Welcome. Hoping it’s a great day whenever you’re reading this.

So what’s the best choice?
Excuse me?

Dennis with all these media options that have been swirling these past ten weeks or so, there MUST be a best in all that.

Earlier in my career, I may have jumped at that to say you MUST use, blah blah blah blah, or else the campaign won’t be effective.

The ever changing landscape means that all these providers have their place.
They all work to varying degrees. Sometimes spectacularly well. Other times dismal failures.

This is why I come back to our earlier mantra of Testing. And Testing. And Learning. And Testing. Some will call it practice. Others regard it as ongoing vigilance of a client’s (or their own) budget.

Keep trying, to see what’s working. When it works, keep trying to improve it. When it’s working to your satisfaction, put your media muscle behind it.

Yeah yeah Dennis. Wonderfully philosophical and poetic, but what’s the best one for me?

The answer to that is kinda why I get paid. To discover what’s working and to make it work harder.

As for which media is best. All of them. None of them. I am convinced the best campaigns are those which use the strengths of multiple media to be in front of their candidate audiences as efficiently and effectively as possible. That combination will be unique to each advertiser and as aggressive or modest as their budgets and nerves allow.

Our closing spikes in this series will speak to strengths and limitations of several media, and my thoughts on how to best use them. Today we’ll start with magazines.

• Magazines command the readers’ attention. The reader is much more likely to be engaged with their magazine(s) of choice without the distraction of other media.

• Magazine advertising gives you the opportunity for more persuasive storytelling and detail and a deeper connection with the reader.

• The multitude of magazines appealing to specific niches allow your messaging to be very targeted and focused on specific interests of your audience.

• You can customize your ad from issue to issue, or magazine to magazine to test content, and measure response to different appeals.

• Magazines are a trusted friend you invite into your world on your time. And you can go back to it multiple times after only one purchase, and refer to it as long as you like.

• Multiple studies have confirmed that increased magazine advertising in the media mix will improve the overall ROI (Return on Investment) across a diverse range of product categories.

• Face it- Magazine advertising sells. Magazines are often cited as the key driver in the purchase cycle, providing the stimulus for readers to act on the ads they see.

The more specific the niche, the more the readers are self-qualifying. You won’t buy or subscribe to Golf Digest for example, unless you’re an avid golfer. If you’re selling to the gold industry, it’s perfect targeting and an efficient use of as dollars with minimal wastage.

Magazines offer a tactile experience which no other media offers. Even reading them ‘online’ while efficient, is unlike turning the pages of a crisp, colourful entrancing magazine filled with glittering editorial and robust photography.

So when you’re ready to use magazines, please remember:

• Colour ads always enjoy better readership (and we expect memorability), than black & white ads.

• Larger ads enjoy better readership than smaller ads. Try to use a full page as well as your budget will allow.
   
• If you can get them without paying a premium, choose a cover position. Or negotiate for it. ie:  In the next year, we will bring a schedule of six, full page 4 colour magazine ads to your magazine. During the course of that schedule, we’d like a minimum of two of these to be cover positions at the regular page rate.

• Use good creative. Keep testing to find what works. The long-term impact can’t be overstated as you are creating your image, and want to be seen to be as someone your customers would like to be seen with.

• Always negotiate for best rates. Don’t go in with all guns blazing, but if you’re prepared to be in multiple editions of a magazine, they should come back to you with an attractive rate and or other value added opportunities.

• BE MEMORABLE – Goodness, you’ve paid a LOT of good money to get in front of these people. Don’t be lost at the turn of a page. Magazines deliver STOPPING POWER. Use it.

Stay tuned.

Dennis Kelly
dennis@firstimpressionsmedia.ca

P.S. Nothing thrills me like a good story. It all starts with the letters. You will find a library of stories and information at Magazines Canada.

If you did not get a chance to take a peek earlier, here’s the link again to my magazine commentary available on my website.

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