Traditional Home incorporated barcodes, which consumers can use to view additional content, into its April issue. Marketers including Scandia and KraftMaid added post-roll ads to the “Tip Clip” barcoded content in the issue.
The Meredith publication’s art director, working with the corporate interactive media and video studios groups, produced the ads.
“We know that nearly half of our readers own smartphones and use applications,” said Blaire Rzempoluch, advertising director at Traditional Home. “When editorial came up with this idea, we looked at advertisers that were in the April issue and had video creative ready.”
The Microsoft Tag Reader app, which is available for smartphones including the iPhone and BlackBerry, is required to activate the content. Five stories plus the editor’s letter are tagged and offer consumers a video or Web extension of the article.
“We’d been looking for ways to enhance our reader experience and engage our customers across platforms,” Rzempoluch added.
The nascent technology will likely appear in Traditional Home through the end of the year, Rzempoluch said. Meredith could also incorporate it into direct mail and event campaigns, but these initiatives are in early stages, she added.
The move comes as magazine publishers are increasing their digital efforts. The release of the Apple iPad spurred the Audit Bureau of Circulations to update its definition of a digital edition this month.
