Posts Tagged ‘USA Today’
Monday, February 28th, 2011
Flickr Image: The American Library Association (ALA)
Barcodes have been used in the retail, logistics, inventory/warehousing and governmental environments since the 1970’s. There are numerous types of 2D barcodes, but for this post, I’ll be referring primarily to Quick Response (QR) codes – which didn’t come into existence until 1994. QR codes have been popular in Japan for quite some time and even have been used in some European countries but have struggled to gain acceptance here in North America.
About a year ago, my BurrellesLuce colleague, Lauren Shapiro, wrote about the world being a giant barcode and how this might affect the public relations and marketing realm. In September 2010, I attended a PRSA professional development day (hosted by SWMO PRSA) where Ben Smith, Social: IRL agency, talked about PR and media uses for QR codes – that’s when it started to “click” for me. Then, a few months ago, another colleague, Denise Giacin, wrote about a book by a New York Times reporter and his perceptions of the changing media landscape – each chapter beginning with a QR code.
So, if this is not new, why am I just now writing about this? Because it seems to me that it’s no longer just speculation by the thought leaders, but it’s actually catching on. (I’m a wait and see kinda gal, after all Missouri is the “Show Me State.”) With the popularity of smart phones, QR codes are now more practical than in the past and are probably destined to become even more so in the future. Google Places began using QR codes, issuing window decals, in December 2009 as a quick way to see reviews and coupons for local businesses. There’s a myriad of uses in the communications field and I’ll talk more about that in my next post.
A number of print media outlets are now using barcodes to connect the reader’s print and online experiences. Mobile barcodes offer publishers an easy way to bridge the gap between traditional print mediums and digital media. The barcodes allow them to offer a more personalized and interactive experience – like linking from an advertisement to a coupon or recipe. But it’s going beyond advertising now.
The Washington Post recently began including QR codes to offer “digital jumps” to additional content. Lucky Magazine uses QR codes to link to hair and makeup instructional videos. South Florida Sun Sentinel uses QR codes to link to digital content. USA Today announced last week that they are making a commitment to use at least one Microsoft Tag (a proprietary 2D barcode) in each daily section that will provide mobile access to photos, videos and other online content. Even some college papers, Cal State Fullerton for one, have begun using these barcodes in the print edition.
The naysayers are convinced of the demise of print media; however, new technologies like QR codes offer the ability to make their content more interrelated. It provides readers with a more interactive and productive experience.
Is this just what print media needs or is this a stop-gap measure on the downhill slide? I look forward to you sharing your thoughts with our readers.
Tags: advertisements, advertising, barcodes, Ben Smith, BurrellesLuce, Cal State Fullerton, communications, coupons, Denise Giacin, digital, Fresh Ideas, Google Places, governmental, Lauren Shapiro, local businesses, logistics, Lucky Magazine, marketing, media, media landscape, Microsoft Tag, mobile, New York Times, online, outlets, photos, PR, print, PRSA, Public Relations, publishers, QR codes, quick response, retail, reviews, smart phoens, Social IRL, South Florida Sun Sentinel, SWMO, The Media, The Washington Post, traditional, USA Today, videos
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Media Industry, Media Relations, Mobile Media, Public Relations, Technology | 3 Comments »
Monday, November 29th, 2010
by Carol Holden*
For me, it’s official – the world has gone totally mobile. The other night a commercial, on a kids’ cable channel my daughter watches, featured a Grandmother giving her little grandson (he looked about six to me) a tablet-reader for Christmas. I’ve been forewarned and won’t be shocked if my eight year old asks for one.
No wonder the rush continues for traditional media to expand to mobile devices, with some innovative apps already rolled out and others on the way:
- The Economist just launched an enhanced version of its publication for the iPad and iPhone. Readers can tweak the layout and graphs so they can receive all the robust content of the magazine, but in a format that makes sense for a small screen. “You’re trying to recreate your print magazine but redesign it to make the most of the medium,” said Oscar Grut, managing director of digital editions for The Economist.
- Oprah’s O, The Oprah Magazine has just released its iPad app to much fanfare. As described in the Marketwire release, “’I love the written word, and I love the iPad — to me, it’s another way to experience the intimacy of this magazine and its part of the future of the business,’ said Oprah Winfrey. ‘It’s a new way to connect with our readers, who are on a path of becoming their best selves.’”
- New Corps’ Rupert Murdoch and Apple’s Steve Jobs recently announced they would be teaming up to create a new iNewspaper. “The collaboration, which has been secretly under development in New York for several months, promises to be the world’s first ‘newspaper’ designed exclusively for new tablet-style computers such as Apple’s iPad, with a launch planned for early next year,” writes Edward Helmore in this Guardian UK article. “According to reports, there will be no ‘print edition’ or ‘web edition.’”
