Magazines, dust off your covers!

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This advertising innovation is a ‘second cover wrap around' for the magazine, creating a large ‘billboard in a magazine,' advertising space on the inside, while not compromising the all-important brand integrity of the cover. The first execution has been sold to Woolworths, which has snapped up three bookings (September, October and November) to announce the launch of its new contemporary fashion brand, Twist.

“We are extremely pleased with the exciting new opportunity we have created for our advertising partners,” says Vanessa Raphaely, editor of Cosmopolitan and editorial director of Associated Magazines.

“Totally original concept”

“This is a totally original Associated Magazines concept, developed by ourselves, which offers the visual impact of a mini-billboard, while optimising the intimate and personal relationship our readers have with our magazines. We are truly putting the advertiser's product in the hands of our readers.”

She continues, “As a creative execution, dust jackets offer an exciting new way to cut through the clutter, to make a bold statement and draw attention to big advertising messages. We imagine they will be very popular with clients looking at big launches or looking for impactful added value: the basic dust jacket execution, as seen on the Lingerie issue, is only the beginning.”

Shaheda Sayed, clothing marketing executive from Woolworths, adds: “Innovation has always been a key focus for Woolworths and underscores our positioning of ‘the difference'. We were thrilled when Cosmo approached us with this innovative idea and felt it presented an ideal opportunity to launch our contemporary new brand, Twist. Not only does the Cosmo readership match the profile of the Twist customer but we also felt that this whole innovative approach would appeal to this customer. Having the model on the cover dressed in Twist added additional value which cannot be underestimated.”

Sean Hanekom, business unit director, The Jupiter Drawing Room, adds, “The ongoing challenge for our media planners, and our media owner partners, is to deliver innovative media formats which truly stand out from the rest and deliver impact for our clients.

“Tactile and compelling”

“The Cosmopolitan dust-cover concept provided a great opportunity for us to be disruptive, but yet to engage with our consumer at the same time. The nature of the dust cover is such that it is tactile and compelling and encourages the reader to sit up and take notice. This innovation provided us with an ideal platform to launch the new contemporary Woolworths Twist range in a highly impactful manner.”

Raphaely concludes, “We see this as proof that print still offers advertisers a unique means of connecting with consumers: with a dust jacket you have a big statement and a direct, intimate route to the perfect consumer for your brand. What a great way to get her attention.”