Onserts vs. Post-It's, Bellybands and Special Covers

by Bernard Martin

We've been asked about how onserts compare to Post-Its, Belly Bands and Special Covers so we thought we should point out the differences, the similarities and some unique opportunities that onserts present.  Let's examine each below.

Post it
A post-it's essentially a sticker attached to the front cover of the magazine and it's sometimes located inside the magazine.  The great thing about post it notes is that they could get stuck somewhere else as a reminder.  If you like the post-it note idea try incorporating a "keeper" portion as a perforated part of your onstatement that the consumer can tear off and save for reference with their sample.  You can design it so that the glue on the perforated portion also acts to hold the onsert in postion.

Bellyband
A bellyband is a belt of paper wrapped around the outside of a magazine.  Bellybands are highly visible and have to be physically removed from the publication before it can be read – so it guarantee a level of interaction with your customer.  But, by it's very nature it is disposable and disposable quickly.  An onsert is also separate from a magazine, but it has a sample product and a bunch more information, especially if you start to use it creatively by integrating post-it type notes onto it!

Special Covers
A lot of magazine offer a special cover. It's that additional cover that is glued onto the main cover.  It's certainly has a prime position and is the first thing the consumer sees when they get the magazine.  Special Covers are perhaps the closest cousin to an onsert.  The primary difference being that an onsert has a sample product on it, of course.  As a first step, think back to the various ways in which you have utilized special covers in the past and how you could apply that to the onsert card. 

A really big distinction between a special cover and an onsert is that th eonsert is really occupying the back, cover 4, of the magazine.  Onserts don't require the magazine name, bar code and other information that is necessary for a Special Cover,  (but detracts from the advertiser message) because onserts occupy the space around the magazine cover. 

Onserts actually present a major branding opportunity by not being "on the cover" but by being adjacent to the cover.  The sample is in the center of the onsert, but the surrounding space is all cover marketing space!