copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcomcopy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

MagazinesSCOTT GALLOWAYNYU Stern

J U LY 2 6 2 0 11A Think TAnk for DiGiTAL innOVATiOn

reg

A Think TAnk for DiGiTAL innOVATiOn

2

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

through the ether surpassed free content and several pay walls

appear to be gaining traction4 As experimentation with digital

edition format pricing and subscription models continues

analysts at PwC express confidence that annual digital circu-

lation revenues associated with magazines could grow from

about $4 million last year to $611 million by 20155

Digital iQ = Shareholder ValueThis study attempts to quantify and rank the digital competence

of 87 magazine brands A close look at the relationship between

Digital IQ and performance reveals a link between a titlersquos digital

competence and its advertising revenue per page Our aim is to

provide a robust tool to diagnose digital strengths and weak-

nesses and thereby help managers achieve greater return on

incremental investment in digital We hope you will reach out

with comments that improve our methodology investigation and

findings You can email me at scottsternnyuedu

Sincerely

While analysts and consultants bark about the urgency to

ldquoembrace digitalrdquo the web efforts of many leading magazines

wilt under even the most forgiving analytics In sum the online

revenue model for magazines remains opaque

Broken Technology did not get the memo regarding traditional me-

diarsquos business model Re-targeting coupled with a torrent of

supply resulted in online CPMs collapsing 30 percent in the

12-month period ending March 20112 The latest beacon the

iPad has not lived up to its hype and as of December 2010 all

magazines reporting data experienced declining digital edition

sales3 The Huffington Post arguably the most successful In-

ternet media property based on a traditional advertising model

posted 2010 revenues of $30 million In contrast Google will

register over $30 million in revenues in the next eight hours

HopeThere is nothing wrong with the magazine industry that canrsquot be

fixed with whatrsquos right with the industry Iconic brands differenti-

ated content deep talent and robust cash flows to fund experi-

mentation and acquisition should illuminate several paths to a

brave new model In 2011 the amount of paid content traveling

i n T R O D U C T i O n

SCOTT GALLOwAY

Founder L2 Clinical Professor of Marketing NYU Stern

Opaque There is no shortage of candlepower (ie smarts) or innovation in the magazine business However even with

total advertising revenue down more than 20 percent from its pre-financial crisis peak no company or individual has been

able to paint a cogent picture of what the industryrsquos next iteration will look smell or feel like1

1 Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) Full-Year Revenue amp Pages Data Updated January 10 2011

2 Efficient Frontier Global Digital Marketing Performance Report

Q1 2011

3 ldquoMemo Pad iPad Magazine Sales Droprdquo

John Koblin WWD Media December 29 2010

4 ldquoMurdochrsquos Leap Finds Converts in Cannes As Paywall

Use Growsrdquo Matthew Campbell and Amy Thomson

Bloomberg June 24 2011

5 Jeff Bercovici ldquoDigital Subscriptions Will Lift

Magazines But Not Newspapersrdquo Forbes Mixed Media

June 14 2011

2

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

through the ether surpassed free content and several pay walls

appear to be gaining traction4 As experimentation with digital

edition format pricing and subscription models continues

analysts at PwC express confidence that annual digital circu-

lation revenues associated with magazines could grow from

about $4 million last year to $611 million by 20155

Digital iQ = Shareholder ValueThis study attempts to quantify and rank the digital competence

of 87 magazine brands A close look at the relationship between

Digital IQ and performance reveals a link between a titlersquos digital

competence and its advertising revenue per page Our aim is to

provide a robust tool to diagnose digital strengths and weak-

nesses and thereby help managers achieve greater return on

incremental investment in digital We hope you will reach out

with comments that improve our methodology investigation and

findings You can email me at scottsternnyuedu

Sincerely

While analysts and consultants bark about the urgency to

ldquoembrace digitalrdquo the web efforts of many leading magazines

wilt under even the most forgiving analytics In sum the online

revenue model for magazines remains opaque

Broken Technology did not get the memo regarding traditional me-

diarsquos business model Re-targeting coupled with a torrent of

supply resulted in online CPMs collapsing 30 percent in the

12-month period ending March 20112 The latest beacon the

iPad has not lived up to its hype and as of December 2010 all

magazines reporting data experienced declining digital edition

sales3 The Huffington Post arguably the most successful In-

ternet media property based on a traditional advertising model

posted 2010 revenues of $30 million In contrast Google will

register over $30 million in revenues in the next eight hours

HopeThere is nothing wrong with the magazine industry that canrsquot be

fixed with whatrsquos right with the industry Iconic brands differenti-

ated content deep talent and robust cash flows to fund experi-

mentation and acquisition should illuminate several paths to a

brave new model In 2011 the amount of paid content traveling

i n T R O D U C T i O n

SCOTT GALLOwAY

Founder L2 Clinical Professor of Marketing NYU Stern

Opaque There is no shortage of candlepower (ie smarts) or innovation in the magazine business However even with

total advertising revenue down more than 20 percent from its pre-financial crisis peak no company or individual has been

able to paint a cogent picture of what the industryrsquos next iteration will look smell or feel like1

1 Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) Full-Year Revenue amp Pages Data Updated January 10 2011

2 Efficient Frontier Global Digital Marketing Performance Report

Q1 2011

3 ldquoMemo Pad iPad Magazine Sales Droprdquo

John Koblin WWD Media December 29 2010

4 ldquoMurdochrsquos Leap Finds Converts in Cannes As Paywall

Use Growsrdquo Matthew Campbell and Amy Thomson

Bloomberg June 24 2011

5 Jeff Bercovici ldquoDigital Subscriptions Will Lift

Magazines But Not Newspapersrdquo Forbes Mixed Media

June 14 2011

3

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

i n T R O D U C T i O n

MAGAZinE DiGiTAL iq SCORE vs

2010 ADVERTiSinG REVEnUE PER ADVERTiSinG PAGE

Dig

ital I

Q

2010 Advertising Revenue per Advertising Page(in thousands)

30

50

70

90

110

130

150

$200 $300 $400 $5000 $100

4

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

METhODOLOGYA B O U T T h E R A n k i n G S

Site - 25 Effectiveness of brand site

FunCTiOnALiTY amp COnTenT - 75bull Technology Load Time Integration of Analytics amp Optimization Platforms Video Presence

bull navigation amp Search User Interface Site Search

bull home Page Social Media Integration RSS Customization Blog Presence amp Implementation

bull User Account Signup Process Interoperability Account Features

bull Content Shareability of Articles Photos amp Videos

bull Customer Service Subscription Promotion amp Support

bull interactivity amp innovation Unique Tools Web Applications Microsites

BRAnD TRAnSLATiOn - 25bull Aesthetics

bull Messaging

Digital Marketing - 25 Marketing efforts off-site brand presence and visibility on search engines

bull Search Traffic SEM SEO Web Authority

bull Email Frequency Content Social Media Integration Promotion

bull innovation Recent Brand Initiatives Presence on Tumblr

bull Blog Presence Mentions Sentiment

Social Media - 25 Brand presence community size content and influence on major social media platforms

bull Facebook Likes Growth Post Frequency Applications Responsiveness Content

bull Twitter Followers Growth Tweet Frequency Online Voice

bull YouTube Views Number of Uploads Subscriber Growth Content

Mobile - 25 Compatibility and marketing on smartphones and other mobile devices

bull Mobile Site Compatibility Functionality Ability to Transact

bull iOS Availability Popularity Functionality iPad Differentiation

bull Other Platforms Availability Popularity Functionality

bull innovation SMS Geolocal Recent Brand Initiatives

CATEGORiES

140+ Genius Digital competence is a point of differentiation for these brands Site content is searchable shareable and mobile-optimized Social media efforts complement wider digital strategy

110-139 GiftedBrands are experimenting and innovat-ing across site mobile and social platforms Digital presence is consis-tent with print product

90-109 AverageDigital presence is functional yet predictable Social media efforts are siloed across platforms

