MAGAZINES: AN AWESOME MEDIUM FOR ADS

                                       

 

In this admittedly digital age, there are many people who think it’s a good idea to invest all their ad money solely in online advertisement. However, it’s important to acknowledge that magazines are still a relevant print media and have the ability to bring exposure and customers to companies.

“ With 82% of the U.S. population reading one or more magazines a month, can we afford to ignore that loyal readership?”Marc Brownstein of adage.com has said, and he certainly has a point. Considering the enormity of magazine readership and their benefits when compared to other print media, magazines should not be ignored as an ad medium. Instead, companies should take advantage of a magazine’s niche audiences and take advantage of them to advertise to their specific audience. If you’re a cosmetics company advertising in a women’s magazine, you’re likely reaching a market in which the majority could be considered your target audience and in which they’re actually interested already in potentially purchasing your product.  You make mascara? They need mascara! This is compared to, say, TV, where although it enables you to reach a very large audience at one time, it’s more difficult to guarantee who exactly is watching. No matter how awesome your lipstick is and how good the commercial, odds are that those men watching aren’t in the market for a flattering shade of red. Being able to advertise to specific audiences also allows for the company to inform a current audience of a new product. If a lot of Cosmopolitan readers are already interested in and using your nail polish, they’re going to be excited and interested when they see an ad in Cosmo advertising new shades.

What’s unfortunate is that even though magazine readership is increasing, magazines are being compared to newspapers, which is affecting many magazines’ advertising sales. (adage.com) Other than the increase in readership, magazines are completely different from newspapers. Magazines allow for fine color reproduction, which enhances and makes an advertisement appear more vibrant. Magazines also have a longer life span that a newspaper. Newspapers are usually daily, where as magazines are weekly or monthly, so the reader will take their time while reading the magazine and possibly  keep it until the next issue comes out. And that doesn’t even count dentists’ and doctors’ offices, where it’s perfectly plausible in 2013 to come across magazines from 2006.

Magazines also have the special trait of having a high “pass along” value. This means that, much like a webpage or blog, when people see something in a magazine they find interesting, they share it with others. This may be by telling a person to go out and buy the issue or literally giving them the issue. Either way, because magazines come out reasonably infrequently, it gives people time to share what they have read.

Finally, one can’t talk about print advertising without referencing the benefits of  augmented reality, which can be found here.

At the end of the day, magazines are the one print media companies should use to advertise. Magazines provide an obvious audience and style and are still trendy. Companies should realize no one medium will perfectly return  the cost and value of their advertisement. Media should be used together to cover all areas and types of consumers.

Click here for more print myths.

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