New Tablet Behaviors and the Quest for Great Ads

Over the past two months, Bonnier R&D worked with the cognitive insights team at Crispin Porter + Bogusky on a study intended to uncover insights that will help us make better ads for digital magazines. We conducted ethnographic research in three U.S. cities in order to find answers to some big questions: How do people interact with tablets in general? How does magazine content consumption differ on tablet devices versus online or in print? Are there any user needs that aren’t being met? And if so, how can we use these insights to make richer, more engaging advertising?

The research methodology included in-depth interviews with individuals and the members of 15 focus groups made up of heavy consumers of print magazines, magazine websites and tablet magazines. We watched as people interacted with their favorite print magazines, and with digital magazines from a variety of media companies including Bonnier, Hearst, Conde Nast and Time Inc.

Bonnier R&D and CP+B will use to insights from the study to create innovative ad formats that engage and entertain users in new ways, by making digital magazines more useful.

The research revealed that user behaviors around tablets – and digital magazine content in particular – are rapidly evolving. The findings strongly suggest that we need to digitally facilitate the activities that people already do with magazines offline, and to bring capabilities of the Web that enrich the magazine experience into the magazines themselves. People are inspired by magazines and they use the information they find inside their favorite titles to improve their lives. If we can make it easier for them to do these things – while remaining inside the curated magazine experience – we will transform the way users interact with their favorite brands.

Here’s a summary of some of the key insights from the study, and some ideas about how magazine publishers might use this information.

A NEW TABLET VERNACULAR: Maybe “iPad” is a verb.

Study participants saw using their tablets as an end in itself. They said they considered themselves “doers” rather than “readers,” and that the activity they engaged in wasn’t “reading,” “playing,” or “surfing” – they were simply using the iPad. One focus group even suggested the need for a new term for this experience: “iPadding.”

A NEW DECISION HIERARCHY: The decision process for engaging with a digital magazine is radically different than with a paper magazine.

People have traditionally picked up magazines during downtime or for a specific purpose: when they want to relax, read on an airplane, or find ideas about a specific topic like wedding dresses, interior design, or what gifts to buy for the holidays. But when “iPadding,” researchers found that users pick up the tablet first and then decide what to do with it, marking a departure from the traditional user path toward engaging with magazine content.

What does this mean for publishers? That there’s a new competitive set for magazine apps. We have to think in terms of making apps so engaging that they win the user’s attention – and hold it.

A SENSE OF OWNERSHIP: People feel pride of ownership around their curated collection of apps.

Study participants talked about websites using words that suggested a journey: “visit,” “go to,” etc. And they expressed satisfaction with the idea that online they are merely visitors to an established “place.”

But on handheld devices, they used language that expressed ownership, such as “my apps.” Participants expressed a desire to collect and curate apps, and an awareness that their selections communicate information about their tastes and interests. They revealed that they were more likely to download an app that they felt added value to, or extended the capabilities of, their tablet devices.

A FEELING OF PRIVACY: Tablets are highly personal devices.

Whereas early iPad research suggested that consumers share their devices among friends and family (perhaps a natural reaction to a completely new technology), the CP+B/Bonnier study revealed that user behavior seems to be evolving in the direction of a highly personal, single-user device like cell phones. Study participants expressed feelings of identity and privacy around their app collections and hesitation to share them with people outside their closest contacts.

This feeling of ownership presents an opportunity: How can we create experiences that enhance the user’s sense of identity? Can we incorporate ways to let users customize their own experiences?

A USE CASE FOR PAPER: Tablet users still read paper magazines.

Study participants said that digital magazines aren’t entirely replacing purchases of the paper variety, even among heavy iPad users. Use cases for paper include impulse purchases at the newsstand or scenarios when there’s a risk their devices might be damaged or stolen, such as at the beach or in the gym. This finding correlates with a recent survey of Popular Science+ readers, which showed that 32.9% of people who had downloaded the app also purchase issues from the newsstand.

AN AFFINITY FOR ADVERTISING: People appreciate ads when they’re relevant and beautiful.

The study also found that advertising, when relevant to the content and the user’s own interests, is a welcome part of the magazine experience. Participants said that when they’re passionate about a topic, advertising doesn’t interrupt, but adds value. Some of the positive words used to describe advertising included “artistic,” “informative,” “inspiring,” and “fashionable.”

A BIT OF CONFUSION: People can’t always tell the difference between ads and editorial content.

Participants revealed that they sometimes have difficulty distinguishing ads from editorial content in digital magazines – particularly when it comes to product reviews. In a tablet environment, each page stands alone and there’s less context to help the reader orient herself.

This presents an important design challenge for publishers: there should be clear visual distinctions between ads and edit, and both need to add value to the user experience.

A CATALYST FOR ACTION: People use digital magazines as exploration springboards.

Participants favored app features that facilitate exploration, and expressed frustration around content that seemed like a “dead end.” They communicated that they didn’t want pop-ups or interruptions while reading, but they appreciated supplementary online content that allowed them to dig deeper into the topics that interested them.

This last point has been the one most interesting to the media since we released the research, and we think it’s the area that presents the biggest opportunity to build more deeply engaging interactive experineces. Magazine teams will need to anticipate the behaviors people might want to engage in with regard to content, and build experiences inside the magazines to address them. That way, users will be able to find the deeper information they’re looking for, purchase products, share with friends, etc., without ever leaving the pages of the magazine.

The next steps in this project will be Bonnier R&D and CP+B to go through a creative exercise that will result in prototype ads – and then real ads – that facilitate the kinds of active experiences we discovered readers want. The big takeaway from this study? The success of digital magazines could depend on their ability to propel users from inspiration to action.