70-89 Challenged Inconsistent adoption of mobile and social media platforms Site lacks inspiration

lt70 Feeble Investment does not match opportunity

5

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

Menrsquos News amp Politics

Fashionamp Style

Lifestyle Scienceamp Nature

FamilyEntertainmentamp TV

Sportsamp Recreation

Businessamp Finance

Autoamp Cycles

Health amp Fitness

Home amp Gardening

WomenrsquosCooking Food amp Beverage

D i G i TA L i q R A n k i n G

Rank Brand Parent Category Digital iQ Class Description

1 TiMe Time inc news amp Politics 140 Genius Strong presence across nearly every platform inspiring

2 PeOPLe Time inc entertainment amp TV 136 GiftedAccessible on nearly any screen launched voting last fall for 2010 Sexiest Man Alive on Facebook

3 SeLF Condeacute nast Health amp Fitness 134 Gifted Seamless integration of print and Facebook content

4 MenrsquoS HeALTH Rodale Health amp Fitness 131 Gifted Cross-platform Workouts are intense

4 SPORTS iLLuSTRATeD Time inc Sports amp Recreation 131 Gifted A breadth of web content solid mobile offering and halo effect from CNNrsquos Sports tab

6 neW YORK MAGAzinenew York Media Holdings

Lifestyle 129 Gifted Culture Vulture and Shop-A-Matic sub-brands are standouts

7 GQ Condeacute nast Menrsquos 128 Gifted Sharp customer service and irreverent Twitter handle

8 GLAMOuR Condeacute nast Fashion amp Style 127 Gifted Impressive social media properties and blogs make fashion accessible

9 enTeRTAinMenT WeeKLY Time inc entertainment amp TV 126 GiftedYouTube promotion to launch fall TV lineup and partnership with check-in upstart GetGlue entertain

10 COSMOPOLiTAn Hearst Womenrsquos 125 GiftedDigital marketing innovator turned users into stars in first global digital campaign live in Times Square

11 THe eCOnOMiSTThe economist Group

news amp Politics 124 Gifted Smashing infographics and adroit YouTube videos

12 nATiOnAL GeOGRAPHiCnational Geographic Society

Science amp nature 123 Gifted YouTube channel boasts nearly 600 million upload views

12 neW YORKeR Condeacute nast news amp Politics 123 Gifted Impressive issue archive and narrated slide shows

6

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

Menrsquos News amp Politics

Fashionamp Style

Lifestyle Scienceamp Nature

FamilyEntertainmentamp TV

Sportsamp Recreation

Businessamp Finance

Autoamp Cycles

Health amp Fitness

Home amp Gardening

WomenrsquosCooking Food amp Beverage

D i G i TA L i q R A n k i n G

Rank Brand Parent Category Digital iQ Class Description

12 RunneRrsquoS WORLD Rodale Health amp Fitness 123 Gifted Social media marathoner

15 O THe OPRAH MAGAzine Hearst Womenrsquos 121 Gifted74 percent Facebook fan growth during TV farewell demonstrates power of integrated platforms

16 SeVenTeen Hearst Womenrsquos 120 Gifted Social (media) butterfly Mstylelab showcases digital efforts with leading retailers

16 WiReD Condeacute nast Science amp nature 120 Gifted iPad pioneer underwhelms with otherwise analog showing

18 eSQuiRe Hearst Menrsquos 119 GiftedDebonair mobile site and clever viral video divert attention from a disheveled Facebook page

19 Teen VOGue Condeacute nast Womenrsquos 118 Gifted Stellar Twitter handle and Fashion Click blog

20 eLLe Hachette Filipacchi Fashion amp Style 117 Gifted Impressive YouTube and Twitter properties

20 FORBeS Forbes Business amp Finance 117 Gifted A rich site

20 inSTYLe Time inc Fashion amp Style 117 Gifted A sleek Facebook page and StyleFind e-commerce

23BeTTeR HOMeS AnD GARDenS

Meredith Home amp Gardening 115 Gifted Mobile site and how-to tools bloom

23 FOOD amp WineAmerican express Publishing

Cooking Food amp Beverage 115 Gifted Smooth digital presence overpowers an undercooked mobile site

25 GOLF DiGeST Condeacute nast Sports amp Recreation 114 GiftedScores with Fansrsquo Choice 2011 an online bracket where Facebook fans select Americarsquos greatest public golf course

26 FiTneSS Meredith Health amp Fitness 113 Gifted Strong mobile site and apps

7

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

Menrsquos News amp Politics

Fashionamp Style

Lifestyle Scienceamp Nature

FamilyEntertainmentamp TV

Sportsamp Recreation

Businessamp Finance

Autoamp Cycles

Health amp Fitness

Home amp Gardening

WomenrsquosCooking Food amp Beverage

D i G i TA L i q R A n k i n G

Rank Brand Parent Category Digital iQ Class Description

26 PARenTS Meredith Family 113 Gifted Facebook fans thicker than water

26 VOGue Condeacute nast Fashion amp Style 113 Gifted At times geek can be chic and at others itrsquos passeacute to be gifted

29 MARie CLAiRe Hearst Fashion amp Style 112 Gifted iPad e-commerce standout

30FOOD neTWORK MAGAzine

HearstCooking Food amp Beverage 111 Gifted Foursquare and Facebook Places check-in campaigns offer unique flavor

30 LuCKY Condeacute nast Fashion amp Style 111 GiftedFaces of 5F FacebookTumblr collaboration with Bergdorf Goodman shows social prowess

30 PLAYBOY Playboy enterprises Menrsquos 111 Gifted Nearly six million Facebook fans

33 ALLuRe Condeacute nast Fashion amp Style 110 GiftedTempting site and QR-code giveaways but bookmarking canrsquot possibly be Readerrsquos Choice

34 ReAL SiMPLe Time inc Lifestyle 109 Average Simply average

34 ROLLinG STOne Wenner Media entertainment amp TV 109 AverageSite has good cadence but other digital properties lack rhythm turned over cover choice for August 18 2011 issue to site users

34 uS WeeKLY Wenner Media entertainment amp TV 109 Average Robust mobile site

37 MOTOR TRenDSource interlink Media

Auto amp Cycles 108 Average Apps and mobile site are head-turners but site is middle of the road

37 neWSWeeKThe newsweek Daily Beast Company

news amp Politics 108 Average Daily Beast integration is a disappointment

37 WOMenrsquoS HeALTH Rodale Health amp Fitness 108 Average Apps and Twitter look good but YouTube absence damages overall physique

8

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

Menrsquos News amp Politics

Fashionamp Style

Lifestyle Scienceamp Nature

FamilyEntertainmentamp TV

Sportsamp Recreation

Businessamp Finance

Autoamp Cycles

Health amp Fitness

Home amp Gardening

WomenrsquosCooking Food amp Beverage

D i G i TA L i q R A n k i n G

Rank Brand Parent Category Digital iQ Class Description

40 FAST COMPAnY Mansueto Ventures Business amp Finance 106 Average High octane iPad app sluggish Facebook page

41BLOOMBeRG BuSineSSWeeK

Bloomberg Business amp Finance 105 Average iPad app is a victory Business Exchange attempts micro-social effort

41 VAniTY FAiR Condeacute nast Lifestyle 105 Average VF Agenda microsite attempts to add spark to otherwise stale site

43 CAR AnD DRiVeR Hachette Filipacchi Auto amp Cycles 104 Average Mobile site has more horsepower than full-sized web presence

43MARTHA STeWART LiVinG

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Home amp Gardening 104 AverageRich site and multiple appsmdashbut brand canrsquot replicate namesakersquos success on Twitter

45 eSSenCe Time inc Womenrsquos 99 Average Recent site redesign works

45 POPuLAR SCienCe Bonnier Science amp nature 99 Average iPad early adopter has made 139 years of the publication available via Google Books

47 BOn APPEacuteTiT Condeacute nastCooking Food amp Beverage 98 Average

AndroidiOS ebooks and Foursquare presence satisfy but leaves us craving mobile apps for the main course

48 BRiDeS Condeacute nast Womenrsquos 97 Average Best-in-class site and efforts on other platforms need to tie the knot

48 FORTune Time inc Business amp Finance 97 AverageFortune trumps sister brand Money but both are hindered by slow consolidation under CNNMoney umbrella

48 MAXiM Alpha Media Group Menrsquos 97 Average Social media that proves sexier than aging site

51 SHAPe American Media Health amp Fitness 95 Average Vigorous social media and innovative mobile apps but a weak site

52 COunTRY LiVinG Hearst Home amp Gardening 93 AverageMentions of ETSY designers aim to be hip but brand canrsquot pull away from Hearst boilerplate

