July 2014

A splashy ad in a magazine may catch a reader’s eye as he or she is flipping through the pages, but would that ad grab someone’s attention when it’s displayed on a tablet?

With an ever-growing array of screens and formats to serve ads, it can be a headache for marketers to figure out where ads resonate with consumers and where they don’t.

However, new research suggests that tablet magazine advertising is just as effective as (and can even add impact to) print campaigns. A recent study from GfK MRI Starch Advertising Research found that ads in tablet versions of magazines have the same average level of reader recall as print magazine ads.

The research firm conducted an online survey to analyze reader recall of 28,624 magazine ads in 805 tablet magazine issues published in 2013 and compared that data to consumer print recall data. The online survey asked respondents if they recalled having read a particular ad and if they had interacted with ads that had interactive features.

GfK found that the average level of reader recall for both print and digital ads in 2013 was 52%. The most effective digital magazine ads were recalled by more than 80% of readers, in line with the most effective print ads, GfK said.

General Motors will soon begin an effort to sell high-speed Internet service to buyers of everything from $17,000 Chevrolet Spark subcompacts to top-of-the-line Cadillacs, a test of how much consumers are willing to pay to be online at the wheel.

The campaign is the first time the nation's largest auto maker has promoted one electronics technology across its Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands. The Wi-Fi option would allow 2015 model year vehicles to link up to seven cellphones, laptops and other gadgets to the Internet.

GM is making its 4G LTE and Wi-Fi hot spot option the centerpiece to an effort to challenge rival Ford Motor's Sync, which offers voice-activated calling, music and navigation controls.

The Sync system, however, doesn't offer Wi-Fi. The auto maker won't say how much it is spending on the campaign. Citing the "independence" that the technology provides, GM will use the July 4 holiday to make its pitch via Facebook, movie theaters and the takeover of Gogo in-flight service.

Driven by adoption of vital-signs monitoring and in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) devices, the mobile health (mHealth) market will grow eight-fold from $5.1 billion in 2013 to $41.8 billion in 2023, according to a new report.

The report, from Lux Research, titled "mHealth Showdown: Consumer and Clinical Devices' Battle for Market Dominance," notes that after a slow start due to regulatory constraints and integration with physician workflows, clinical mHealth devices will overtake and far outpace their consumer counterparts, which include mHealth bracelets that measure physcial activity and some vital signs.

The report also notes that in-vitro diagnostic and vital signs devices will make up 75% of the mHealth device market by 2023. The smartphone boom has also spurred increased venture capital funding for mHeatlh device companies, the report stated.

Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA) doesn't think websites should be paired with .wine. In a letter to the head of the international group deciding new website endings, such as .com or .net, the top Democrat on the House’s Technology subcommittee said she was "deeply concerned" about certain generic top-level domain names (gLTDs).

“Specifically, it’s my understanding that the .wine and .vin gLTDs have been met with fierce opposition from the wine industry, both here in the US and around the world,” Rep Eshoo added. “Given those concerns ... I urge you to advocate for the .wine and .vin gTLDs to be permanently withdrawn from consideration.”

The nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which manages online domain names, is in the process of creating hundreds of new extensions to expand the confines of the Web. As well as adding new letters after the "dot," extensions are also being rolled out in other characters like Chinese and Arabic, and industries are trying to capitalize on the move. Nike and McDonald’s have looked to get on board, as has the Republican Party.