• by March 31, 2004

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? - The Riff believed the Magazine Publishers of America when it first unveiled its Magazine Reader Experience Study, a groundbreaking piece of research that reveals how, why and when consumers read magazines. And we thought that would be motivation enough for Madison Avenue to get behind the study, but apparently it wasn't. So the MPA is doing what its members do best to get the attention of media planners and buyers. It's throwing a sweepstakes that will award valuable prizes to "media decision makers" who take the time to consider the MPA's pitch.

"This is a fun and terrific opportunity for advertisers to put themselves in our readers' shoes, and to discover for themselves the most powerful magazine reader experiences," said Ellen Oppenheim, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the MPA. The reader experience this brings to the Riff's mind, are the giveaways some magazine publishers use to entice consumers to subscribe to their titles. Hey don't take it from us, just use your Sports Illustrated football phone to call the Audit Bureau of Circulations. They've got new categories in their circulation statements that account for the amount of giveaways or discounting that publishers use to entice subscribers.

But don't expect the MPA to hand out kitschy communications devices. Instead, they're doling out high-end premiums, such as the Magazine Experience Sweepstakes' "grand prize:" a Crystal Cruise for two, which the MPA smartly notes does reflect the leading motivator for most magazine readers: "I get value for my time and money."

In keeping with the themes of the reader experience study, the other prizes touch on similar motivations: The first prize, a $500 gift card for Barnes & Noble ("It makes me smarter"); the second prize, an all-day spa package ("It's my personal time out"); or the give third prizes, TiVo digital video recorders (no magazine motivation for this one). Perhaps a better motivation for marketers and agency executives might have been: "makes my advertising more effective or efficient."

Beginning April 1 (we assume the MPA didn't pick that day as a prank), ad industry executives can enter the sweepstakes via the MPA website. Winners will be announced in September.

SUPER MODELING - Lately, some cable networks have begun to utilize modeling - the econometric kind - to pitch media planners and buyers, but TV Guide Channel appears to be taking a different tack - super modeling - in an effort to attract planners and buyers to come to its upfront sales presentation at Gotham Hall in Manhattan Wednesday night. In a surprise announcement sent midday Wednesday, the channel said, "We just got word that super-star Tyra Banks will be there!" Darn, the Riff won't. We forgot to RSVP to the pre-Tyra invite.