While some accounts dubbed 2010 the year of the iPad, the tablet is expected to really take off in 2011, particularly as related to magazines. Today’s New York Times features an article focused on how magazines are pursuing tablets largely focused on the business side, noting subscriptions are the next frontier and the format offers great opportunity for advertisers.
Tablets also offer great opportunity for PR professionals. With traditional magazines, our ability to tell stories can be limited. Sure, sometimes you strike gold, securing a big feature solely focused on your product or service, but many times your brand inclusion is limited to a few key messages and a photo. The tablet offers the opportunity to partner with an editor to tell a better story and offer consumers/readers a rich, multimedia experience. Think about the possibilities … an interview with your expert explaining a trend vital to your business, a video explaining how to use or achieve a look using your product, a behind-the-scenes experience with your talent. Have you had success marrying traditional magazines stories with the tablet form?
Over the past few months, I’ve gotten to spend a lot of quality time . . . with my TV. In October, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Emma and while she slept much of the day in my arms, Rachael, Ellen and ladies on The View kept me company.
A few observations from my three-month TV marathon:
- Networks often negotiate to have a celebrity appear on all the talk shows in their line-up. For instance, a star may appear on Good Morning America, Live with Regis & Kelly and The View – all ABC properties. Great for the network, especially when it’s a big name and great for the celebrity and whatever movie/show/cause/product they are promoting. A bit boring for the viewer like me, who is actually watching all those shows in succession – I can’t be the only one! Celebrities should be directed to make the experience for the viewer a bit different with each appearance – tell different stories, show different clips, etc. Some are better at this than others.
- Celebrities are very conscious of their look when they jump from show-to-show, trying to give the appearance that they didn’t tape them all in one day. I saw Catherine Zeta-Jones wearing a green dress with her hair down on Good Morning America, only to appear 30 minutes later on Regis & Kelly in a different dress with her hair up in a chignon. Knowing both shows are live and she only needed to jump in a car to get across the city, made me wonder if this was really necessary.
- Most of the shows are trying to utilize social media in their own way, chipping away at TV’s 4th wall. Regis & Kelly verbally respond to some of their emails, The View captures insider information from audience members and their production staff via “ViewTube” and Rachael Ray has a backstage area designated for her guests to tweet about their appearances. This new layer has brought interesting value to the shows, treating viewers to a look behind-the-scenes.
What do you think of today’s talk show offerings?
One of my most favorite times of year is fast approaching the kick-off of fall TV season. Sure a few shows have already started the reboot of Melrose Place, episode two of Glee, but the real fun starts next week with back-to-back-to-back new shows.
For me, gearing up for fall TV is a ritual. All summer long, I devour spoilers on various TV gossip sites: EW’s The Ausiello Files, E! Online’s Watch with Kristin and Zap 2 It’s Korbi TV. I love reading about what’s to come on my favorite shows and which shows look promising after the initial views at the Upfronts. And then, in mid-September, the best magazine of the year comes out Entertainment Weekly’s Fall TV Preview, which I read from cover-to-cover and plan out which shows I’ll try out. Thank goodness for DVR, as this looks to be a busy TV season!
One of the returning shows I’m most excited about is Fringe, a J.J. Abrams sci-fi drama focused on a series of unexplainable phenomena called “The Pattern” mixed together with some off-beat humor. This show continued to improve last year and by the finale, I was sitting on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out what was going to happen next. From what I’ve read, critics are expecting next season to up the ante, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. I would never have called myself a science fiction fan, but I absolutely love this show!
In terms of new shows, oddly, I’m most looking forward to another sci-fi series called FlashForward. The show has gotten great early buzz the world gets a glimpse of their future due to a mysterious event and the central group of characters try to figure out whether they can change their destinies. Only time will tell whether the show will live up to expectations; ask me in mid-October whether I’m still watching.
What shows are you excited to watch this fall?
Each morning, as a part of my commute, I walk from Port Authority to MMC’s offices on Third Avenue. It’s one of my favorite parts of the day. While it certainly would be quicker for me to take the subway, my morning walks give me some time to gear up for the day, take in some fresh air and get some exercise (it’s about a mile and a half walk).
I was looking forward to my walks this week more than usual, since on Sunday, NYC introduced a new pedestrian mall in Times Square, the most hectic part of my walk. The city has closed down Broadway from 42nd Street through 47th Street to help ease congestion. I was curious to see this experiment in action and how it would affect my walk.
Times Square still has tourists abound soaking in the noise and lights. But, with the new expanded walkways, I didn’t have to expertly weave in and out of groups of people taking in the sights. I was able to walk through at a more leisurely pace via a direct path. Perhaps besides reducing congestion, the city is also trying to ease the stress of a walking commuter and overall make Times Square a more pleasant experience for regular city dwellers.
I’m curious to see how the pedestrian mall evolves. Currently, the sections of blocked off streets are awkward to look at. Many are filled with donated multi-colored beach chairs, which is fun, in theory, but the placement of these chairs is haphazard and you wouldn’t know the area was anything special except for the big orange cones blocking vehicles from travel. I heard on the news this morning, Mayor Bloomberg hopes to make some aesthetic upgrades, if/when this experiment succeeds.
Would I recommend you take a special trip to Times Square to see the pedestrian mall for yourself? No. But, if you are in the area, it’s a much more pleasant experience, at least in the morning. I still need to check it out at night!