In fact, there are already enough publications with apps (over 700) available to audiences and readers on the iPad that strategic research company McPheters and Company was able to put together a ten best list. “McPheters ranked the print-to-iPad products based on design, functionality and use of rich content.” The list presents an interesting mix of both newspapers and magazines covering the gamut of lifestyle, culture, politics, news, sports, food, fashion, etc. The number one spot went to The New Yorker app, with apps for newspaper circulation heavy-weights USA Today and The Wall Street Journal making the list at number eight and ten respectively. Fashion entrant Net-A-Porter made the list at number five.
Mobile applications are becoming such an integral part of the media landscape that other industry organizations are taking notice. The American Society of Magazine Editors announced that among the changes to the National Magazine Awards 2011, they will include a new award for mobile editions.
In this age of PR 3.0, how are you using mobile apps to connect with your audiences? If you use a mobile device to read newspapers and magazines, what outlets would top your list of best media apps? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.
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Bio: I’ve been in the media business all of my adult life, first in newspapers before going full circle and joining BurrellesLuce, where I now direct the Media Measurement department. I’ve always enjoyed meeting and especially listening to the needs of our customers and others in the public relations and communications fields; I welcome sharing ideas through the Fresh Ideas blog. One of my professional passions is providing the type of service to a client that makes them respond, “atta girl” – inspiring our entire team to keep striving to be the best. Although I have been lucky enough to travel through much of Asia and most major U.S. cities for business or pleasure, my free time is now spent with my daughter, visiting family/friends, and of course the Jersey shore. Twitter: @domeasurement LinkedIn: Carol Holden Facebook: BurrellesLuce
Tags: American Society of Magazine Editors, Apple, applications, apps, audiences, BurrellesLuce, business, cable, Carol Holden, circulation, commercial, content, culture, design, devices, digital, Edward Helmore, fashion, food, Fresh Ideas, functionality, Guardian UK, iNewspaper, iPad, iPhone, landscape, lifestyle, magazine, Marketwire, McPheters and Company, media, mobile, National Magazine Awards, Net-a-Porter, New Corps Rupert Murdoch, news, newspapers, Oprah, organizations, Oscar Grut, outlets, politics, PR 3.0, print, publications, research, sports, Steve Jobs, strategic, subscription, tablet-reader, ten best list, The Economist, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, traditional, USA Today, web
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Media Industry, Media Measurement, Public Relations | 1 Comment »
Friday, August 6th, 2010
I recently joined the Droid world. I LOVE my Droid Incredible. The coverage is amazing, the clear picture and fast processor allow me to view websites and videos on the go, access Adobe files with crisp clarity and truly work “in the cloud.” And of course the tool that every public relations professional needs at all times – a camera. The Droid comes with a 8 mega pixel camera for all your photo needs. But my real Droid joy comes from the many apps I now have at my fingertips.
I don’t know how many apps are too many or too few. After reviewing the app marketplace I downloaded, tested, and kept the following free apps to help organize and maximize my mobile experience:
AndroNews: Provides fast links to major news sources: CNN, USA Today, WSJ.com and BBC to name a few.
Evernote: My most-used, must-have app for organizing notes on all of my devices. The “cloud” at its finest.
Facebook: Full-featured Facebook interface.
FourSquare: Not totally sure why, but I continue to “check-in” from time to time.
Google Goggles: Snap a picture and launch an automatic Google search of whatever you’ve scanned. *CAUTION people searches yield XXX results
Magic8Ball: To help with my really tough day-to-day decisions.
Scanlife: Allows me to engage and maximize the QR Code experience.
TMZ: Celebrity gossip. A supplement to my subscription to People!
Touiteur: My Twitter app of choice. I tried several apps, including the Twitter app and found Touiteur to be the best, most feature-rich.
UrbanSpoon: Scouting new restaurants either at home or on the road.
Where: Provides easy-access reviews and allows local vendors to send me coupons when I’m in proximity of their location.
All of the apps I share here are free. I don’t mind paying for an app if it’s good, but there are so many great free apps you don’t necessarily have to invest to maximize your mobile experience. Though I caution you before settling on any apps; thoroughly read the reviews. Don’t be fooled by the overall rating. Upon digging deeper into the reviews I realized many of the reviewers who provided detailed feedback actually ranked the app lower than the overall rating. Those higher ratings were primarily just the rating with a very brief “It’s excellent” or some mundane response.
I know we have a lot of Blackberry, iPhone and Droid users who follow the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas blog so I ask you to please share: What are your go-to apps? How do you use them to stay organized and be more efficient? If you are in PR or media relations have you helped create an app for your brand or client’s initiative? Can you give examples of successful app marketing campaigns?
