Tag: Media

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Bikini Female on Front Cover: Tatooed on Advertiser Mind?

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not a bikini, but you get the drift …

I was having a beer with a friend who works for a well known consumer technology company and we were talking about how having a bikini clad female on the front cover of a Philippine publication can be a deal breaker or a deal maker for some advertisers. Obviously, for magazines like FHM and MAXIM, the statutory bikini girl is already calloused to us. But for other publications that draw the line between geek and sexy (i.e. certain technology and men’s titles), do you really need to have a bikini clad girl on the cover?

Some advertisers have a reputation to protect and will pull out their ads on magazines that dare to include photos of bikini or underwear-clad women (note that this does not include “sexy” shots of women fully clothed). So this friend tells me of certain instances when they had to pull out of some magazines that went “sexy” — even if it was just for one issue.

I have two questions now:

1. Is this HARSH?

2. If you were an EIC, would you risk an attractive bikini clad female to grace your cover in hopes that sales go up in stall purchases, with the opportunity cost of letting one advertiser go, forever?

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Mostly Everything

NY Times: Blogging (and b5media) as a Source of Jobs and the “Institutionalizing” of Blogs

The New York Times has an article on blogging as a relevant source of jobs, with a special mention of b5media Inc and CEO jeremy Wright. But beyond the job opportunities, there is something more important brewing – ‘Institutionalized Journalism 2.0.’

In his recent article on Mobile Philippines, EIC Adel Gabot points out key differences between bloggers and journalists. He says that bloggers, unlike journalists are not bound by an “institutional check” which could be dangerous in the long run. I fully agree with this statement as I have mentioned that bloggers are … bloggers because they enjoy that certain “freedom” and spontaneity, unlike journalists who are subjected to layers of editors and time before an article sees the light of publishing. It is a function of prudence and what you get when you have a working institution.

However, this is subject to change.

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Mostly Everything

Why Magazines are still out there

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It is no secret that new media is not so slowly taking a bigger role in viral marketing efforts as well as being included in the business models of publishing companies. There is usually the “online version” of a publication that contains stuff that magazines cannot achieve such as running commentaries, reader to editorial conversations, and daily news updates.

But given all this, magazines are still out there – and for good reason too! (read: not just for your pet to poop on)

Not everything can be read on a blog. You won’t print out a blog entry to show your friends the latest camera or cellphone in the market. You’d show them the magazine or product catalog. In the same light, it is much easier to appreciate a two page spread or specially executed pages (triple folds or advertorial pop-ups with music) from the perspective of a print publication.

To read a blog, you need a computer. Or a PDA with a feed reader. You won’t really bring your laptop with wireless connection to the throne either (because if you do, then you’re really geeky and gross).

Quality Content. This is perhaps the main differentiator, at least for the more established titles. Blogs don’t require an editorial hierarchy. Magazines do. It helps ensure quality control, as well as making resources available to bag that next big story.

Like it or not, we’re still in some sort of bubble. Not everyone reads blogs or looks at the Internet to find pertinent information. They still resort to television, radio and print. I feel that for the entire trimedia to go fully digital, businesses have to collapse and generations should pass before any such revolution will occur.

There are some class A titles better suited for print. Great titles such as Esquire, GQ, and Tattler find some sort of comfort zone by being seen on the news stand and not purely online. It’s meant to be read, and maybe even read in public. It’s a status thing I guess.

Image taken from the Esquire Cover Gallery