was wildly exaggerated. According to JPMorgan, people were half as likely to block ads on mobile, since ad blocker applications only affect ads on mobile browsers rather than those within apps. In addition, ad blockers of iOS 9 are only able to block pop-ups in Safari, a browser that occupies 23% of total share on tablet and mobile, and an even scantier 4% on desktop.

Moreover, in the context of readers and users of glossy magazine brands in print and online, advertising perusing becomes part of the experience. Half of Vogue’s pages are composed of high quality and engrossing advertisements on which viewers enjoy spending time viewing. Oftentimes the key issues for visual-oriented magazines are to create visually appealing ads so as to captivate readers’ attention rather than to eliminate them altogether. As a result, to generate greater revenue, future publishers should create less but more effective ads.

One short-term solution is to create native, video and branded contents. Publishers could feature product placements within their editorial photo shoots, and create tutorial videos featuring Shoppable Ads integrated within the contents. For high-end brands, followers expected to see more video contents and more exclusives on parties and runway shows. Burberry recently presented the premiere on its exclusive “Functionregalia” collection on Snapchat including a never-before-seen glimpse into its design studios, bringing about the largest audience to date among all other Burberry’s social media platforms have realized. Burberry is said to host a live make-up tutorial on cosmetics in due course that would be streamed exclusively on Sephora’s YouTube channel.

Links

http://digiday.com/publishers/british-vogue-attention-ads/

http://www.businessinsider.com/jp-morgan-note-on-impact-of-ad-blocking-2015-9

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/burberry-presents-the-functionregalia-collection-in-london-accompanied-by-a-live-performance-by-alison-moyet-following-its-premiere-on-snapchat-300146846.html

Brands Create Authenticity with New Content Partners

AdAge is reporting that brands have stepped up their efforts to create engaging content with two specific strategic partners; publishers and independent content creators.

For example, Victorinox is partnering with both Wired Magazine and the Instagram-celebrity couple @withhearts and @bethanymarieco to outfit the duo with Victorinox products while they trek among various mountain destinations throughout the world. While providing comp'd swag to influencers is nothing new for brands, Victorinox and Wired Magazine plan to repurpose the content from the pair's own social media channels to the publisher's various content platforms as well as the brand's.

This approach is somewhat novel given that brands are building up their own media properties by supplying them with premium content while relying on publishers, who continue to expand their footprint, to push branded content as well. However, both the brands and publishers realize they lack the all-important "authenticity" factor which makes partnerships with digital influencers so important in this new media equation. All of these efforts ladder back to the growing reality that consumers' eyeballs are increasingly fragmented and brands can't rely on just one channel to break through the clutter.

Publishers such as InStyle are also experimenting with emerging social media channels such as Snapchat to break through to consumers. InStyle has been building up its Snapchat following all year but releasing exclusive content in expectation of marketing a Holiday gift guide through the channel for 20 different advertisers. This tactic will probably prove successful since Snapchat is still a relatively innovative platform for brands and consumers are more open to following brands/publishers and consuming their content.

All of these tactics all boil down to the same marketing truth: Consumers are increasingly expecting the unexpected when it comes to advertising - innovative content and context is not only successful, it is becoming mandatory.

Can I get paid to post on Insta, too?!

A recent article in AdAge caught my attention due to its linkage with our last class on Thrillist. We talked about the challenges of combining e-commerce with editorial content, and now we’re starting to see publishers putting sponsored content on Instagram and Snapchat, and also paying other influencers to feature their products on social media.

The article first talks about Wired Magazine and Victorinox. A recent ad campaign the magazine was doing with Victorinox was done in partnership with Bethany Olson and Cory Staudacher, a recently engaged couple known for chronicling their adventures on Instagram . “What you're seeing is publishers embracing the broader media ecosystem and finding ways to create new and innovative ways to capture people's attention and retain it over time," said Adam Shlachter, chief investment officer at DigitasLBi.

Victorinox gave the couple clothes for their recent travels, including a trip to Victorinox's headquarters in Ibach, Switzerland. The couple posted content on their Instagram accounts, tagging the Victorinox brand. Some of these images will also appear in print ads in the December issue of Wired. In addition to the free gear, the couple was also paid for doing these posts. The program has generated more than 65,000 "likes" on Instagram and about 500 comments since its October 6^th launch.

InStyle magazine is also planning on doing something similar. The magazine will run custom ad campaigns on its main Instagram and Snapchat accounts. Beginning on December 8^th on InStyle’s Instagram feed (which has more than 671,000 followers), the magazine will share one post each day for five days highlighting a luxury accessories company's product. In addition, “Style in Snap” will be a campaign that InStyle will launch on Snapchat. This campaign will feature short videos for 20 days featuring 20 advertisers, including Jimmy Choo Fragrance, Chantecaille, Sisley and Aeffe. The magazine will then give these 20 items away as prizes. Along the same lines, Teen Vogue partnered with Keds to launch an Instagram contest where fans would post pictures of their outfits.

While I think these campaigns and contests drive engagement and allow brands to interact with publishers’ reader base, there are definitely risks similar to what we talked about in class. Some readers might be upset about the promotional nature of these posts, so publishers will have to be careful about maintaining their voice and brand image.

Facebook Puts Additional Limits on Branded NewsFeed Posts

AdAge recently reported that Facebook has announced additional user controls on Brand's posting activities. According to Facebook, users will now have a greater ability to adjust their newsfeed content based on the quantity of posts they receive from certain brands. These measures are in line with Facebook's continuous intervention between brands and their followers.

