Digital publishing news for October 8, 2013
This is a paywall experiment you should watch. Adweek is reporting that Sports Illustrated is testing a new pay wall system. Lucia Moses writes. “Sports Illustrated is testing a paywall that lets readers access its print articles early if they watch a 30-second video ad first. The provider is Selectable Media, which has been testing consumers’ willingness to watch video ads for free WiFi, music and games. This is its first public test with a major consumer magazine.” This current experiment is only active to desktop visitors and on select articles that would only be accessible to paying subscribers. Moses adds, “Akin to the Hulu and YouTube ad swap model, viewers are offered a choice of ads to watch (Del Monte vegetables and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were two recent options), the assumption being that if people get a choice of which ad to watch, they’re more likely to recall it and buy the product. Once the visitor watches the ad, the article is unlocked for a 24-hour period.” The results of this experiment should be very interesting.
Harper’s Digital Runway Report Partnership
Harper’s Bazaar’s digital Runway Report now comes with a strategic partnership with the department store Lord & Tailor. minOnline’s Steve Cohn has all the details: “Runway Report, which served as a print “bridge” between Harper’s Bazaar‘s September and October issues for much of the past decade, shifts to digital with the Lord & Taylor single-sponsored e-special interest publication.” Each page of the Runway Report features links to LordandTaylor.com where users can purchase clothing similar to the page. I wonder if we’ll see the single sponsor trend continue for special digital additions.
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Thrillist Launching Tech Blog
Adweek is reporting that Thrillist Media will be launching a new tech blog. Mike Shields reports, “Launching on Oct. 23, Supercompressor will take a broader lifestyle approach; it’s not for guys looking to tear apart their motherboards.” Content on the new site will be created for people looking to make purchases, what Thrillist CEO, Ben Lerer calls “deliberate discovery” content. Microsoft has signed on as a launch sponsor.
How Not To Do Promotional Tweets
This story is a quick reminder for publishers who include promotional tweets as part of their sponsorship packages. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay went a bit overboard with promotional tweets for his latest sponsorship deal with Fage Fruyo Greek Yogurt. Digiday’s Brian Morrissey reports, “Over the course of 15 minutes, Flay promoted Fage in a variety of ways. We’re hoping this was some kind of automated Twitter client fail. If not, time for Team Bobby Flay to reconsider his social media strategy, particularly since these annoying tweets require any Federal Trade Commission-mandated disclosure if they are, in fact, part of Flay’s marketing deals.” People responsed to Flay letting him know they unfollowed him becasue of his spammy tweets. Publishers, space out those promtional tweets. Your followers will notice.
New Yorker Gets New Online News Editor
FishbowlNY is reporting that Jonathan Shainin has been named the new online news editor for The New Yorker. Chris O’Shea writes, “Shainin comes to The New Yorker from The Caravan, where he served as senior editor since 2010. This will be Shainin’s second stint with The New Yorker, as he served as fact checker for the magazine from 2005 to 2007.”
