Next to Now: Feb. 19 Edition

ARE CONSUMERS STARTING TO VALUE NON-DIGITAL EXPERIENCES? Yes. We’ve seen it in the plateauing of ebooks and the continued strength of print books. Now, other media are seeing it too (even marketing people at mobile companies!): “‘We’re seeing that people really love their phones, but many are craving a digital detox,’ explains Meredith Vincent, executive […]

Next to Now: News for January Edition

POLITICAL HEAT BRINGS VIEWS TO THE HILL For the coming round of political books, take note of this stat from AdWeek: “The election cycle is already paying off for The Hill. According to comScore’s December 2015 numbers, the politics site garnered nearly 10.6 million visitors, a 175 percent year-over-year increase.” #politics   BRINGING ADS TO […]

Next to Now: Winter Solstice Edition

Our last post before the end of 2016 is a meaty one.   WHAT BROUGHT WATERSTONE’S BACK FROM THE BRINK? A great—and optimistic!—article in Slate about how the future of chain bookstores might be shifting, with a focus on the refurbished Waterstone’s. #bookstores   DESKTOP EMAIL OPEN RATES STILL HIGHER, BUT DECLINING According to eMarketer, […]

Next to Now: “Fall Back” Edition

With the end of Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, we enter the homestretch of the year. Here’s some of what we’ve been reading this week—looking forward even as we “fall back.” SHOULD FOLLOWER COUNT DETERMINE WORTH? It’s a question that depends on context. For regular everyday products like shoes, toasters, or books, the answer is […]

Next to Now: The Structure of Innovation

This week, the articles that caught our eye were about innovation in targeting and storytelling.   ONLINE VIDEO: IT’S NOT JUST MILLENNIALS Once predominantly the province of Millennials, online video watching has now stretched to include Gen X as well: “The average consumer between the ages of 16 and 45 watches 204 minutes of video […]

Next to Now: Hot News Edition

WHO’S HOT? “July’s Most Tweeted Sites” in order: BBC, NYTimes, Mashable, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, NBC, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, Business Insider via The One Thing Issue 15 #placement   HTML5 IS GOING MAINSTREAM IAB updates the industry standard to HTML5, finishing the job on Flash that Steve Jobs started when he wouldn’t let […]