9

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

Menrsquos News amp Politics

Fashionamp Style

Lifestyle Scienceamp Nature

FamilyEntertainmentamp TV

Sportsamp Recreation

Businessamp Finance

Autoamp Cycles

Health amp Fitness

Home amp Gardening

WomenrsquosCooking Food amp Beverage

D i G i TA L i q R A n k i n G

Rank Brand Parent Category Digital iQ Class Description

52 enTRePReneuRentrepreneur Media inc

Business amp Finance 93 Average Needs to take more risks

52 GOLF MAGAzine Time inc Sports amp Recreation 93 Average Will Ferrell promo helps users select their Celebrity Fab Foursome on Facebook

52 GOOD HOuSeKeePinG Hearst Home amp Gardening 93 Average Home app provides DIY resource to complement print content

52 POPuLAR MeCHAniCS Hearst Science amp nature 93 Average In-app subscription functionality is a start

57 ReDBOOK Hearst Womenrsquos 92 Average Impressive mobile site but main site is still underwhelming

57 W Condeacute nast Fashion amp Style 92 Average Why no apps

59 WOMAnrsquoS DAY Hachette Filipacchi Womenrsquos 91 Average Live well every dayhellip by engaging more with your Twitter followers

60 HOuSe BeAuTiFuL Hearst Home amp Gardening 89 Challenged House Beautiful PaintBrush begins to showcase digital DIY

61 COOKinG LiGHT Time incCooking Food amp Beverage 88 Challenged Hungry for more mobile investment

61 HARPeRrsquoS BAzAAR Hearst Fashion amp Style 88 Challenged Unremarkable

61 PARenTinG Bonnier Family 88 Challenged Functional website is the glue holding together otherwise dysfunctional digital presence

64 ReADeRrsquoS DiGeSTReaderrsquos Digest Association

Lifestyle 87 Challenged 100 Towns in 100 Days YouTube tour proved hard to sustain acquisition rumors persist

64 ROAD amp TRACK Hachette Filipacchi Auto amp Cycles 87 Challenged Good-looking site but not much under the hood

10

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

Menrsquos News amp Politics

Fashionamp Style

Lifestyle Scienceamp Nature

FamilyEntertainmentamp TV

Sportsamp Recreation

Businessamp Finance

Autoamp Cycles

Health amp Fitness

Home amp Gardening

WomenrsquosCooking Food amp Beverage

D i G i TA L i q R A n k i n G

Rank Brand Parent Category Digital iQ Class Description

66 COnDEacute nAST TRAVeLeR Condeacute nast Lifestyle 85 Challenged Integration with Conciergecom is confusing and dilutive

66 PReVenTiOn Rodale Health amp Fitness 85 Challenged Sclerotic site navigation

68 FAMiLY CiRCLe Meredith Family 84 Challenged Momster social network partnership should just move to Facebook

69 FieLD amp STReAM Bonnier Sports amp Recreation 83 Challenged Therersquos plenty of game left on other platforms

69 MORe Meredith Womens 83 Challenged More mobile please

71 MOneY Time inc Business amp Finance 82 Challenged In recession

71 SOuTHeRn LiVinG Time inc Home amp Gardening 82 Challenged They donrsquot use mobile phones in the South

73 ARCHiTeCTuRAL DiGeST Condeacute nast Home amp Gardening 81 Challenged Impressive aesthetics should reach across multiple platforms

73eVeRY DAY WiTH RACHAeL RAY

Readerrsquos Digest Association

Cooking Food amp Beverage 81 Challenged Mobile campaigns for a magazine with no mobile site

73 TRAVeL+LeiSuReAmerican express Publishing

Lifestyle 81 Challenged Digital has never been abroad

76 SMiTHSOniAnSmithsonian institution

Science amp nature 79 Challenged Museum-quality mobile site canrsquot make up for underwhelming social media

77 eSPn THe MAGAzine Walt DisneyHearst Sports amp Recreation 78 Challenged No dedicated URL (anymore) thatrsquos gotta hurthellip

77 HeALTH Time inc Health amp Fitness 78 Challenged Infirmed

11

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

Menrsquos News amp Politics

Fashionamp Style

Lifestyle Scienceamp Nature

FamilyEntertainmentamp TV

Sportsamp Recreation

Businessamp Finance

Autoamp Cycles

Health amp Fitness

Home amp Gardening

WomenrsquosCooking Food amp Beverage

D i G i TA L i q R A n k i n G

Rank Brand Parent Category Digital iQ Class Description

79 SMARTMOneYDow Jones amp Company inc

Business amp Finance 77 Challenged Answer Engine registers but no mobile presence

80 LADieSrsquo HOMe JOuRnAL Meredith Womenrsquos 75 Challenged Dear Journal Create a mobile site andor apps

81 TRADiTiOnAL HOMe Meredith Home amp Gardening 69 Feeble Uploaded ad images are not traditional just outdated

82 MuSCLeS amp FiTneSS American Media Health amp Fitness 64 Feeble Ninety-pound weakling

83 eLLe DeCOR Hachette Filipacchi Home amp Gardening 59 FeebleDesigner Registry mentions drive Facebook wall conversation away from core readership

84 STAR American Media entertainment amp TV 55 Feeble The last to know

85 MenrsquoS JOuRnAL Wenner Media Menrsquos 52 Feeble No daily blog and spotty incorporation of video content

86 TOWn amp COunTRY Hearst Lifestyle 43 Feeble Is anyone home

87 in TOuCH WeeKLY Bauer Publishing entertainment amp TV 32 Feeble A lot of opportunity to improve

12

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DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

DiGiTAL iQ

110-139

DiGiTAL iQ

70-89

DiGiTAL iQ

gt140

DiGiTAL iQ

90-109

DiGiTAL iQ

lt70

FeeBLe

DiGiTAL iq DiSPERSiOn

of Brands per Digital iq Class

k E Y F i n D i n G S

Many Are Gifted But Only One is GeniuSThe distribution of brands per Digital IQ class is heavily skewed

towards the Gifted classification Less than one-third of brands

surveyed were categorized as Challenged or Feeble high-

lighting adoption of digital best practices across the sample

However only one Genius brand emerged from this study

TIME Magazine

Although most brands achieve adequate digital competence

few invest in additional tools and features that could distinguish

them from a crowd of above-average performers

Magazines that appear poised to enter the Genius class

share two features

1

2

People

Self

Menrsquos Health

Sports Illustrated

New York Magazine

GQ

Glamour

Entertainment Weekly

Cosmopolitan

The Economist

National Geographic

New Yorker

Runnerrsquos World

O The Oprah Magazine

Seventeen

Wired

Esquire

Teen Vogue

ELLE

Forbes

InStyle

Better Homes and Gardens

Food amp Wine

Golf Digest

Fitness

Parents

Vogue

Marie Claire

Food Network Magazine

Lucky

Playboy

Allure

House Beautiful

Cooking Light

Harperrsquos Bazaar

Parenting

Readerrsquos Digest

Road amp Track

Condeacute Nast Traveler

Prevention

Family Circle

Field amp Stream

More

Money

Southern Living

Architectural Digest

Every Day with Rachel Ray

Travel+Leisure

Smithsonian

ESPN The Magazine

Health

Smart Money

Ladiesrsquo Home Journal

TIME

Real Simple

Rolling Stone

Us Weekly

Motor Trend

Newsweek

Womenrsquos Health

Fast Company

Bloomberg Businessweek

Vanity Fair

Car and Driver

Martha Stewart Living

Essence

Popular Science

Bon Appeacutetit

Brides

Fortune

Maxim

Shape

Country Living

Entrepreneur

Golf Magazine

Good Housekeeping

Popular Mechanics

Redbook

W

Womanrsquos Day

Traditional Home

Muscles amp Fitness

ELLE DECOR

Star

Menrsquos Journal

Town amp Country

In Touch Weekly

GeniuS

37

1

30

24

8

GiFTeD

AVeRAGe

CHALLenGeD

Balanced sustained investment across social media platforms

Recognition that a successful mobile strategy extends beyond the iOS platform

13

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Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

k E Y F i n D i n G S

well-Managed Digital Footprint

One-stop access to TIMErsquos expanded digital footprint

Diverse investment Across Mobile Platforms

TIME is one of a handful of publications that develops across nearly every platform including Android iPad iPhone BlackBerry Nook and Kindle

