Mediaspace Enters New Space, Launches 'Tablet Network'

Ipad

Editor's note: This story incorrectly listed The Wall Street Journal as one of Mediaspace's publishing partners. A correction has been published.

With magazines and newspapers racing to introduce apps for tablet computers and e-readers, it was only a matter of time before someone started aggregating them to help advertisers achieve greater scale and reach. That's what Mediaspace Solutions is doing with its new Tablet Network, which aggregates 161 newspaper and magazine tablet apps.

The company's publishing partners include The Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, Denver Post, Dallas Morning News, USA Today, O The Oprah Magazine, Country Living, Popular Mechanics, Better Homes and Gardens, Fitness Magazine, National Geographic, Prevention, Reader's Digest, and Time.

Scott Jagodzinski, CEO at Mediaspace, stated: "Newspapers and magazines are adding tablet applications daily. This is a natural transition for their digital business to complement print.... In almost every market, newspapers are by far the largest local advertising channel and tablets extend their advantage."

The surge of consumer interest in tablets and e-readers has inspired a wealth of research on the evolving market. In July, Conde Nast and Adobe unveiled a joint effort to define and deliver a new set of audience metrics for publishers and advertisers. GfK MRI is also measuring cross-platform magazine readership -- including digital platforms like Web sites, digital editions received via email, smartphone apps, e-readers and tablets -- through new questions added to its in-person, in-home surveys of adults ages 18 and older.

While casual observers often lump tablet-style computers and e-readers together, tablets would appear to be a more effective ad platform for magazine brands, according to a study by GfK MRI's Starch Advertising Research released in August. In the GfK MRI study, 55% of consumers who read magazines on tablet devices said they noted a magazine ad displayed on their devices. By comparison, the proportion among consumers with e-readers was just 41%. Interestingly, the two figures straddle the proportion who "noted" hard-copy magazine ads in 2010 (53%).

New findings from a Jumptap study on mobile banking and commerce, reported in an Online Media Daily story last week, indicate that tablet owners are almost as likely as PC and laptop owners to use their devices to make purchases. Two-thirds (63%) of tablet users make purchases on the device, compared to 83% of PC users, according to the study, which is based on comScore results. Younger users are more comfortable using tablets to buy products and services, according to the same study, with nearly eight in 10 tablet owners ages 18 to 34 making purchases with the devices, compared to 50% of people 35 to 54 and 43% of those 55+.

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