• by Erik Sass , June 14, 2006

A panel of print and digital media gurus brought together by MediaVest and introduced by publishing diva Martha Stewart on Tuesday afternoon was supposed to address the "branding" of magazines, but the conversation drifted into something far more controversial: whether consumer brands should be integrated into editorial content. Panelists revealed real differences of opinion, but also suggested there might be far different roadmaps for print versus online content.

Referring to the great effort Conde Nast has put into establishing its titles' "editorial authority" over their long history, Sarah Chubb, president of CondeNet, was emphatic: "In a relationship like that with the reader, the divide between church and state has got to be sacrosanct, I think--because they're coming to an authority. There can never be a question what your motives are when you're suggesting something--whether it's clothing or a hotel or a trip or whatever."

In the same vein, Lauren Stanich, president of publishing for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO), said: "That's one of the things we feel pretty strongly about as an organization. We're going to be pretty strict about that, mostly because we're concerned for the long-term value of the brand... I think we have to be careful about that."

And this reluctance cuts across editorial genres--or at least across women's and men's magazines, according to Michael Rooney, executive vice-president, multimedia sales, ESPN/ABC Sports, who also oversaw the roll-out of ESPN The Magazine: "My cynical comment is: you make the cheese, we'll make the TV!" (a thinly veiled dig at Kraft, one of the panel's sponsors). More seriously, Rooney ecalled: "In the print world I was taught very strict rules about the separation of church and state"--rules that have stayed with him.

The panel's lone media exec, Eric Bader of MediaVest, was also the most bullish on brand integration, touting consumer "activation" as the key: "There's absolutely a role for brands and advertisers in print content... We've all seen bad examples of brand integration in story lines and content where it's ham-fisted and not very natural... 'Activation' is where there's clear value from having great brands associated with a great content brand, and together they go to the next level--where you not just consume the content, but act on it."

And in truth, most of the panelists ended up presenting a more nuanced take on brand integration. Rooney, for example, conceded: "We've done some short form programming on ESPN that our advertisers have developed with us, and they're pretty good. When it works best is when we're driving the process. We have a group that tries to find an advertising application for every idea that comes down the pike... [Advertisers] who are serious about this don't want to impinge on the editorial--they just want to get it right."

Conde Nast's Chubb also softened her first statement in light of the two-way communication and resulting consumer-generated media allowed by digital tech: "Things are different on the Internet... when you're not in a top-down relationship with the consumer, we think there are some opportunities for advertising involvement that are actually quite interesting. As long as you're clear about what's going on... you're probably okay." Here Chubb cited social networks like Facebook with heavy user participation as suitable arenas for "advertorial" content.

Indeed, Chubb's observation touched on another of the panel's favorite subjects--the utility of social network-type functionality as a way of expanding magazines' online brands. Her fellow panelists seemed to agree that social networks, launched as magazine brand extensions, can also be ideal venues for brand integration by advertisers. For example MSLO's Stanich said the typical reader "wants to be able to converse with us, and our experts, and other customers as well. She wants to be able to create online... so we're creating tools and templates, applications that will allow our customers to actually do things... We've been putting out wonderful ideas for 15 years now, and they're really not finished until the customer takes that idea and makes something."

In her introduction, Stewart herself observed that MSLO receives over a million letters a year--often quite involved, with photos of finished products attached. MSLO has a "very well-run letters department" that responds to every letter, according to Stewart--but MSLO clearly also views this vast pool of consumer-generated content as a potential treasure trove for social network functions as well as consumer research.