Ex-Radio Times Ad Director joins Scout Media

Mercer (pictured) is developing tailored print ad packages for advertisers ahead of the Olympics and bolstering Scout London’s integrated advertising proposition across its print, online and mobile device editions.

For over 20 years Mercer has led teams providing magazine advertising to consumer and entertainment brands. His experience includes an 11 year tenure as BBC Magazines’ Ad Director for Radio Times – arguably Britain’s biggest consumer magazine brand – a position which also gave him shared responsibility for radiotimes.com. Ad teams at The Spectator and Trinity Mirror Group titles Sunday Mirror Magazine, Sunday Mail Magazine and People TV Magazine have all benefited from his leadership, says Scout Media.

Mercer said: “London is hosting the biggest sporting event in the world in just a few weeks, so it’s vital that advertisers use the media with the most impact at the best page rate to effectively target commuters, tourists and local Londoners during the busiest 17 days the city has ever seen. Selecting print ads in mags with high pass-on potential like Scout London will achieve very high readership for minimal spend. Tourists in particular will instantly trust the freemium magazines they’re given during the games. They’ll respond by going to Scout London’s online and mobile editions for further insight into the best things to see, places to go and events to attend across the capital. Hence brands need to extend the effectiveness of their print campaigns with online and mobile ads.”

The next print edition is out June 12th. The six editions that follow will be essential advertising vehicles for marketers ahead of the Olympic ad blackout which bites on July 18^th, say the publishers.

Scout Media’s Publishing Director, Jim Zambrano, said: “Andrew Mercer’s distinguished career with big consumer magazine publishers marks him out as the ideal recruit to match the magazine to the needs of advertisers. He is helping advertisers to execute integrated ad campaigns that extend beyond the reach of Scout London’s print experience into online and mobile.”

Scout London’s print run of 125,000 free copies is distributed across Tube and railway stations, selected retailers, hotels, health clubs, bars and offices in London.

The publisher has already distributed a preview edition and four full print editions, featuring major ad campaigns from Diageo, Warren Evans, Merlin Entertainments, Uniqlo, Converse, Bose, Transport for London, frozen yoghurt chain Yog.

Scout London is available online at www.scoutlondon.com and is due to be released on the iPad and on Kindle readers.