Lightbox

Despite its demonstrable success TIME is not afraid to innovatemdash it recently launched a best-in-class photo blog in March

TIME Mobile App

One of the rare mobile offerings that brings Facebook and Twitter buttons into the app Proves distinct from both mobi-lize-optimized site and tablet offerings

A TIMe-ly Victory

14

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Magazines

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k E Y F i n D i n G S

A TIMe-ly Victory (continued)

never Pay Twice for the Same Content

Adopted ldquoAll Accessrdquo sub-scription plan on July 19 granting current print sub-scribers unrestricted use of the titlersquos content across ALL its digital versions

Facebook Page

Dedicated Twitter tab integrated video library and direct subscription signupmdashall implemented without redirects

Allie Townsend

TIME gives personality to its TIME Twitter account by hand-ing over the reins to the brandrsquos resident geek

The Page iPad App

Instead of introducing feature creep into the well conceived iPad edition of the magazine TIME has begun to create complementary tablet apps that feature separate content driven by its commentators and analysts

15

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Magazines

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k E Y F i n D i n G S

Size MattersIn aggregate brands that belong to a larger parent company

perform better than those associated with a smaller publica-

tion house or independent venture Companies that manage

ten or more brands register an average Digital IQ 11 percent

higher than their smaller counterparts The one exception

Rodale which garnered the highest organizational IQ at 112

has tapped into a Health amp Fitness category-specific formula

that translates across its four titles Condeacute Nast nabbed the top

spot of the large conglomerates registering an average Digital

IQ of 110 across the 16 magazines scored

The higher Digital IQ scores associated with larger companies

suggest these organizations have leveraged economies of

scalemdashemploying common site templates and mobile app

architecture across their titles

The five Hachette Filipacchi brands (ELLE ELLE DECOR

Car and Driver Road amp Track and Womanrsquos Day) perform

below those of Hearst which completed its acquisition of the

company on May 31 This merger will provide a valuable case

study for the export andor exchange of digital best practices

As a group hearst magazine brands outperform hachette Filipacchi Media brands online

Three of these five titles stand to gain from their new parent companyrsquos digital best practices

16

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

Menrsquos News amp Politics

Fashionamp Style

Lifestyle Scienceamp Nature

FamilyEntertainmentamp TV

Sportsamp Recreation

Businessamp Finance

Autoamp Cycles

Health amp Fitness

Home amp Gardening

WomenrsquosCooking Food amp Beverage

k E Y F i n D i n G S

AVERAGE DiGiTAL iq BY PAREnT COMPAnY

Organizations with More than One Brand in the index

Feeb

leCh

alle

nged

Aver

age

Gift

edG

eniu

s

70

30

90

110

140

170

Rodalen=

4

Condeacute

Nas

t

n=16

Time I

nc

n=13

Hearst

n=13

America

n Exp

ress

Publis

hing

n=2

Mered

ithn=

7

Hache

tte Fi

lipac

chi

n=5

Bonnie

r

n=3

Wenne

r Med

ian=

3

Reade

rrsquos D

igest

Assoc

iationn=

2

America

n Med

ian=

3

AVG IQ

112 AVG IQ

110 AVG IQ

106 AVG IQ

100 AVG IQ

93 AVG IQ

92 AVG IQ

90 AVG IQ

90 AVG IQ

84

AVG IQ

71

AVG IQ

98

Disparity

46Disparity

53

Disparity

62

Disparity

82Disparity

34Disparity

46Disparity

58

Disparity

16

Disparity

57

Disparity

6

Disparity

40

17

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Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

k E Y F i n D i n G S

Button vs FeatureEnsuring content is distributed across social networks is critical

for brands seeking to enhance referral traffic However the

relative gains from implementing additional sharing features

beyond the dominant platforms is modest

Why First upstream traffic from social media sites is over-

whelmingly driven by Facebook which represents more than

15 percent of such traffic across the top eight referral sites (and

three fourths of the upstream traffic originating from social me-

dia sites) Second our data demonstrates no detrimental effect

on annual traffic growth when brands exclude additional social

bookmarking buttons despite recent reports that Stumble-

Upon is becoming a major driver of upstream traffic across all

industries6

Instead basic improvements to the accessibility diversity and

interactivity of content as well as the incentives provided to

recurring site visitors (or lack thereof) appear to have the most

demonstrable impact on traffic

40

20

80

60

100

of Brandsfor whom the followingare a top eight source

of upstream traffic

of Upstream Trafficto brand sites

originating from thefollowing sources

of Brandsfor whom the followingare a top eight source of downstream traffic

of Downstream Trafficfrom brand sitesto the following

destinations

To Brand SiteUpstream Traffic Downstream Traffic

99

51

32

14

99

62

52

1415

31 1

16

3 2 1

From Brand Site

0

= FACEBOOK

= TWITTER

= YOUTUBE

= SOCIAL BOOKMARKING

TOP EiGhT REFERRAL amp DESTinATiOn SiTES FOR MAGAZinE BRAnDS

Upstream and Downstream Traffic to and from Social Media Sites

6 ldquoStumbleUpon sends more traffic to US websites than Facebookrdquo Colleen Taylor GigaOM July 5 2011

18

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

iMPACT OF SiTE COnTEnT amp TOOLS On TRAFFiC GROwTh

Year-on-Year Growth for Brand Sites with and without the Following Features

0

0

Incr

easi

ngDe

crea

sing

Traf

fic G

row

th

InteractivePolls amp Quizzes

Commentingon Content

-4

5 4

1

-3

13

Original BlogContent

Video

-27

6

Sweepstakesamp Giveaways

34

0

k E Y F i n D i n G S

SiTE COnTEnT amp TOOLS

of Brands with and without the Following Features

Video

Comments

BrandEditor Blogs

Interactive Polls amp Quizzes

Sweepstakes amp Giveaways

Facebook Open Graph

Twitter

Sharing Widget (eg ShareThis)

Social Bookmarking

928

8515

8416

4159

1684

973

9010

6238

4060

Content

Tools

= WITH

= WITH

= WITH

= WITHOUT

= WITHOUT

= WITHOUT

19

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

k E Y F i n D i n G S

Blog DiversityBlogs are becoming a standard feature of magazine sites as

readers demand original content between print cycles Eighty-

four percent of the brands in the Index maintain at least one

blog However unlike other site features that demonstrate a

high degree of conformity across the industry (eg subscrip-

tion sign-up) blog implementation is diverse

Only 70 percent of the brands with a blog integrate content on

the home page This figure is surprising low as blogs typically

generate some of the timeliest content and provide some of

the best opportunities for community engagement More than

90 percent of brands that maintain a blog allow users to submit

comments in response to a post On average users spend 30

percent more time on sites that allow commenting

iMPACT OF BLOG iMPLEMEnTATiOn On TRAFFiC GROwTh

Year-on-Year Growth for Brand Sites with and without the Following Features

0

0

Incr

easi

ngDe

crea

sing

Traf

fic G

row

th

Blog ContentViewable onHome Page

Blog PermitsUser CommentsWithout Sign-in

Blog PermitsUser Comments

-15

55

0

-1

18

Blog PromotesAuthor of Post

(Follow Contact etc)

-4

8

= WITH

= WITHOUT

New York Magazinersquos home Page integrated feeds from Vulture

its popular culture blog as well as foodie-based Grub Street and

fashion-oriented The Cut

20

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

Subscription Offer Link(Any Link in Any Tab)

Dedicated Subscribe Tab F-Commerce Subscription Signup

49

92

68

32

8

51

Facebook The new OSAll 87 brands in the Index are present on Facebook The average magazine has 250000 ldquolikesrdquo and posts 26 times per week The most active post upwards of 10 times per day Both Family and Health amp Fitness brands tend to perform better on Facebook pro-viding a diverse mix of wall content including tips-of-the-day recom-mended workout routines daily recipes and community questions

Playboy leads the Facebook arms race focusing on branded and co-branded content exclusives delivered by rich media interactive applications and custom social media integration O The Oprah Magazine leads all titles in Facebook growth utilizing competitions and event promotion offers coinciding with the final episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in May to grow its page 74 percent during the data collection period

