Readers of Fairfax's the(melbourne)magazine witnessed more than glossy pages today, with a paper-thin video screen ad for Peroni inserted on page 29 of the July edition.
The one-off campaign, which stretches across print and online, cost $250,000 and is a collaboration between Peroni, Fairfax Media and media agency Ikon. The TVC was produced overseas.
The ad features Peroni's new Calendario television commercial shot in Bellagio, Lake Como, and has been inserted in a print run of 1200 copies of the(melbourne)magazine in and around the Melbourne CBD. It appears in the(sydney)magazine next week.
Magazines featuring the ad will also be hand delivered by Peroni models at locations including Docklands and the Melbourne offices of Myer, NAB and National Foods.
Fairfax Media creative manager Zac Skulander said the use of the technology for stand-alone direct marketing was nothing new.
“I've seen it used overseas before but not in magazines, so that was an innovation. When Ikon came to us with the brief to bring the calendar to life, it was a natural fit,” he told AdNews.
"What we really wanted to do was to integrate this into the pages of our magazines which we knew would be a world-first.”
The project, believed to be an Australian-first, has been under embargo for almost one year with six months planning and development, followed by testing.
Peroni marketing manager Jenny Carey said: “Peroni equals Italy and Italy equals style. This is a perfect way for us to showcase our brand to discerning consumers who have moved on from more conventional media.”
Ikon communications manager Philip Bingemann added that the video was a way for Peroni to reach its "core audience", the more upmarket beer drinker.
"Peroni have always had amazing content. The problem is that their core audience has traditionally been extremely hard to target, especially with video content."
The credit card-sized video is inserted in the magazines before the regular 'Calendar' page. Readers can choose between two commercials to watch.
“The calendar is one of our most visited pages in the magazines,” Skulander said. “It makes sense.”
Next Thursday (30 June), 1240 copies of the(sydney)magazine print run will be delivered and handed out around Sydney areas including Darling Park and the offices of the Commonweatlh Bank and PriceWarehouseCoopers.
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