Adding ads to the tablet mag experience
By Maria Stadtmueller. Advertising is a welcome part of the digital magazine experience when relevant to the content and the user’s own interests, according to a US survey conducted by Bonnier and Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Respondents say that when they’re passionate about a topic, ads don’t interrupt, but actually ad value. Some of the positive words used to describe advertising included ‘artistic’. ‘informative’, ‘inspiring’ and ‘fashionable’.
However, people can’t always tell the difference between ads and editorial content in digital magazines, particularly when it comes to the likes of product reviews.
“In a tablet environment, each page stands alone and there’s less context to help the reader orient herself,” Bonnier/CP+B say. “This presents an important design challenge for publishers – there should be clear visual distinctions between ads and edit, and both need to add value to the user experience.”
Respondents favour app features which facilitate exploration, and don’t like content that seems like a ‘dead end’. They don’t want pop-ups or interruptions while reading, but they appreciate supplementary online content that allows them to dig deeper into the topics that interest them.
“This last point has been the one most interesting to the media since we released the research, and we think it’s the area that presents the biggest opportunity to build more deeply engaging interactive experiences,” Bonnier/CP+B say. “Magazine teams will need to anticipate the behaviours people might want to engage in with regard to content, and build experiences inside the magazines to address them. That way, users will be able to find the deeper information they’re looking for, purchase products, share with friends, etc, without ever leaving the pages of the magazine.”
One more thing. When ‘iPadding’, users pick up the tablet first and then decide what to do with it, marking a departure from the traditional user path toward engaging with magazine content.
“What does this mean for publishers? That there’s a new competitive set for magazine apps. We have to think in terms of making apps so engaging that they win the user’s attention – and hold it.”