More than 38 percent of all online referral traffic now originates from Facebook and 49 percent of brands in the Index register Facebook as their number two source of upstream traffic (after Google)7 Publishers have been using the platform to grow brand awareness and drive traffic but most have neglected to leverage their page to drive subscription services

Today nearly a quarter of new magazine subscriptions are se-cured through Internet promotions8 Although 100 percent of the brands in the Index maintain a link to a subscription page on their home page only 49 percent of the brands provide such a link on their Facebook page and just 32 percent provide a dedicated Facebook tab outlining the current subscription offer Only seven brands maintain a Facebook app that allows visitors to sign up for a subscription without leaving the Facebook domain (ie F-commerce)

k E Y F i n D i n G S

MAGAZinE SUBSCRiPTiOn inTEGRATiOn On FACEBOOk

of Brand Facebook Pages with and without the Following Features

= WITH

= WITHOUT

7 ldquoShareThis Study Facebook Accounts for 38 Percent of Sharing Traffic on the Webrdquo Erick Schonfeld TechCrunch June 6 2011

8 Association of Magazine Media (MPA) Internet Subscription Survey 2010

21

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

k E Y F i n D i n G S

TOP 10 BRAnDS FACEBOOk LikES

(June 2011)

TOP 10 FASTEST-GROwinG FACEBOOk ACCOUnTS

(MayndashJune 2011)

0 20 40 60 80

74O The OprahMagazine

37Parents

33Better Homesand Gardens

28Shape

28Self

26National Geographic

25Town amp Country

23Bon Appeacutetit

23Golf Digest

20Parenting

Playboy

Vogue

People

Cosmopolitan

Seventeen

The Economist

Teen Vogue

Us Weekly

Parents

Maxim

0

1000

000

1500

000

5000

00

2000

000

5828349

1456537

1269243

987306

856783

790451

783347

472893

375520

345214

22

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

Size vs engagementWhile much of the conversation regarding Facebook has been

about the size of an organizationrsquos page we believe that a more

important metric is the percentage of the community interacting

with brand content Across magazines interaction rates were

negatively correlated with page size

Only one brand in the Index Parents maintains a high interac-

tion rate within a comparatively large fan base The magazine

accomplishes this through an inquisitive voice (almost all com-

ments are framed as questions to fuel discussion) and content

that resonates with its primary audience (including informational

tips and inspirational comments)

Brands closing in on the desirable ldquoTribesrdquo quadrant include

Entertainment Weekly O The Oprah Magazine and Essence

COHORTS CROWDS

FAMILIES TRIBES

Parents Size + Interaction secured by inquisitive voice community polling and frequent updates

ELLE

Runnerrsquos WorldSports Illustrated

MaximPeople

PlayboyTeen

Vogue

Architectural Digest

Field amp Stream

Entertainment Weekly

O The Oprah Magazine

Essence

k E Y F i n D i n G S

SiZE OF COMMUniTY

note Horizontal axis (Size of Community) is graphed on a logarithmic scale

LE

VE

L O

F E

nG

AG

EM

En

T

FACEBOOk COMMUniTY SiZE vs EnGAGEMEnT RATES

Excluding brands with less than 1500 fans (n=85)

= ldquoTRIBESrdquo BRANDS Magazines with Large Facebook

Communities and High Engagement

= MAGAZINES WITH THE BEST CHANCE OF BECOMING ldquoTRIBESrdquo BRANDS by Increasing Fan Base Engagement or Both

23

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

-1000

-750

-500

-250

0

250

-1000

-750

-500

-250

0

250

Playbo

yVo

gue

Food

Network

Mag

azine

Peop

le

Cosmop

olitan

The E

cono

mist

Teen V

ogue

Seven

teen

Us Wee

kly

Paren

ts

Popu

lar M

echa

nics

Good H

ouse

keep

ing

Ladie

srsquo Hom

e Jou

rnal

More Tradit

ional

Home

Smart M

oney

In To

uch W

eekly

Menrsquos

Journ

al

Star Town amp

Countr

y

Better

Homes

and G

arden

s

Tradit

ional

Home

Road amp

Trac

k

Redbo

ok

Woman

rsquos Day

Reade

rrsquos Dige

st

Good H

ousk

eepin

g

Town amp

Countr

y

In To

uch W

eekly

Field

amp Stream

TIME

Peop

leInS

tyle

Wired

Enter

tainm

ent W

eekly

Newsw

eek

Health

The E

cono

mist

New Yo

rker

Food

Network

Mag

azine

Overachievers

Overachievers

Underachievers

Underachievers

OVERAChiEVERS amp UnDERAChiEVERS

Circulation ne Fans and FollowersThere is a weak relationship between a magazinersquos circula-

tion and its number of Facebook ldquolikesrdquo or Twitter followers

Only three brands on Facebook and three on Twitter maintain

a fanfollower base that meets or exceeds their average circula-

tion per issue No brands manage to accomplish this feat on

both platforms

This suggests that the social media battleground is about more

than just active readershipmdasha frightening prospect for some of

the most widely read brands which arguably have the most to

prove online (ie successfully transitioning a large audience

online without cannibalizing print revenue)

k E Y F i n D i n G S

Actual Facebook Fans vs Predicted Facebook Fans Based on Circulation Data (Linear Regression)

Actual Twitter Followers vs Predicted Twitter Followers Based on Circulation Data (Linear Regression)

2010 TOTAL PAiD amp VERiFiED CiRCULATiOn (Average per issue)

Rank BrandAvg Circ Per issue

(FY2010)

1 Better Homes and Gardens 7660754

2 Readerrsquos Digest 5822924

3 National Geographic 4493067

4 Good Housekeeping 4423181

5 Womanrsquos Day 3907651

6 Family Circle 3845395

7 Ladiesrsquo Home Journal 3834461

8 People 3578189

9 TIME 3313739

10 Sports Illustrated 3193688

Source Association of Magazine Media (MPA) Circulation Facts amp Figures Circulation for All Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) Magazines 2010

24

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DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

TwitterAll 87 brands in the Index maintain an active presence on Twitter

averaging 330000 followers and 17 tweets per day The most

active 20 percent of the brands in the Index tweet upwards of

40 times per day

News amp Politics and Fashion amp Style publications have the most

prominent Twitter followings Both categories excel at deliver-

ing time-sensitive information bites and links to the latest blog

entries The strongest brands donrsquot just broadcast they also

engage in conversations

Last year Seventeen offered a special subscription deal to its

Twitter followers ($5 for 12 issues) which resulted in 170 paid

subscriptions in less than 24 hours9 Promotional content helps

publications like Seventeen achieve high growth in followers (14

percent during the study period) despite the fact that the brand

tweets half as frequently as its primary competition Teen Vogue

Only 34 percent of magazines posted links to other social media

accounts from their Twitter stream suggesting limited social

media integration

k E Y F i n D i n G S

9 ldquoHow Magazines Use Social Media to Boost Pass-Along Build Voicerdquo Susan Currie Sivek PBS Media- Shift March 16 2010

Seventeen builds its Twitter base via

a healthy stream of promotional content

25

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

k E Y F i n D i n G S

0 5 10 15 20 25

22Vogue

18ESPN The Magazine

14Seventeen

12 ELLE DECOR

12In Touch Weekly

12Bloomberg Businessweek

12Bon Appeacutetit

Prevention 11

11Parents

10GQ

Time

People

InStyle

Entertainment Weekly

Wired

Newsweek

Health

The Economist

Sports Illustrated

National Geographic

0

5000

00

1000

000

1500

000

2000

000

2500

000

3000

000

2626367

2022690

1619847

1417223

1392836

1350541

1215258

1039866

1014028

2646954

BEST in TwEET TOP 10 FOLLOwERS

(June 2011)TOP 10 FASTEST-GROwinG TwiT TER ACCOUnTS

(MayndashJune 2011)

26

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

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Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

