These days an increasing number of people are using tablets and touch-screen devices. The mobile revolution has quickly taken over all areas of life – including the publishing market. Virtually all popular magazines nowadays have their digital equivalents. However, the traditional medium is doing quite well.

Colourful, print-fragrant magazines still rule the show in waiting rooms, offices, shops, beauty and hair salons, and on the board of planes. The only difference is that modern technology is more often present on magazine pages, which gives the print a totally new dimension. All sorts of inserts and supplements added to colourful magazines are as old as the publishing branch itself.

If the publishers’ technical possibilities allowed for that, publishers and advertisers added freebies to attract their readers’ attention. But now the times have changed and it is no longer good enough to add leaflets to a magazine to arouse the reader’s interest. Social media and omnipresent mobile phones rendered us connected to the Internet all the time. To catch up with those changes, colour magazines need to be interactive in some respect.

Is it also feasible in the case of a medium that is restricted by the number of pages and printing facilities? Creative examples from all over the world show that it can be done. By playing with the cover, paper, ink, or shape of the paper, or adding electronic elements to the magazine, you can create an intriguing and eye-catching message that will astonish the reader.

Give your readers something extra

Our needs change along with technology. Big brands understand it very well and reach beyond the narrow understanding of their DNA. They give their recipients value, which is significant mostly for the readers themselves. Coca-Cola, which is known for exceptional and innovative creations, can also surprise with the simplicity of their solutions.

It perfectly depicts the brand’s message; whose intention is to offer pleasure and joy. Taking advantage of a simple cut on the back side of the cover, Coca-Cola created something like a loudspeaker, which amplified the sound resonating from the reader’s smartphone. All you had to do was roll the magazine into a tube, insert the phone into that so-called ‘pocket’, and the music bouncing and echoing from the pages of the magazine did the job.

Coca – Cola amplifier:

Nivea approached that problem differently. Coming from the insight of the place where their sun cream is used, the brand came up with the beach, which was where their product users spend their time. In such a place the reader has a limited access to a mobile phone charger. Therefore, the brand decided to add to their magazine ad special paper that functioned as a solar panel. All you had to do was connect the mobile phone to a small charge placed at the back of the magazine and enjoy the reading, meanwhile waiting for the phone battery to be fully charged.

Nivea Sun charger:

Encourage your reader to interact

Women love colourful magazines and shopping with friends when they can exchange their opinions about e.g. their dream dress. At the same time, they do not want to part with their smartphones and social media. Can we combine one with the other in a creative advertising campaign? C&A brand in their undertaking proved it is possible. That clothing company created a special fashion magazine, which could be ordered via Facebook, and then by clicking on certain places in the magazine ‘likes’ came up and appeared on the social media wall. In this way, the real shopping was linked with the virtual world.

C&A like:

A very famous example of using technology in magazines is the Motorola advertisement in “Wired” magazine. The phone maker decided to create a message that would give readers the possibility of discovering the main advantage of the promoted smartphone, which was its unusually colourful case. By clicking on a colourful spot customers themselves could decide on the choice of their smartphone colour. The mobile phone case was changing before their very eyes. All of that was possible due to minuscule diodes, small batteries and illuminated plexiglass panel that changed the smartphone colours.

Motorola in Wired magazine:

printed magazine
source: Engadget

Use your phone or tablet

We have mobile devices with internet access close at hand nearly all the time. More publishers also avail of that fact when creating ads based on QR codes or augmented reality. Due to that, a static ad becomes animated when placed near our tablet or smartphone. Another interesting example is a campaign launched by the organisation called Reporters Without Borders. It touched upon the topic of freedom of speech in countries ruled by dictators. After scanning the QR code and placing the device near a dictator’s lips, a film was displayed. It showed a reporter’s lips speaking about the access to free media in a chosen country.

Reporters Without Borders:

Lexus also created a unique advertisement promoting the model of their new car. After placing an iPad under a static picture of a vehicle, it illuminated with diverse colours and created the impression of movement and dynamism. Video mapping in printed advertising? It is possible, too? It all depends on the creativity of the maker!

Lexus:

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