iPad ezines struggle to hold attention

In what could be another setback for publishers looking to attract advertisers to ezines, new research shows that readers have trouble focusing on magazine’s iPad editions.

The number of features on the iPad means consumers quickly jump from one app to the next, without focusing on content for too long. A study by ad agency CP&B and Bonnier, which publishes titles including Popular Science and Ski, claims that iPad magazines encourage a more interactive experience rather than an immersed one.

“If you sit someone down with a [digital] magazine, within seconds they’re researching the products that they could buy. If they see a snowboard in a snowboarding magazine, they’ll bounce over to Amazon to check the prices on it,” said Megan Miller, research and development programme director at Bonnier.

Consumers like the interactivity the iPad offers, seeing digital magazines as “exploration springboards”, according to Bonnier. This kind of behaviour bodes well for mobile/online shopping, however, brands advertising in digital magazines will be looking for readers to stay within the product.

Publishers now have a challenge to encourage readers back to digital editions once they’ve researched/shopped elsewhere. CP&B plans to use the findings (from 15 focus groups) to develop improved tablet ad formats.

Read the full Ad Age article here.