When justifying their actions, Facebook explained that users should have the ability to control how much of a brand's messaging they see and avoid being inundated with content without having to stop following a brand entirely. From the earliest days of brand pages, Facebook has had to walk a fine line between being friendly to advertisers that keep them in business without alienating the same users that brands pay millions of dollars to Facebook to connect to.

These adjustments have some serious implications for brands. Merely having a large number of likes will by no means ensure consumer engagement. While content quality has always been a factor, brands will be forced now more than ever to create compelling content that is relevant to consumers to avoid the dreaded mute button. In many ways, Facebook is both the TV network and cable company, at the same time serving advertising while also giving viewers a DVR to fast forward through the ads that aren't compelling.

These actions inevitably also mean more money for Facebook. Not only can Facebook expect an increase in paid media as brands pony up to achieve the desired impression count, they can also expect advertisers to collaborate more with Facebook's in-house creative agency to create content that is native to the platform and will be consumed willingly by Facebook users. Given how much data Facebook has on its users' behavior, they have a huge advantage in anticipating which content will be engaged with and what won't. There is no reason for them to give that information out for free.

7 Content Marketing Buzzwords you should know

1) Content Marketing

Who uses it: Everyone. SEO marketers trying to steer their careers out of a tailspin. Opportunistic MBAs attempting to build branded content farms. Agency folks touting a new content service that they just made up six days ago.

What they think it means: Doing a bunch of random crap and praying that it works. Blog posts! Vines! In the cloud, dude. It’s all about the content marketing cloud.

What it really means: The overarching practice of creating content to promote a brand or product. At this point, it pretty much encapsulates everything that isn’t a static ad (print, display, billboard, etc.) or a radio spot. (Those still exist, right?) Content marketing has even swallowed social media marketing, which is so 2012.

2) Brand publishing

Who uses it: All the cool kids cherishing the few months before it’s co-opted by every marketer this side of Madison Avenue.

What they think it means: Creating branded content that doesn’t feel like a slimy advertorial or a display ad in sheep’s clothing.

What it really means: The practice of a brand telling stories about the things they care about, their brand, and their brand’s products in a way that’s genuinely engaging and not promotional.

3) Contentvertising

Who uses it: People who should be fired.

What they think it means: That they created a clever new word for content marketing.

What it really means: That the buzzwords are mating and multiplying. Run for your life.

4) Native ad/Sponsored Content

Who uses it: Publishers desperate for a new revenue stream. Agencies freaking out over a dwindling media spend. Ad-tech dudes who know that talking about banner ads at a party is never going to get them laid. Ever.

What they think it means: A sponsored listicle on BuzzFeed.

What it really means: An ad that mimics the experience around it. Google search ads are the granddaddy of native ads online. Sponsored Facebook Newsfeed posts, Promoted Tweets, and, yes, BuzzFeed Sponsored Posts are all examples of native ads.

5) Brand Newsroom

Who uses it: Hip CMOs. Agencies that just dropped a half mil designing a command center with more screens than Minority Report. Old-school media types while rolling their eyes.

What they think it means: Gathering a bunch of people in a room and totally crushing the Super Bowl and Oscars. What time is it? IT’S REAL-TIME.

What it really means: The fundamental restructuring of brand communications to mirror those of a media organization able to publish great stories swiftly; the group of people who publish content on behalf of your brand consistently, improving and growing an audience over time.

6) Brand Journalism

Who uses it: All those people talking about brand newsrooms like it’s the latest Beyoncé album.

What they think it means: All the content a brand publishes.

What it really means: The specific practice of a trained journalist reporting on the inner happenings of a brand on behalf of the brand.

7) Content Marketing Cloud

Who uses it: People who apparently think that you just can’t wait to get rid of your content marketing mainframe.

What they think it means: That you will give them lots of money.

What it really means: Cloud-based software that lets you manage your content marketing operation and analyze your success. Not to get too SaaSy (see what we did there?), but is there any other kind?

Source: http://contently.com/strategist/2014/04/18/the-best-branded-content-of-2014-so-far/

Should we really trust online content?

I was very impressed with the success of Thrillist and the talk we had in class. How could you not be? reaching 8 figure revenues and profitability after 4 years in business is very impressive.

The one thing I was less impressed with was the site's ethical standards and control over its writers. We repeatedly asked the founder about that, and I found his answers to be quite evasive. To be honest, it's not the end of the world in Thrillist's case. The worst case scenario is basically a writer receiving some payment in exchange for a favorable review, which would lead to one mediocre night out for a reader that followed the recommendation.

Nevertheless, the general idea bothers me. Should I trust the stuff I read online? I'm always suspicious of gushing Yelp reviews, but should I trust Thrillist? or even Techcrunch?

http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/04/an-apology-to-our-readers/

This story from a few weeks back is just one example of what I believe to be a very common issue. Thrillist's founder may have said that he trusts all writers are honest and that editors are able to monitor them, but I remain unconvinced. Let's not forget that a minute later he spoke about the non-compensation perks of the job, which apparently include "Sleeping with PR girls."

Again, no biggie when discussing Thrillist. The issue is that branded content overall is a hot topic in advertising now, be it in TV or online. My fear is that soon we won't be able to tell the difference anymore.

Jonathan Shulman