“Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother, you’re staying alive, staying alive.”- The Bee Gees

When it comes to the future of magazines, we admit at first we were afraid, we were petrified, but just when we thought it was the last dance for big time magazines and traditional journalism, an eleventh hour remix of the genre has been slapped on the turntables. All right, enough with the disco metaphors. But it’s hard not feeling like boogying after witnessing the incredible magazine metamorphosis that has taken place over the last couple of months.

The easy-to-bash but hard-to-love iPad has played a big part in the resurrection of magazines. Magazines from all of the major publishers have all surfaced on the iPad and have proved to be some of the gadget’s most popular applications. Even Conde Nast’s beloved yet defunct Gourmet magazine had a comeback this summer when it returned as a free app for the tablet. Yet the question remained: Would iPad users pay for magazines?

Enter Zinio. Just this week, digital newsstand operator Zinio offered a game-changer when it took on paid content for The Sporting News and National Geographic apps for iPad. This new subscription model works a lot like the traditional version: Readers can get limited content with the apps for free, buy single issues for 99 cents or plunk down $2.99 a month for the whole enchilada, which receives regular updates and is delivered fresh to your iPad. If Zinio’s plan catches on, the iPad and devices like it look to be the future of subscriptions and daily publication.

Yet the iPad isn’t the only beacon of light for magazines. Social media is helping revive the genre as well. Glamour magazine is looking to rope in “young and posh” readers (translation: not old ladies) with a new promotional and advertising makeover that is heavy on the Facebook and Twitter marketing. Announced yesterday, the magazine’s multi-million-dollar campaign is revamping the publication to speak to a younger set, so naturally Glamour has already launched aggressive moves on all the big social media sites. From 3 voices on Twitter to an interactive Facebook page to turning to fashion bloggers to assist in the Glamour re-deux, the publication is hoping to reinvent itself for a new audience.

Also, trying to turn the beat around is Lucky magazine. The shopaholic bible’s unique multi-media duet with Kellogg’s Special K is nothing short of brilliant. Cereal aficionados are encouraged to swipe their smartphones across Microsoft tag 2D bar codes on boxes of Special K that will launch a video starring Lucky’s editor-in-chief Elise Loehnen talking about figure flattering jeans. Lucky has always shameless promoted shopping so this partnership wisely speaks to its core audience in a way old magazines would have never dreamed of.

Now it’s your turn to hop on our soul train. Do you think magazines have another dance left in them? Shout it out in the comments section below!

At Brandsplat, we’re all for anybody becoming the next online multi-media maven. The great thing about today’s landscape of digital media is that anyone can launch his or her own blogs and newsfeeds. With the right amount of promotion and gumption, these little blogs can become widely read and forwarded brand names in online media. So it struck us as odd when Glenn Beck, he of the ridiculously high rated Fox show and of the recent rally in Washington D.C., announced with his usual red-faced fanfare that he was launching a website a la The Huffington Post to serve as “news and opinion” (and by opinion he means his opinion) called The Blaze.

Beck, agree with him or not, is trying to establish himself as a brand name in conservative journalism — and he has the flock of sheep to prove that he’s capable of doing so. Our issue here is not with his politics but with the utterly whack name of his new website. To prove how uninspired a name The Blaze actually is, we’ve collected a few other, longer-established websites and media outlets from the Interweb that were called The Blaze first.

The Blaze, as it turns out, is a super popular moniker for radio stations. Country, alternative, hip-hop and classic rock stations all seem to favor the name. Poor Beck’s fans might be in for a surprise if they accidentally visit the wrong Blaze and wind up listening to the latest hit by T- Pain. From Tyler, Texas, to Chico, Calif., we dug up at least four radio stations dubbed “The Blaze.” Strange that Beck’s marketing folks didn’t catch this, especially seeing as he was discovered on morning radio. The biggest chuckle in the bunch definitely comes from down under, where The Blaze is a popular gay and lesbian news website. Visitors to this Blaze are greeted with a distinctly un-Red State view of a man’s behind in black underwear. And it doesn’t end there. We found a head shop, a strip club, a barbershop quartet newsletter (?) and we fondly remember it as the name of the school newspaper on the original 90210 run by that pesky Andrea Zuckerman.

