MRI Launches New Ratings System for Magazines

Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI) unveiled the first ever ratings measurement for magazine advertising. The new service, AdMeasure, will focus not only on circulation or potential readership of an ad, but will go a step further by measuring the ad’s effectiveness.

The metric will answer the questions:

Was the ad noticed by the reader?
Did it affect consumer behavior?

“Historically, a magazine’s total readership was accepted as a proxy for ad exposure,” said Kathi Love, president and CEO of MRI. “AdMeasure sharpens the focus of magazine accountability by moving the needle from measuring the ‘opportunity to see’ a print ad to measuring how many readers actually saw the ad, as well as how many took an action as a result of seeing it.”

There seems to be a trend in media’s desire to give marketers more precise and qualitative measurements of their advertising. From the new Eyes On rating system for outdoor advertising to this new AdMeasure for print, those media once considered to be a complement to TV and radio are stepping up by offering better accountability and giving advertisers more reason to spend their ad dollars with them.

AdMeasure will provide ratings for national ads one-third of a page or larger in roughly 645 consumer magazines nationwide.

--Tessa G.

Who, what, when and why from where

Newsweek recently revamped its print product. Recognizing that it can’t compete with the Internet in timeliness and scope, Newsweek has decided to focus on delivering a long view on topics of the day, to provide context for stories from a brand that has garnered trust. It’s found a point of differentiation.

Now Newsweek is rethinking its online product as well. Newsweek.com will dig deep, too. But it also will offer blogs and links for a broad perspective—so broad as to possibly include its competitor, Time, according to a May 3 report in Media Week online.

“You have to ask yourself, ‘Are we in the business of delivering the best possible content or brands—or brands we favor or like?’” Geoff Reiss, vice president/general manager for Newsweek Digital is quoted as saying.

It’s a different way of thinking: Rather than being the source, Newsweek.com is seeking to be the resource. Rather than being the place to turn when you want Newsweek, the online site is seeking to be the place to turn when you want news—whether it is written by that trusted brand or presented by that trusted brand.

Some say without a point of differentiation in its online voice, Newsweek risks becoming another MSNBC. I’ll watch with anticipation to see whether it can successfully add “content provider” to its job descriptor without having to sacrifice its valuable role as content creator.

--Julianne W.