TOP 10 BRAnDS YOUTUBE

Brand Channels with the Most Upload Views

(June 2011)

k E Y F i n D i n G S

YouTubeA recent study of video viewing habits found that 57 percent of

survey respondents are more likely to watch rich media content

when it is shown in the context of an article suggesting an op-

portunity for magazine brands to increase perceived value on

digital properties10

Ninety-three percent of the brands in the Index maintain an

active YouTube channel On average they boast 289 videos

nearly 12000 subscribers and approximately 400000 channel

views During the time period in which this study was conduct-

ed brands averaged more than 9000 upload views per day

Over the past two years YouTube has engaged in content part-

nerships with National Geographic Sports Illustrated and Motor

Trend recognizing the important role publishers can play in the

platformrsquos growth However Southern Living registered the fast-

est growth in upload views during the study period incorporat-

ing video links to instructional content featuring contributing

editor Troy Black within its recently released iPad app (Big Book

of BBQ)

National Geographic

Sports Illustrated

Motor Trend

Playboy

Seventeen

Maxim

O The OprahMagazine

Us Weekly

Parents

Maxim

0

1000

0000

0

2000

0000

0

3000

0000

0

4000

0000

0

5000

0000

0

6000

0000

0

140928267

102273730

83614262

67443234

53285940

51729694

41858716

40429532

36218917

566153387

10 ldquoYahoo Study Shows Online Video Watching Shifting to Primetimerdquo Erick Schonfeld TechCrunch June 29 2011

27

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

100 20 30

EntertainmentWeekly

Money

Every Day withRachael Ray

Parents

TIME

Lucky

Newsweek

Prevention

Glamour

Fast Company

5 15 25

88

76

75

65

63

63

59

59

57

289

k E Y F i n D i n G S

emailMore than 90 percent of the publications in the Index have email

marketing programs However 16 of the brands that offered

opt-in failed to respond within six weeks of signup Participating

magazines averaged 25 emails per week Entertainment Weekly

leads the pack with 29 emails per week11 Across the Index

nearly 80 percent of email content is viewable on mobile devices

However nine out of 10 publications failed to incorporate sharing

options directly into emails via application programming inter-

faces (APIs) provided by social media platforms

Email Signup

Viewable on Mobile

Customization Options

Brand Social Media Links

Personalization

Social Sharing

93

79

69

46

10

8

7

21

31

54

90

92

EMAiL MARkETinG

of Brands with amp without the Following

11 Entertainment Weekly has incorporated an ldquoAlertsrdquo for Hollywood Insiders option into their e-mail newsletter sign-up process This 247 breaking news coverage serves to inflate its steady-state aver- age ldquoAlertsrdquo also form the basis for a secondary Twitter feed (EWAlerts)

TOP 10 BRAnDS

Average Emails Per week

28

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DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

k E Y F i n D i n G S

Apple-Centric (Apple of Their eye)A review of mobile-centric efforts reveals a pervasive prioriti-

zation of the iOS platformmdashwith more brands present in the

iTunes store than any other platform including mobile web

development efforts (which are device agnostic) Only 57 per-

cent of magazine brands have created mobile-optimized sites

perhaps working under the assumption that users will pick-up

their Apple device and reflexively jump right to the iTunes App

Store instead of Safari Only 31 percent of brands maintain a

dual strategymdashactively maintaining a mobile site and develop-

ing apps for each iOS device

Magazine demographics explain some of this disparity in the

context of other device platforms A recent Forrester Research

study shows an interesting gender divide between tablet and

e-reader owners with the men skewing towards the former and

the women towards the latter Top sellers on Barnes amp Noblersquos

Nook Color e-reader include Us Weekly Shape Womenrsquos

Health and Every Day with Rachael Ray12 Our findings support

the hypothesis that many magazines are choosing to selective-

ly invest in either tablets or e-readers with less than 70 percent

of brands providing content on both

With respect to magazines Apple maintains a clear lead when

it comes to mobile operating system development Each of the

27 magazines with an Android app also has either an iPhone

or an iPad app with Android app functionality closely mirroring

that of its iOS peers (which were typically first to market)

12 ldquoFemale Magazine Fans Flock to Nook Colorrdquo Jeremy Peters New York Times May 22 2011

40

20

60

iOS PlatformMobileWeb

OtherPlatforms E-Readers GeolocalSMS

57

82

67

51

18

107

31

11

20

59

44

0

= MOBILE WEB = iOS PLATFORM

= OTHER PLATFORMS

= E-READERS

=

= SMS

= GEOLOCAL

Mobile-

Optimize

dSite

iOS

iPad N

ative

Apps

Androi

d

Blackb

erry

Fours

quare

Face

book

Both iP

hone

amp

iPad A

pps Noo

kZin

ioKind

leSMS

MOBiLE COVERAGE

of Brands Participating on the Following Platforms

29

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Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

k E Y F i n D i n G S

iPad iSolationWe reviewed more than 90 iPad-native applications produced

by brands in the Index Of the 58 brands present on the tablet

device only 43 make the full digital edition of their print product

available on the iTunes store as a unique application (exclud-

ing those brands relying exclusively on Ziniorsquos cross-platform

reader)

Efforts on this platform are impressive but consistently lack a

key feature in terms of functionality Despite the near-universal

ability to share a link to site content via Facebook or Twitter

only 42 percent of the brands publishing an iPad digital edition

enable sharing of app content to either social media platformRich Media Content

Link to External Content

Interactive (ldquoGesturerdquo) Page Elements

Embedded Social Sharing

8614

7228

6733

4258

SUBSET OF iPAD APPS REPRESEnTinG

DiGiTAL EDiTiOn OF ThE PRinT MAGAZinE

of Brands with and without the Following Features

= WITH

= WITHOUT

30

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Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

L2rsquos road map for navigating the past present and future

of magazines online

Sales Outlet

Subscription Promo

Cover

Platform for Digital Edition

Digital Pricing Model

Must-Have Digital Edition Feature

User Accounts

Forums

Archives

E-Commerce

X-Factors

Today Tomorrow

Corner newsstand

Annoying 3x5 Cards Disrupt Reading

Experience

Static

Zinio

Full newsstand Price no Subscription Option

Moving Covers and interactive Graphics

Unlock Ability to Comment

Active

Premium

ldquoShown in imagerdquo References

mdash

App Store Download

Annoying Pop-Ups Disrupt Viewing

Experience

Dynamic

iPad

Discounted Price Digital-Only Subscription

Ability to Share Content Enhanced Readability

Become interoperability with 3rd-Party Credentials

Defunct

Free

Pass-Through Storefront via Search Partner

mdash

Cross-Brand Digital newsstand

Targeted Social Media Promotion (Like to Subscribe

Reward for Referral)

Fully interactive

hTML5

Modular Print Digital Subscription

Ability to Aggregate Content Across Sister Publications

Enable Access to ldquoSocialrdquo Site Features

Discontinued

Basis for Microsite

Curated Content on Specialty Retail Site

Google+ iTunes newsstand Google E-Reader

Amazon Tablet

Yesterday

D i G i TA L P R O J E C T i O n S

31

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Magazines

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F L A S h O F G E n i U S

ROUTinE ROUTinE ROUTinE

The strongest magazines on Facebook have fueled growth in

page ldquolikesrdquo by updating the brandrsquos Facebook landing page

in conjunction with the release of a new issue and coupling this

fresh content with rewards promotions and access to live events

hosted online By maintaining a timely content program Self

provides an additional dimension to its print content and fosters

a sticky relationship with its Facebook fans

Starting in March Self adopted a ldquolike gaterdquo strategy for its Facebook page synced to fresh content inspired by each new issue

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

6867666564636261531

530

529

528

527

526

525

524

523

522

520

518

516

514

512

510

521

519

517

515

513

5115958

MAY 10

Jillian Dempsey (Global Creative

Color Director for Avon) hosts

Facebook event

MAY 11

Angus Mitchell Salon hosts Facebook event

MAY 17

Leslie Blodgett (Executive Chairman of makeup company Bare Escentuals) hosts Facebook event

MAY 23

Kraft Foods guest hosts Facebook event as part of

the 2011 Healthy Food Awards

MAY 24

Transition to June issue promotion

MAY 26

Continued momentum from 525 Twitter community solicitation ldquoOur Facebook

page is 1000 fans away from 100000 fans Like our page amp help us reach our

goal (amp yoursquoll get fun perks)rdquo

MAY 27

Brand Manager for Sweet Leaf Tea hosts Facebook event

JUnE 1

Exclusive subscription

rate for Facebook fans

JUnE 6

Tone It Up Sweepstakes 1 (Workout DVD)