We’re certainly not in the business of politics here at Brandsplat, but the lesson from The Blaze is a good one everyone, regardless of his or her field. Choosing our website and brand names is an important move that needs to be mulled over with careful consideration. Beck omitting his own name in the title somewhere in the website is a big mistake. Beck is a brand name already and leaving it out of the equation is a definite fumble. It is important to have consistent branding and thoughtful company names, especially in the era of mass Google confusion.

Now you tell us: What website names fail to hit the right marks? Blaze up our comments section below!

Old Spice’s YouTube responses, albeit clever and buzzed about, will not be discussed in this blog today. Nor will I be the 47 millionth writer to kick the iPhone 4 where it hurts. That’s because the biggest news in media, online marketing and social media is… wait for it — radio.

That’s right, cowboys and cowgirls. The little fuzzy sounding square where you used to listen to Doctor Demento is back. In truth, radio never left; rather, it has morphed into a do-it-yourself media tool that is accessible to everyone and, as it turns out, listened to by millions.

Yesterday the Guardian ran a piece about how smart phones have revitalized radio in the UK. A recent survey found that 20 percent of all smart phone users surveyed have a radio app installed on their phones. The same report says that 31 percent of all radio listeners listen to it online while 16 percent have downloaded a podcast. This is big news globally as well, since podcasts are now receiving bigger numbers and downloads and keeping up with streaming radio.

The comeback could be attributed to a lot of things. Primarily, I see it as the same anti-media media that YouTube belongs to. Online folks want to pick out their stations and not have a lot of corporate mumbo jumbo. The popularity of the iPhone NPR app is a testament to that. While many online stations and podcast have sponsored blocks, they are far less frequent and annoying than traditional radio.

For marketers, radio is good news. Online radio advertising rates are ridiculously low. Plus many offer options like sponsoring full hours or even entire days with multiple brand references. The other great marketing possibility of radio is that now small businesses can even start their own stations and podcasts that social media followers and newsletter readers can tap into.

Consider this all an after-effect of the Clear Channel domination of radio more than a decade ago. Now advertisers and marketers aren’t being told there is only one way to have a presence on radio. We’re being told that radio has infinite marketing possibilities just waiting for us to grab them.

But don’t touch that dial! Let’s hear from you now. What are some of the Internet radio stations you listen to during your workday (I’m a big fan of wherewolfradio.com)? What’s your dream radio station sound like? And lastly, any advice you want to disperse to the rest of us about radio marketing? What’s your frequency, Kenneth? Sound off in the comments section below!

This week’s Brandsplat Video report episode covers the Lakers vs. the Celtics, E3, brandjacking, domain names, Brandsplat’s Smokes and Booze Giveaway. Check it out! Or click here for more Brandsplat vids

Last month in this very blog, we covered the culinary Godzilla that is KFC’s Double Down. The marketing and buzz for the heart-clogging delight was unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Not to be outdone, everybody’s favorite closed-on-Sunday chicken hut, Chik-Fil-A, has launched an online, full-tilt boogie campaign for its new spicy chicken sandwich.

For being widely considered an old-fashioned, good-family-values kind of fast food chain, Chik-Fil-A knows how to rock online marketing, social media and positive word of mouth. Chik-Fil-A tweets regularly about more…

This week’s Brandsplat Video report covers fake retro style viral commercials from Toy Story 3, Facebook’s new window decals for businesses and how Flash is faring for the future. Find out here! Or click here for more Brandsplat vids

Foursquare recently announced that April 16th will be the world’s first social media holiday–Foursquare Day! The holiday will be celebrated in 100 cities around the world including Seoul, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur,  Manchester, Tampa, and Boston. Yay! And we should care because…?? Well, I’m not entirely sure that you should as I’m not totally certain if I do just yet either or even if I understand the point of more…

The Brandsplat Video Report discusses what’s going on in the world of online branding and digital engagement. In this episode, Brandsplat takes a look at an innovative campaign that uses a skunk as a spokesperson who wants to help you clean up your act. Check it out by clicking on the video below.