Magazine advertising continues to be an effective form of communicating to targeted audiences.
Even in the digital age, magazine advertising has not gone out of style.
Magazine advertisements refers to print ads that often run in local or national magazines. Think of all the pretty faces and new products you see in Vogue, Glamour, and Men’s Health.
While many argue that conventional methods of marketing are slowly becoming obsolete, print ads remain a mainstay in the advertising budgets of many companies. According to one survey, readers only glance through a website for about 15 seconds to two minutes. If your ad is placed at the end of a webpage, or in the corner, there is a good chance that readers will ignore it, which means very little return on digital ad investment. On the other hand, magazines are a great way to market services and products because not only do they have an effective ROI, they also have the following benefits:
5 Benefits of Magazine Advertising for Businesses
#1. Targeted Reach
Different magazines appeal to different audiences. For example, teenage girls may prefer to read Teen Vogue while teenage boys may read ESPN the Magazine. People who work from home may be more interested in magazines that cover topics such as entrepreneurship or work-life balance while working professionals may rely on business and economics magazines. Through magazine advertisements, you can find the right magazine for the right audience and place your ads strategically.
#2. Real Surpasses Virtual
Many people spend a lot of time online trying to chronicle their daily lives on Twitter or post the latest selfie to Instagram. However, since most readers only scan a website for 15 seconds before moving on, the real experience of actually reading a magazine surpasses the virtual one and can create a mind share – a share in the mind of the target customers.
#3. A Longer Shelf Life
Digital advertisements come and go. Companies sometimes must keep paying to ensure their ads are well-placed on websites and repeated every day. Magazines, on the other hand, are generally issued weekly or monthly. They have a longer “shelf life,” as they sit in doctors’ waiting rooms, magazine racks, boutiques, malls, and supermarkets. A magazine left in a doctor’s office will be read by countless patients for many months, and your ad can be seen by many of them.
#4. Brand Recognition and Credibility
Many magazines are well-respected among their target audience, so, when you advertise in such a reputable magazine, people can become familiar with your company and a level of trust is elevated. This recognition is then reinforced when they meet you in person, either at your place of business or at a local trade show or charity event. This not only builds brand recognition but, in time, brand loyalty. Advertisers can greatly benefit from this credibility when their ads are viewed not as ads but as recommendations from a trusted source.
#5. Pass-on Readership
Many people pass on magazines to their friends and family members. This most likely increases the reach of your advertisement to more potential customers.
While there are plenty of benefits, certain traps exist that marketers may fall into if they aren’t aware of effective magazine advertisement practices.
Magazine ads often need to be submitted weeks or even months before the issue is scheduled to be published. Therefore, it becomes important to have an effective marketing strategy in place. Testing ads is a crucial part of that process. Marketers must ensure that the advertisements are attractive enough to get the readers’ attention. Many companies spend a fortune on hiring the right designers and advertisers for this purpose.
One trap in this process is that your ad runs the risk of being shoveled into the graveyard of ads that get placed at the end of the magazine unless you pay more for premium positioning. Ads placed on the right-hand page are more expensive than those on the left-hand page. Sometimes, marketers must pay a premium for ads on the outside edge, as opposed to the center. This is because of the way readers’ eyes scan pages. The objective is to have a reader catch a glimpse of the ad while flipping through the pages.
Now that you know the major advantages and barriers to effective advertising, always remember to inquire about the following before you purchase ad space in any magazine:
- Magazine’s distribution channels
- Magazine’s demand and subscription numbers
- Magazine publication frequency
Understanding the distribution system and the demographics of readers as well as checking whether both coincide with the target market is always a wise decision and a key factor in selecting the right magazine for you.