Tags: Adobe, AndroNews, applications, apps, BBC, Blackberry, brand, BurrellesLuce, campaigns, celebrity gossip, client, cloud, CNN, Coverage, decisions, downloaded, Droid, Droid Ultimate, efficient, Evernote, experience, Facebook, feedback, Foursquare, free, Fresh Ideas, Google Goggles, initiative, iPhone, Johna Burke, Magic8Ball, market place, marketing, maximize, Media Relations, mobile, on the go, organize, people, picture, PR, QR code, rank, rating, restaurants, results, reviews, Scanlife, search, subscription, tested, TMZ, Touiteur, Twitter, UrbanSpoon, USA Today, videos, websites, WSJ.com
Posted in Mobile Media, Public Relations, Technology | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Flickr Image: Laura Burlton
by Stephen Lawrence*
In previous postings, I’ve discussed the disparity between newspapers and their web equivalents. We’ve learned that one-to-one equivalency rarely occurs and that loss of valuable content accompanies such instances when the digital doesn’t equal the print. This posting covers some of those examples where printed photos don’t make it to the web.
First, I must note, that while we are supplying the URLs to the online articles, we are unable to reproduce the original printed pages for comparison and posting to Fresh Ideas due to copyright restrictions. (For a more in-depth discussion on copyright, check out this BurrellesLuce white paper.)
If you manage public relations for authors, restaurants or fashion clients I promise you’ll find these examples very interesting:
Book Reviews
One of my guilty pleasures, back in the days when I was a reader (that’s a “fancy” term for someone on our production team who searches for articles relevant to a clients reading instructions), was perusing the book review sections of various newspaper as I read them for our clients. Shots of the book’s cover running alongside the printed article were always handy in capturing my attention and helped make finding the relevant material all the easier.
When conducting some quality assurance recently, I was reminded of this and found a few examples where the print and online editions of book review images don’t match up: (more…)
Tags: Adobe flash, Atlanta Journal Constitution, BurrellesLuce, Dallas Morning News, drink recipe credited to a major vodka distributor, Financial Times, Fresh Ideas, How to Spend It edition, los angeles times, News Coverage, outta sight peanut sauce, print versus online, Public Relations, resources, Stephen Lawrence, Sun Times, The Arizona Republic, USA Today, white papers
Posted in Media Industry, News Coverage, Public Relations | 2 Comments »
Monday, January 12th, 2009
Valerie Simon
I represent the third generation in my family to work in the newspaper industry. My grandfather worked for the World Telegram and The New York Sun. My father worked for the Long Island Star Journal and Electronic News. I have worked for USA Today, done freelance writing for many newspapers and magazines and now at BurrellesLuce.
As you may imagine, the current rumors that The New York Times could go out of business as soon as May, have left me rather shaken. In this month’s issue of The Atlantic, Michael Hirschorn notes that with more than $1 billion in current debt, and only $46 million in cash reserves as of October, when a $400 million revolving line of credit expires this May, the future of The New York Times will be in jeopardy.
Of course, most industry insiders speculate that The Times would not truly die, but would transform into a more profitable, digital only format. Is this such a bad thing?
While there is nothing more relaxing and enjoyable to me than a leisurely Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and The New York Times spread out in front of me, during the hectic workweek, I get most of my news electronically. Unlike my college days, when I would read the Washington Post and The New York Times cover to cover, these days I rely on a seemingly infinite number of sources. The news doesn’t land at my doorstep; rather I am directed by what Google deems as “top” news of the day, or the content aggregated by an industry newsletter or an RSS feed. Lately, I have found more and more “breaking stories” as the result of the comments of a peer on Twitter or Facebook.
On PoynterOnline’s Biz Blog, while Rick Edmonds dismisses Hirschorn’s “End Times” he does envision the future of media to be fairly similar to the patterns I have already become quite comfortable with “getting your political news from Politico, your sports news from ESPN.com, your showbiz news from EW.com, your international news from an assortment of options, and your local news from somewhere to be determined? In short, the news would come from professionally reported and edited sites with standards — just not the single unifying standard of The New York Times or other quality publications.”
The fact is that newspapers such as The Times do still carry an impressive circulation. The current print version boasts a circulation of 1,000,665 for the daily edition and 1,438,585 on Sunday. The New York Times has a Net unduplicated print-online audience in the US of 22.4 million. While the number of sources for news continues to grow, the reputation The Times has earned for providing credible, trustworthy, and high quality news makes The New York Times brand more valuable than ever. The Times, along with other traditional print media, must simply continue to seek more profitable ways to harness the relationships they have built with their readers over the years.
What do you think? Is the death of newspapers imminent? I do not believe the real story belongs in the obituaries, but perhaps in the lifestyle section as newspapers undergo what is certain to be a dramatic makeover.
Tags: BurrellesLuce, Electronic News, Facebook, Google, Long Island Star Journal, Michael Hirschorn, The Atlantic, The New York Sun, The New York Times, Twitter, USA Today, Washington Post, World Telegram
Posted in Media Industry, Public Relations | No Comments »