JUnE 7

Tone It Up Sweepstakes 2 (10 pairs of Sketchers Tone-Ups shoes)

JUnE 5

Karena amp Katrina (trainers from

health amp fitness company Tone

It Up) host Facebook event

MAY 25

Dr Ayala from Herbal Water hosts Facebook

event

FACEBOOk TiMELinE Brand ldquoLikesrdquo Per Day on Facebook(May 8 ndash June 8 2011)

32

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

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Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

F L A S h O F G E n i U S

ChAnnELinG FAn EnThUSiASM

Less than 25 percent of magazines incorporate interactive

Facebook applications and less than 15 percent solicit user-

generated content beyond commenting

Golf Digest does bothmdashrecently porting a bracket version of its

annual ranking of Americarsquos 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses

(published since 1966) to Facebook Each week fans vote on a

head-to-head matchup of public courses and over summer will

determine the 2011 ldquoFansrsquo Choicerdquo for the best public course in

the country

Golf Digestrsquos static version of the rankings on their site

Golf Digest engages with its users by allowing them to

choose Americarsquos Greatest Public Golf

Course through a competitive bracket

33

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DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

F L A S h O F G E n i U S

On YOUR MARk GET SEThellip CO-BRAnD

As magazines rapidly expand their digital footprint to leading

social media platforms advertisers are often left behind The

Facebook app ldquoBreaKawayrdquo is designed to blend into the social

media mold by presenting profiles of various running champions

who use K-SWISS gear to win races It goes on to present social

media links to official K-SWISS online properties a series of tips

and tricks for running enthusiasts and an interactive gallery of K-

SWISS shoe models with direct links to the brandrsquos online store

The k-SwiSS sponsored Facebook app provides Runnerrsquos World Facebook users with profiles of their favorite running champions tips and tricks and an image gallery of their latest running shoe models

34

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Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

F L A S h O F G E n i U S

E(DiTORiAL)-COMMERCE

Declining advertising revenue combined with growing online retail

sales has created an opportunity for Fashion amp Style publications

Several of these brands have launched affiliated shopping

microsites or exclusive partnerships with members-only shopping

sites13 14 These opportunities allow magazines to leverage their

editorial influence while maintaining a degree of separation from

direct product sales and fulfillment

Glamourrsquos shopping portal (powered by ShopStyle) aggregates

thousands of products across several hundred online retailers15

While the portal contains several innovative features such as

ldquosales alertsrdquo its ldquogeniusrdquo becomes apparent when browsing

Glamourrsquos main page Within select photo galleries users are

presented with an option to ldquoShop This Lookrdquomdashwhich then

redirects them to similar items or the point-of-sale if the item

is one-of-a-kind

13 ldquoGQ Gilt Groupe Team Up on E-Commerce Siterdquo Lucia Moses Adweek June 16 2011

14 ldquoSocial Shopping Gets Personal Lucky Magazine Partners With This Nextrdquo Lydia Dishman Forbescom Style Inc July 11 2011

15 ldquoThe Great Glossy Sell-Outrdquo Kat Stoeffel New York Observer July 5 2011

The Glamour shopping microsite is filled with products sales alerts and shoppable photo galleries with click through to point-of-sale

35

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

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Magazines

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F L A S h O F G E n i U S

CROwDSOURCinG REinTERPRETED

The majority of the brands reviewed in the Index have been slow

to offer user-centric tools features or access privileges that

diverge from the successful sweepstakes model One notable

exception is National Geographicrsquos ldquoYour Shotrdquo program

ldquoYour Shotrdquo enables readers to submit their own photos

Each weekday magazine editors select 12 photos for further

consideration by the user community Each month the

community is given the opportunity to vote for their personal

favorites All uploaded photos are archived on the site and a

selection of each monthrsquos best images is printed in the magazine

Since launching in June 2006 the site has accumulated nearly

138000 users and more than 970000 images

National Geographicrsquos ldquoYour Shotrdquo program has accumulated nearly

one million user-generated images since its launch in 2006

36

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

F L A S h O F G E n i U S

whATrsquoS OLD iS nEw AGAin

Although more than 40 percent of the brands analyzed maintain

an issue archive only a handful differentiate Some of the more

engrossing archives (eg New Yorker Rolling Stone) are offered

as premium content or as a subscriber perk Alternatively some

of the most voluminous archives (eg Popular Science) are

accessible thanks to Google Booksrsquo archival efforts

However only Vogue uses its archive to introduce a new site

feature ldquoVoguepediardquo launched in early May is an encyclopedia

for all things Vogue16 The tool draws from 119 years of content

and allows readers to retrieve profiles on designers brands

models personalities and makeup artists Profile pages are

broken down into useful sections each with forwarding links

to accessible Vogue content including archived collection

slideshows and recent appearances in web content

16 ldquo119 Years of Vogue Now Available on Voguepediardquo Misty White Sidell Fashionistacom May 9 2011

An archive of various celebrity

personalities can be found in

ldquoVoguepediardquo

ldquoVoguepediardquo enables users to retrieve profiles

on designers brands models

personalities and makeup artists

37

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

F L A S h O F G E n i U S

SOniC BLOOM-BERG

Available since April Bloomberg Businessweek for iPad satisfies

the needs of readers seeking both news and research The app

features intuitive persistent ldquoTable of Contentsrdquo navigation as

well as an expansive company index A ldquoRelatedrdquo tab on the

right-hand side provides access to additional information about

companies cited within articles such as stock quotes and other

recent news Users can share content via email Facebook and

Twitter in addition to saving content to a personal in-app library

The apprsquos advanced search functionality is equally impressive

allowing users to customize their search by company and over

multiple issues

Bloomberg Businessweekrsquos iPad app is equipped with intuitive navigation sharing and search features

ACCESS ShARECLiPSEARCh

38

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

F L A S h O F G E n i U S

PaRlEz-VouS innOVATiOn

Despite the propensity of women to consume magazine content

via e-reader rather than tablet platforms iPad editions of Fashion

amp Style brands are among the most innovative in the industry

featuring cutting-edge interactive elements and rich media alike

EllE and Marie Claire are ahead of the pack showcasing content

and featured products through animated covers tap buttons that

reveal additional content as well as interactive quizzes and live

contests

Perhaps most impressive are the native e-commerce tools

showcased in both apps EllErsquos app has a ldquoBuy Nowrdquo API

(powered by ShopStyle) that is naturally integrated within its

combined swipe and scroll navigation Marie Clairersquos app offers

users 360-degree views of items with live links to each productrsquos

respective storefront

EllE showcases content by providing readers with the opportunity to learn

more andor buy with the touch or flick of a finger

Marie Claire highlights links that direct to brand sites without even leaving the app

Marie Clairersquos 360deg view provides

readers with a closer look at each of its

showcased products

+

39

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

LiVE YOUR BEST APP

O The Oprah Magazine does a commendable job

of leveraging both design and technology on its

iPad app Tapping the cover of the poetry-themed

April issue launches an embedded video of Oprah reading a

selection from the collected works of Langston Hughes Keeping

with the theme there is an issue-specific interactive poetry

game that enables users to create poems and save them to

their image galleries Likewise the ldquoReading Roomrdquo section

showcases books allowing users to read excerpts share via

email add content to favorites and buy the full edition through

Amazon or Barnes amp Noble Beyond books featured products

are effortlessly browseable easily shared by email and linked to

Oprahrsquos ldquoO Listrdquo storefront and other e-commerce sites

F L A S h O F G E n i U S

Oprah gets closer to her readers by inviting them to interact with each issue

Browse books products and recipes Read and share book reviews amp excerpts View recipes and watch how-to videos all within this app

