All Eyes on iPad

As a digital creative, I've already started my internal "work" considering how I might think differently about about web design and UI/UX for the iPad (and the wealth of devices like it that are sure to come), but there is another tantalizing consideration as well - what about "print" advertising?

As a 24-year veteran of the ad game, I cut my teeth writing, designing, and producing print advertising. But I long ago moved on to greener pastures. It was a sad transition, because I strongly believe that advertising creative overall has suffered as a result. There is nothing quite like the canvas of a full page ad to work with.

Now the iPad offers newspapers and magazines the opportunity for a re-birth, of sorts, and with it a re-birth of the large format "print ad" as well. All this could place a premium back on the skill of artfully combining headline, image, and copy to create something much greater than the sum of its parts.

Fast Company discusses some great ideas for immersive, rich-media experiences magazine and newspaper publishers could consider for the iPad, but I can see how these same ideas could apply to ads as well - and the thought has my mind churning.

Here's my adaptation of Fast Company's recommendations (for their original article, visit the link below):

1. Interactive reviews & on-the-spot shopping

As a reader, Imagine seeing a gorgeous, full-page ad - and clicking through to online reviews of the product and even dropping it into your Amazon shopping cart without ever leaving the article you're reading.

2. Continual publishing & market research

For magazines and newspapers on the iPad, Fast Company says, "there's no reason to publish monthly or daily issues. Rather, they should be curating content all of the time." The same can apply to ads on the iPad. Advertisers should be able to update and revise their ads with everything from contextual imagery to suit the article it appears in to a sweetened call-to-action to stimulate response. For example, imagine as an advertiser that customers could download a coupon from your ad with the touch of their finger. Imagine further that you could monitor these downloads by ad, by publication, by region, even by time of day - and adjust your coupon offer in real time to stimulate maximum response and ROI.

3. Advertainment (Woven Narratives) & easy sharing

"...if you're sitting back with an iPad or a tablet, the content you read can quite easily vacillate between words and images," Fast Company said. Imagine a full page ad with imagery that comes to life with video and audio at the touch of your finger without leaving the page or article you're reading. Imagine also that with one touch you could easily share an ad that you found particularly entertaining with your social networks.

4. Custom content & earned media

Magazines and newspapers, Fast Company says, "...might even push stories to your front page, based on the things you've spent time with in the past." Again, I foresee the same applying to advertisements - and on top of that, the publication could also push "popular" ads (judged by the ads' rate of sharing by readers) to prime positions. This could actually create a new form of earned media - prime placement (added value) that is earned by the advertiser for having great, compelling creative.

All of the ideas described above have the potential to enhance the quality of online creative and improve the overall experience for both publishers and consumers of content.

It's a great time to be in this business!

Scott

in reference to: Lean With It: To Succeed, iPad Must Revolutionize Reading. It Hasn't...Yet | Design & Innovation | Fast Company (view on Google Sidewiki)