THIRD ANNUAL SCREENS ISSUE - MediaPost

GUEST EDITORS
Adam Broitman and John Swords, Circ.us
What did you learn from this
experience?
Adam: No matter what people
in agencies say they are going
to do, it doesn’t mean they
are going to do it [laughs].
Seriously, we had hoped
more agencies would want
to contribute their ideas and
screens experiences. I think
that the whole collaborative
effort is very difficult. It’s great
in theory. But people are busy
and don’t necessarily have the
time. But I’m very happy with
the contributors that we had.
It was also fun to just talk to
people about this as we were
gathering ideas. I think it’s
the agencies that are really
getting themselves out there
and getting new business that
are the ones who get to try
new things. The ones who
submitted these ideas are the
ones who are winning big
awards, too.
John: It’s a commitment to
innovation.
Given what you know now,
what would you do differently?
John: Hire writers! It’s been
a long time since I’ve written
that many words, so it was a
challenge.
What do you think about the future of
print as a medium not just for ads, but
for idea expression?
Adam: When you look at the numbers
over the last five years, one could
probably argue that in a sense, print
72 MEDIA MAGAZINE Spring 2012
EXIT
INTERVIEW
BY CARRIE CUMMINGS
Broitman
Swords
is relatively dead. We’re seeing a shift
away from traditional magazines. I
don’t think there will ever be a point
where the print magazine totally
doesn’t exist, at least in my lifetime. I
just think it may be three pages with
interactions. People still like analog
assets. They still like things they can
touch and memories they can put
on their walls. The role will just
become more of an activation for
other experiences.
John: Print has a place in solving
the out-of-sight, out-of-mind
casual engagement of reading
solution, until we reach the point
where screens are embedded
and convenient in every surface.
We haven’t replaced, nor will we
replace, sticky notes and white
boards for a while, because we
simply don’t have cost-effective
solutions. When we can project
onto coffee tables and whatnot
without having to worry about
cords, that’s when it will change.
What people are missing with
digital is the presence of contents
in their surroundings. We’re
getting there. But it’s just not
in our environment in the same
degree, and at the low cost, that
print can be.
Well, can’t you say that print
is more valuable than digital?
It costs more money to print
magazines and newspapers.
Paper gives stories weight. How
will you be able to distinguish
the good from the bad if everything
goes online?
Adam: Isn’t that just a perception
from how you approach things online?
If you are 10 years old now, you may
not have that idea that premium value
is placed on the printed word and online
may have less of a premium. There
is a premium element to the printed
word on paper for the time being, but
I think it’s a conditional thing — some-