Source: http://www.foliomag.com/2012/popular-science-creates-digital-bellyband-its-tablet-edition#.UHS_MRXA9Lc
Tablet Editions have been the big thing lately for magazine companies, and an area of significant focus. They are also a new opportunity for advertisers, as advertisers can design interactive ads that go into the magazine. Popular Science has decided to create a new vehicle for advertisers within their tablet edition. They are calling it a digital bellyband, which basically means it is an advertisement on the cover that has to be interacted with in order for the customer to open the magazine. Popular Science usually has an interactive cover on their tablet edition, so they think it will be a fairly seamless transition as the ads become a part of the interactive cover.
This is a nice opportunity for advertisers as they will get their ad front and center, and consumers will not be able to ignore it. It's also a fairly small scale right now, so it is very low risk for advertisers. However, this seems like a rather risky endeavor for Popular Science for two reasons.
First, this is a rather intrusive ad and it's not like it is going on a website that nobody is paying to view. This intrusive ad is going on content that subscribers are paying to read, and I could see some significant backlash coming their way. If I just paid $4.99 to buy a copy of Popular Science i'd be much more annoyed by an ad like this, than if I was viewing their free website where the ad is a tradeoff for the content being free.
Second, this ad is being integrated with the cover. Traditionally media companies try to keep content and advertising separate to keep their editorial integrity. Since this ad is being combined with the cover it will really make it look like Popular Science is endorsing the advertiser, and could call into question the validity of any future articles written about the advertiser.
It will be interesting to see the public's reaction to these ads and if Popular Science receives any subscriber backlash.
Tablet Editions have been the big thing lately for magazine companies, and an area of significant focus. They are also a new opportunity for advertisers, as advertisers can design interactive ads that go into the magazine. Popular Science has decided to create a new vehicle for advertisers within their tablet edition. They are calling it a digital bellyband, which basically means it is an advertisement on the cover that has to be interacted with in order for the customer to open the magazine. Popular Science usually has an interactive cover on their tablet edition, so they think it will be a fairly seamless transition as the ads become a part of the interactive cover.
This is a nice opportunity for advertisers as they will get their ad front and center, and consumers will not be able to ignore it. It's also a fairly small scale right now, so it is very low risk for advertisers. However, this seems like a rather risky endeavor for Popular Science for two reasons.
First, this is a rather intrusive ad and it's not like it is going on a website that nobody is paying to view. This intrusive ad is going on content that subscribers are paying to read, and I could see some significant backlash coming their way. If I just paid $4.99 to buy a copy of Popular Science i'd be much more annoyed by an ad like this, than if I was viewing their free website where the ad is a tradeoff for the content being free.
Second, this ad is being integrated with the cover. Traditionally media companies try to keep content and advertising separate to keep their editorial integrity. Since this ad is being combined with the cover it will really make it look like Popular Science is endorsing the advertiser, and could call into question the validity of any future articles written about the advertiser.
It will be interesting to see the public's reaction to these ads and if Popular Science receives any subscriber backlash.
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