DIGITAL, DIGITAL, DIGITAL (AND PORTABLE TOO)

In his Advertising Age article (“Trends to Watch in 2008”), Bob Liodice, president-CEO of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), follows up on Steve Ballmer’s claim that all media is going digital. He notes the richness of digital features —including the portability — and wonders if marketers are skilled enough to take advantage of this rapidly changing landscape?” We might ask the same question of the folks who make the media — you know, like magazine publishers?

Paradigm Gained

Happy Holiday!
Digital music downloads march on as this Independent article attests.

Australian Bookseller offers Dutch ebook Reader

The Australia’s Herald Sun reports that bookseller Dymocks is selling ebook reader the iLiad. The device which uses the mobibook format also accommodates a variety of formats including html and pdf. A nice twist to the iLiad is that the screen is touch-sensitive and — with a supplied stylus — you can do such things as Suduko and crossword puzzles, make notations or sketch. It’s a pricey $899 Australian (or $750 US). The iLiad comes from iRex, a Royal Philips spinoff. Hmm. Wasn’t Philips the co-creator of the audio CD-ROM, the LP buster?

.

It's Eisie's Birthday

Today is the birthday of Alfred “Eisie” Eisenstadt, referred to in his 25 August, 1995 New York Times obit as the “quintessential Life photographer. One of a band of Leica-bearing photojournalists, Eisenstadt made some of the pictures that became cultural icons. This was back in the day when magazines, particularly Life were considered mass media. Most notable among these was his Times Square shot of a sailor and woman kissing on V-J Day. The use of the compact 35mm rangefinder camera technology brought an amazing change to the priint magazine platform.

Magazine Hunting Season

Back on 30 November “Magazine Death Pool” blog’s The Reaper announced that the next 60-90 says are “officially magazine hunting season and” offered these telltale signs.

Take a good look. Many ads? Can you get the same stuff easily on the web? Does the content seem pointless? It may be time to start saving back issues as souvenirs of the "good old magazine days."

We would add the following: How sharply focused is the editorial? How fetching are the covers? Are retail copies moving? Is there effective consumer marketing going on? (This last is based on the touching notion that consumer magazines are consumer products and as such might even benefit from consumer marketing.) Is there any marketing going on at all? Does it vibrate with today and tomorrow or does it reek of yesterday?