• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, February 9, 2012

GfK MRI Launches Starch Digital

Recent years have seen a surge of interest in tablet-style computers and e-readers, with total tablet sales rocketing from 15.7 million units in 2010 to 43.6 million in 2011 and a forecast of 81.3 million in 2012, per eMarketer.

Print is increasingly giving way to digital media consumed on PCs, laptops, and mobile devices, including tablets and e-readers. Together, these trends promise to change the way people consume magazines forever.

To keep marketers, advertisers and media planners in the loop, GfK MRI has announced the launch of Starch Digital, a syndicated service to measure the readership and effectiveness of digital advertising in consumer magazines.

Beginning in March, Starch Digital will measure every ad in every issue of 40 top magazines on tablets, e-readers and in various digital reproductions, including Zinio and Coverleaf, with title-specific data that is due to become available sometime in the second quarter. This will include monthly ROI metrics for 25 magazine genres and 625 advertised product categories.

These metrics include: the percentage of readers who noted a digital ad, how much of an ad was read (the “read any” and “read most” ratings), and actions taken as a result of reading a digital ad, including making an actual purchase, intent to buy, visiting a Web site, and recommending a product.

The Starch Digital survey also includes customized questions to address unique features of digital ads -- for example, whether readers looked at associated video or photo galleries.

GfK MRI began laying the groundwork for the new service in May 2011. The launch of Starch Digital follows nine months in which Starch measured consumer recall and response for over 33,000 digital ads across nearly 1,700 issues of consumer magazines.

Lucky Taps Digimarc for Digital Watermarks

Lucky readers will now be able to scan print editorial content in the shopping magazine with their mobile devices to get details about products, thanks to the integration of digital watermarks provided by Digimarc Corporation’s Discover Platform. The watermarks, which function like invisible digital barcodes, will be incorporated into editorial content beginning with Lucky’s March issue.

Readers can use the Lucky Shopper application built by Nellymoser to scan the watermarks wherever they see small, red caption boxes containing a mobile phone icon, identifying pages with additional content. These include Lucky’s “City Guide,” where readers can download the Paris City Guide to their mobile device, and “Lucky Breaks,” where they can enter a Lucky sweepstakes.

Means To Publisher, CRO Country Living

Kassie Means has been appointed publisher and chief revenue officer for Country Living, where she will oversee the brand’s advertising and marketing initiatives. Means had previously served as associate publisher of Country Living since February 2010. Before that, Means served in various roles at Cooking Light, most recently as vice president and associate publisher, a position she held for more than six years. Means was also an advertising representative at Southern Living.

Tkach to Publisher, Organic Gardening

Jeff Tkach has been appointed publisher of Organic Gardening, owned by Rodale Inc. In his new role, Tkach will lead print and digital advertising sales and marketing efforts across the brand. Previously, he served as associate publisher, where he helped lead Organic Gardening’s re-launch, which involved a strategic branding shift to incorporate relevant food and lifestyle topics.

Tkach joined Rodale in 2001 as a marketing analyst for the single-copy sales division, rose to become East Coast account manager for Backpacker by 2005, then transferred to Organic Gardening in 2006. He previously served as account manager, then advertising director, before taking the associate publisher role in 2009.