• by Michael Shields , January 12, 2005

Product placement has been the rage among TV planners and buyers, but the so-called practice of "branded entertainment" has found its way into other media, including print. But unlike television, where three major research companies have launched high-profile services for tracking product placements, nobody seemed to be keeping an eye on print media.

Enter Hall's Reports LLC, a research company best known for its reports on the editorial content and ad page ratios of magazines, which will enter the product placement field this spring with a new syndicated report tracking print's version of branded entertainment.

Hall's, which has long provided individual clients with the means to track any and all mention of their brands in print, will now push this data to the desktops of media planners via a Web-based subscription product.

These new reports, "Hall's Reports: Editorial Credits," will monitor the various editorial mentions appearing in 130 magazines--including photographs--starting in late March or early April. Hall's has partnered with technology firm Wave Fusion to make the service available online.

Given the increased interest in product placement in film and TV, as well as the increased pressure on magazines to prove their worth, Hall's President and owner Alan Seraita says that Hall's has been receiving a flood of requests.

"We've been tracking this info for six years," he said. "In the past, it's been paid for by individual clients. It's easily the fastest-growing part of our company."

Seraita believes the timing might be just right for this type of service, as the buying community begins to pay closer attention to editorial quality and reader loyalty in place of just audience metrics.

"I've never seen the response to a new product like this," he said. "This is what I think happened. What we've seen is a renaissance of editorial content. The traditional way that magazines were sold--what we are finding is that [just] audience data is not being met with the same reception."

Meanwhile, the concept of "branded entertainment," where advertisers pay their way into shows like "Desperate Housewives," continues to be well-received by those trying to break through the clutter. Seraita senses that magazine product placement--often overlooked--is considered by many to more objective, and perhaps more influential.

"From what we know, the editorial credits are not paid for," he said. "They are written about by editors to help the reader learn about certain things. It differentiates this from broadcast product placement. It makes it arguably more valuable."

In theory, says Seraita, advertisers can take a pair of magazines--like say, Cosmopolitan and Glamour--and examine how often each mentions their brand before selecting where to place ad dollars. In turn, publishers can talk up the fact that they promote particular brands when selling to those advertisers.

"Magazines can go to the advertisers and say: 'We are talking about their products and not asking you to pay for it,'" said Seraita, who sees demand for this product to be a natural for the beauty, fashion, shopping, and travel categories.

As for those church-and-state concerns between the editorial and advertising silos at magazines, Seraita doesn't think that this type of analysis will violate any unwritten rules.

"This is already being done," he said. "We are not changing anything. This puts everybody on the same page. We didn't invent this wheel."

When asked about Hall's new product, Media Analyst Rebecca McPheters, president of McPheters & Company, mentioned that many agencies already subscribe to press clipping services like Burrell's, which tracks mentions across multiple media. She wasn't sure how much this information would mean to planners.

"I don't think anybody is using it that way now," she said. "I question how much the product will resonate. I'll have to wait and see."

Seraita said that he has not seen Burrell's product--and therefore could not comment on any differences--but doubted that the scope of Hall's initiative could be matched.

"I know one thing--no company is doing this on the scale we are doing it," he said.