40

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

F L A S h O F G E n i U S

HTML5DODGinG ThE APP-ALAnChE

Although many magazine brands are investing heavily in tablet

apps others are bypassing the iTunes store and Android

marketplace altogether creating both mobile-optimized and

tablet-optimized sites

Given that the latter are such a recent phenomenon the degree

to which brands have adopted this ldquopass-throughrdquo strategy varies

considerably CNNMoney the parent brand of Fortune and Money

magazines has released the beta version of moneycnncom

tablet a scaled-down adaption of the main site designed for

viewing in landscape mode17

Another Time Inc publication Sports Illustrated made waves last

year with a well-received HTML5 demo that spurred a fresh cycle

of innovation across the industry Since then there have been

several advancements This June Google Labs released Swiffy

a free barebones Adobe Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool18

Forbes and Marie Claire have followed this lead offering HTML5-

powered tablet-optimized sites that look and behave like iPad-

native apps19 This platform pioneered by Onswipe provides the

opportunity to recapture subscription revenues lost to Apple and

mitigates some of the bandwidth memory and time demands of

a permanent application

17 ldquoWill Publishers Choose the Open Web Over Applersquos Walled Gardenrdquo Matthew Ingram GigaOM May 24 2011

18 ldquoSwiffy convert SWF files to HTML5rdquo Gordon Michael The Official Google Code Blog June 28 2011

19 ldquoOnswipe Makes Any News Site Touch-Enabled With HTML5 Magicrdquo Ryan Singel Wired Epicenter June 21 2011

OLD SChOOLCNNMoneyrsquos

Tablet View Betamdash provides tile view of

breaking stories

nEw SChOOLForbes and Marie Clairersquos tablet-optimized hTML5 sites

41

Want to know more about your brandrsquos rankingCOnTACT US

DiGiTAL iQ Indexreg

Magazines

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

SCOTT GALLOwAYClinical Professor of Marketing NYU SternFounder L2

Scott is the founder of L2 a think tank for digital innova-tion and Clinical Professor of Marketing at the NYU Stern School of Business where he teaches brand strategy and digital marketing Scott is also the founder of Firebrand Partners an operational activist firm that has invested over $1 billion in US consumer and media companies In 1997 he founded Red Envelope an Internet-based consumer gift retailer (2007 revs $100mm) In 1992 Scott founded Prophet a brand strategy consultancy that employs over 250 professionals in the United States Europe and Asia Scott was elected to the World Economic Forumrsquos ldquoGlobal Leaders of Tomorrowrdquo which recognizes 100 individuals under age 40 ldquowhose accomplishments have had impact on a global levelrdquo

Scott has served on the board of directors of Eddie Bauer The New York Times Company Gateway Computer and Berkeleyrsquos Haas School of Business

COLin GiLBERTL2

Colin is a strategic consultant with more than three years of experience working at the nexus of the public and private sectors Serving as a principal at the Civitas Group in Washington DC he helped lead research advisory and due-diligence engagements for a range of clients spanning technology start-ups defense contractors and government agencies and specialized in matters pertaining to cloud computing cybersecurity and online privacy Colin received a BA in History from Stanford University and an MPA from the London School of Economics While completing his graduate studies abroad he worked with Accenture to construct case material used to demonstrate the versatility of the firmrsquos Public Service Value (PSV) methodology

MAUREEn MULLEnL2

Maureen leads L2rsquos Research and Advisory Practice where she helped developed the Digital IQ Indexreg She has bench-marked digital marketing e-commerce and social media efforts of more than 300 brands across Pharma Auto Luxury Specialty Retail Beauty and the Public Sector Mau-reen also has led digital strategy consulting engagements for a variety of Fortune 1000 clients Before joining L2 Mau-reen was with Triage Consulting Group and led managed care payment review and payment benchmarking projects for hospitals including UCLA Medical Center UCSF and HCA Maureen has a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University and an MBA from NYU Stern

R DAniELLE BAiLEYL2

Danielle began her career at The Home Depot Inc where she led a variety of internal consulting engagements focused on supply chain merchandising and in-store pro-cess improvement She went on to manage the implemen-tation of award-winning mobile initiatives for several large media clients including The New York Times Company NBC Universal DisneyABC Maxim magazine and Zagat Danielle has a BS in Systems Engineering from the Univer-sity of Virginia and an MBA from NYU Stern

ChRiSTinE PATTOnCreative Director L2

Christine is a brand and marketing consultant with more than 15 years of experience creating brand identities and marketing communications for aspirational and luxury brands As creative director of L2 she leads the translation of the L2 brand across all touchpoints with a particular focus on the visual packaging of L2rsquos researchShe began her career at Cosiacute where she developed the brand and oversaw its evolution from concept through growth to 100 restaurants Since then she has provided creative direction for a wide array of clients including the launch of Kidville and CosmoGIRl magazine Christine received a BA in Economics and Journalism from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from NYU Stern

JOn wEinBERGL2

Jon Weinberg began his career as a strategist and copywriter at The Moderns a boutique Manhattan-based branding consultancy where he worked with clients rang-ing from start-ups to Fortune 1000 corporations While there he managed digital strategy for both the firm and its clients Jon received an AB in Government with a secondary in Near Eastern Language and Civilizations from Harvard University where he served as an associate editor for the Harvard International Review

LinDA MATELJAnL2

Linda began her career as a consultant at DTZ Pieda Man-agement Consultants in London where she worked on devel-opment feasibility projects for leisure and retail real estate clients She went on to manage the investment optimization of a $30 million real estate trust as well as develop brand-building initiatives for such clients as La Prairie and JPMor-gan Chase in the United States Linda has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Western Australia a BA Hons (1st) in Business from the University of Westminster and an MSc in Real Estate Investment from the University of Reading

JESSiCA BRAGAL2

Jessica a freelance art director specializes in identity iconography event graphics and invitations Initially begin-ning her career in fashion designing textiles and prints at Elie Taharirsquos design studio in New York City she then focused on the Elie Tahari brand aesthetic and consistency in design across its many developing disciplines Desiring to explore other facets of design she went on to become the art direc-tor of a small prestigious design firm in Chelsea where she focused on event graphics digital and print collateral and brand aesthetics for companies both large and small Jes-sica holds a BFA in Graphic Design as well as an AAS in Illustration from Rochester Institute of Technology

T E A M

L2 is a think tank for digital innovation

We are a membership organization that brings together thought leadership from academia and industry to drive digital marketing innovation

ReSeARCH

Digital iq indexreg The definitive benchmark for online competence Digital IQ Indexreg reports score

brands against peers on more than 350 quantitative and qualitative data points diagnosing their

digital strengths and weaknesses

eVenTS

Forums Big-picture thinking and game-changing innovations meet education and entertainment

The largest gatherings of prestige executives in North America

300+ attendees

Clinics Executive education in a classroom setting with a balance of theory tactics and

case studies

60 ndash120 attendees

working Lunches Members-only lunches led by digital thought leaders and academics

Topic immersion in a relaxed environment that encourages open discussion

12ndash24 attendees

MBA Mashups Access and introduction to digital marketing talent from top MBA schools

COnSuLTinG

Advisory Services L2 works with brands to garner greater return on investment in digital initiatives

Advisory work includes Brand Digital Roadmaps Social Media Strategy and Site Optimization

engagements

MeMBeRSHiP

For membership info and inquiries membershipL2ThinkTankcom

uPCOMinG 2011 eVenTS

072811 L2 Clinic Video amp Celebrity

This half-day immersion explores successful strategies to drive

engagement and brand awareness through the use of online

video and traditionalmdashand untraditionalmdashcelebrities

090911 L2 Clinic China

A full-day clinic devoted to raising brandsrsquo Digital IQs in the

worldrsquos biggestmdashand soon-to-be most digitally savvymdash

consumer market

101411 L2 Clinic The Social Graph Pharma

An intensive workshop examining social mediarsquos platforms

and best practices through a Pharmaceutical industry lens

111011 L2 Forum innovation 2011

Called the ldquoTED for marketingrdquo L2rsquos third-annual Innovation

Forum will bring together the highest density of scholars

business leaders startups and marketing executives in

North America

uPCOMinG 2011 ReSeARCH

PRESTiGE 100reg Reports

China

DiGiTAL iq inDExreg Reports

Specialty Retail

Beauty

Fashion amp Leather Goods

watches amp Jewelry

GEn Y AFFLUEnTS Reports

Prestige Brand Ranking

A Think TAnk for DiGiTAL innOVATiOn

821 Broadway 2nd Floor

New York NY 10003

w L2ThinkTankcom

E infoL2ThinkTankcom

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom

A Think TAnk for DiGiTAL innOVATiOn

821 Broadway 2nd Floor

New York NY 10003

w L2ThinkTankcom

E infoL2ThinkTankcom

copy L2 2011 L2ThinkTankcom