September in REGISTER

Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Katherine O'Brien

Wednesday is InRegister^™ day

Editor's Picks features selected highlights from AMERICAN PRINTER's InRegister^™ newsletter. InRegister is published on alternating Wednesdays. For a free subscription, see www.americanprinter.com. Want to comment on something in this issue? Drop us a line at KOB@americanprinter.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Text me that coupon, please

Goss RSVP is a way for print advertisers to digitally connect with consumers. Advertisers and publishers are including a small RSVP logo that includes a two-dimensional bar code and alpha-numeric sequence in their print media. Readers, depending on the type of phone they have, can either scan the code or send a text message to receive a response such as a coupon that is sent directly to their phone within seconds.

Goss Intl. is testing program with a limited number of advertisers and publishers near its facilities in New Hampshire. The company expects to expand geographically and add features such as ongoing reward and loyalty programs for consumers.

See www.gossinternational.com.

YouTube goes to Drupa

Professor Ronald Schaul led a team of 25 Stuttgart University students and faculty in producing 72 videos at Drupa. The students conducted up to six daily interviews during the show's two-week run. In addition to learning about the newest printing technologies, they honed their film production skills. Many leading vendors and industry pundits participated in the project, dubbed “@drupa.”

See www.atdrupa.de.

It's not an ad, it's a multisensory extravaganza

Most magazine ads just sit on the page. An Americhip-engineered campaign, however, puts on a show. Some of its ads incorporate lights and sound, others have taste strips and still others have unusual textures. Americhip (Torrance, CA) says all brands have a feel, smell, taste and sound. Using this “multisensory branding” lets advertisers create positive connections between the brand and the consumer.

As part of a “Mamma Mia” movie tie-in sponsored by Pond's, Americhip developed an insert that plays a 10-second snippet from the soundtrack and lets readers record their own brief rendition. Users can rerecord themselves as often as they like.

To promote Verizon's VCAST Song ID service, another Americhip ad invited readers with VCAST enabled phones to point the phone toward the insert. The user could then identify the featured song, download it and save it as their ring tone.

Americhip is the largest supplier of audio, illumination and paper engineering technologies to companies that include P&G, NBC, PepsiCo, Dreamworks, Target, BBDO and Kraft Foods.

“We've done pieces for trade magazines ranging from 25,0000 to 50,000,” says Tim Clegg, CEO. “For consumer magazines, we're usually doing runs of 50,000 to one million and sometimes as many as 10 million.”

See www.americhip.com.