Cond? Nast Traveler has added 205 pages to its magazine this year and is enjoying its biggest year ever in ad pages thanks to its inclusion of advertorial “impact units.”
Many of these units are pull-out booklets sponsored and created by big-name advertisers such as Dove, Lexus and Cadillac. The Dove campaign featured a special section in the April issue – a full-size, 14-page mini-mag on “Global Beauty.” Lexus sponsored a 14-page, waterproof, pull-out booklet for the August issue.
These creative ad deals have helped increase the number of Traveler’s ad pages 3.4 percent for this year, for a total of 781.99. It’s the first year since 1995 that the magazine has topped its main competitor, Travel & Leisure, in ad pages. Travel & Leisure suffered a drop of 16.5 percent to land at 772.96 pages (per the PIB).
The Lexus booklet not only wooed a reluctant Lexus into buying ad pages from Traveler, it cross-promotes a Traveler book being published by Penguin in October. Content in the booklet was excerpted from the “Cond? Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys.”
Traveler public relations director Jon Hammond notes that content-driven marketing campaigns seem to be a growing trend for automakers who advertise in print. He cited a recent Nissan campaign in Glamour magazine and a Cadillac feature in GQ (both Cond? Nast titles).
“The automotive category wants to make sure that print works for them,” said Hammond. “They want something much more specific that connects with the reader. We’re taking it away from that one-page flat unit and taking it up a notch. Auto people want something outside the norm.”
The September issue of Traveler also features auto units – a triple-gatefold cover for Cadillac and a two-page fold for Buick. The Buick ad wraps around Traveler’s “Room with a View” section, a reader favorite regularly featured on the back page. The magazine is looking at more sponsorship-style creative ads for the future.
Cond? Nast Traveler is published by Cond? Nast Media, New York.
