Popular Science Adds Value with its Emerging Media Lab

It all started with gadgets. The offices of Popular Science are filled with gadgets and new technology – everything from cell phones to tablet computers to media players – that the magazine covers for its readers. So when sales reps kept hearing from the magazine's advertisers and media partners that they wanted to know more about the latest in technology from the magazine, the staff decided it was a smart idea to connect the advertisers to the gadgets.

"The challenge is how do you get through to what can be a jaded and overbooked group?" says Deputy Editor Jacob Ward, who runs the program. "We wanted to show our strengths – our focus is on science plus technology. At sales calls people were asking us to tell them what we saw were the trends in media, so we decided what better way to approach it than to create a curated show and take it on the road to our advertisers. We had the gadgets already."

So Popular Science's Emerging Media Lab was born three years ago. Initially, the show attracted five or six participants for the first events, with Ward bringing in the latest technology for people to hold in their hands, talking for an hour about the trends in cameras, for example – where things are going, how they can be used, and physically showing people what can be done.

The show proved so popular that companies wanted repeat performances, asking Popular Science to come back twice a year or more, and the number of people attending a typical Emerging Media Lab rose, with 30-50 participants. "I think part of the success is that we were very critical," says Ward. "Usually you want to flatter your partners, but we were very honest about how people were – or weren't – using technology, and how they needed to be better about keeping up with the constant changes."

Ward estimates that there have been close to 70 Emerging Media Lab shows in a wide range of cities – from Los Angeles to Detroit to Atlanta, among other places. And this fall, the Emerging Media Lab took another step forward when it built a permanent media lab at the Media Kitchen in New York, part of the Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners division of MDC Partners.

The advertising agency wanted to turn the Emerging Media Lab into something its employees as well as its customers could take advantage of. So Popular Science helped the company set up the Test Kitchen at the Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners offices, providing rough blueprints, recommending technology and helping procure it where possible. Along with the basics, Popular Science will also provide an update three times a year.

"We're really pleased with how the Test Kitchen has worked out," says Ward. "It's an idea that we hope to franchise to other companies."

And what does Popular Science get out of it? Brand recognition, first of all, says Ward. The magazine is seen as the source for cutting-edge information on technology. But just as important are the connections made. "We get close to the decisionmakers of our world," says Ward. "We get to see how they are thinking. And we shape what they think of Popular Science."