I am a huge fan of the e-reader, I bought my first e-reader a few years ago and found it to be extremely convenient and user-friendly. I was even able to talk my mother into using one. She is in her 70’s and has been borrowing library books every couple of weeks
since I can remember. She would literally borrow bags of books from the local public library (and read them all) every two to three weeks. She loves to read and her e-reader is now her constant companion. I was so happy to have found something for her that she
enjoys so much.
E-readers are not only convenient and easy to use; they may soon have a new purpose in advertising. According to Chapter 5 of Socialnomics by Erik Qualman, it is only a matter of time before we will see advertising and marketing creep into both fiction and nonfiction materials. Currently, most e-readers have a built-in dictionary feature for looking up unfamiliar words. This is a very handy tool; I’ve used it many times. Similar to the dictionary
feature, there will soon be links to products within our e-reader books. Our textbook gives an example of an author using the term “BabyBjorn” instead of trying to describe a “stylish Swedish over-the-shoulder baby-carrying device” in their book. A company can actually pay to have the mention of their product become a “hyperlink” within an e-book. The reader would simply tap on the product name and a description, an image with branding, and even an option to go directly to the product’s web page will appear. This type of advertising is called “product placement”. A secondary benefit of this type of advertising is that search engine spiders will read the hyperlink and help the company or product rank high in an Internet search. I should note that search engines reward hyperlinks – so product placement methods offer a great return-on-investment.
You may ask why companies didn’t use product placement in books before now. Well, it wasn’t feasible because tracking would be very difficult in traditionally printed materials; advertisers wouldn’t be able to track the effectiveness of product placement. But, now with e-books,
companies can see how many copies of a book were downloaded, and how many of those readers clicked on their product for more information. This is a win-win for all: great for advertisers, authors and publishers as well as a new convenience for consumers.
E-readers have not replaced traditional print books completely; however, the popularity is huge. I believe this type of advertising is ingenious. I would much rather have an advertisement subtly inserted in my novel with a hyperlink instead of it being irritatingly plastered all over my computer or television screen. This puts the consumer in control. If I choose to click on the product, I can, to learn more about it. If not, I just keep reading. I’m sure companies will also make it very easy for the consumer to share the product information via their favorite social media site, which in turn will give the company an even higher return-on-investment.
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