Repurposing print magazines for the Web increases user engagement with and affinity toward ads, according to stats from a new survey by The Harrison Group and Zinio.
Some 37% of
people who have purchased at least one digital magazine said that they were more likely to read an ad in digital format than in print. And almost half said that they found ads on screen more appealing
than their analog counterparts.
San Francisco-based Zinio takes content from publishers like Hearst, Hachette Filipacchi and Ziff Davis and ports it directly to the Web, where readers can either
scan through it online or download it to a computer, PDA or iPhone. Unlike the online counterparts to magazines like Cosmopolitan and Men's Journal, these digitized versions offer both
interactive ads (including rich media and video options) as well as depictions of the full-page spreads common to the glossies.
According to Rich Maggiotto, CEO of Zinio, the aesthetics are part
of the reason that readers find the digitized ads more appealing.
"When you look at a full-page spread online, you don't have a gutter anymore," Maggiotto said. "There's a depth to the imagery
because of the way the ad fits on the screen. And you get what was the original intent of the creative director without the disruption of a gutter."
But the interactivity also draws them in, as
some 59% said they found digital magazine ads easier to engage with, and 84% said the digital ads were more beneficial because of the ability to click-through. "Pretty much 85-95% of the ads in the
print edition have a URL, but readers have to remember it or write it down, then go online and type it in," he said. "With the digital version, they're one click away."
As for raising reader
awareness about the digital magazines, the survey found that e-mails (from either Zinio or the publishers themselves) were most effective. Banner ads came in second, while search traffic came in
third. About half of the respondents were ages 25-44 and skewed heavily male (80%). Some 63% were married, and about 40% earned at least $75,000 annually. In terms of technology, nearly 60% said that
they were "first to try" new products.
Waterbury, Conn.-based research firm The Harrison Group surveyed more than 1,500 subscribers to Zinio's electronic publication service over the course of
two weeks. Participants were either current Zinio subscribers or had purchased a magazine through the company within the previous three months.