An outsert is a supplemental leaflet or card wrapped around and attached to the outside of a

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

or other publication -- unlike an

insert Insert may refer to: *Insert (advertising) *Insert (composites) *Insert (effects processing) *Insert (filmmaking) *Insert key on a computer keyboard, used to switch between insert mode and overtype mode *Insert (molecular biology) *Insert (SQL) *Fi ...

, which appears inside the magazine itself -- in order to advertise a product. Outserts may range from a few pages to dozens, sometimes as large as a separate magazine. An outsert may also act as a flag for the publication to distinguish it from other titles on newsstand shelves. The effect is to draw the attention of the browser to the magazine. Advertisers are frequently drawn to outserts because of the perceived "halo effect" of their ad being bundled with the magazine, while magazines use them as an additional revenue source. Research shows that outserts may increase sales of the publication. The best performing outserts use a single, bright colour to contrast with the magazine cover.

History

The outsert was first used on Running Magazine in the UK in 1981.. They were later popularized by fashion magazines in the early 1990s: '' Vanity Fair'' included an outsert for

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

, and ''

Details Detail(s) or The Detail(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Details'' (film), a 2003 Swedish film * ''The Details'' (film), a 2011 American film * ''The Detail'', a Canadian television series * "The Detail" (''The Wire''), a television epis ...

'' included one for Request jeans. The October 1992 issue of ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' was packaged with an outsert advertisement for

Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brothe ...

. This outsert was deliberately designed to mimic the ''Vogue'' graphic design, with photoshoots by ''Vogue'' photographers, which sparked controversy amid those who saw it as blurring advertising and editorial.

Other uses

An additional use of the term outsert is a multi-folded, instruction sheet applied to the outside of a bottle or carton of a

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

product. The instruction sheets are rather large and the font of the text is small so as to provide all mandated information about the proper use of and warnings about the product. The equipment that applies the ''outsert'' is called an outserter or outserting machine.

Scientific use of the term

High-strength magnets such as those at the

National High Magnetic Field Laboratory The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MagLab) is a facility at Florida State University, the University of Florida, and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, that performs magnetic field research in physics, biology, bioengineering ...

are configured with an inner magnet called the insert and an outer magnet called the outsert.

References

External links

Video showing an outserting machine in action
Magazine publishing Advertising {{advertising-stub