Marketers are quick to disregard print advertising. However, more and more studies are determining that print advertising in magazines and newspapers can have many benefits for your campaigns. Multiple studies done in recent years are consistently showing that it is important for marketers to buy magazine advertising because it is is not only viewed positively by audiences but also consistently scores as having a high return on investment for advertisers in multiple categories.
Recently a large study concluded that magazines can produce great results for many types of products. Over a period of 11 years spanning from 2004-2015 Nielsen Catalina Solutions group analyzed nearly 1,400 advertising campaigns composed of 450 different brands of products comprised from 7 popular household categories: food, beverages, baby and pet products, health and beauty over the counter and general merchandise. It was determined that advertising in Magazines showed the highest return. With an average return of $3.94 for every dollar spent on advertising ( businesswire )
Additional separate studies are also showing that more people are now reading magazines than ever before. The expectation was that people would begin to prefer online news and reading. However, the opposite is showing to be true. People seem to be overwhelmed with the amount of advertising that they see online and are developing a solid preference to read offline instead.
Currently, the average person subscribes to 2 print publications and as much as 25% of people receive up to 5 publications. These numbers begin to drop drastically when referring to the digital versions of publications. In addition “Readers engaged for significantly longer with their print publications, with 50% saying they spent at least 30 minutes per issue. “ ( Freeport press)
It seems that even though people may be more selective in when and how they choose to consume print media. Advertisers can rest assured that when they do having a physical copy of the publication has a number of positive results. Including a higher likelihood that a person can recall brand images and message ( milwardbrown)
5 Advantages of Display Ads in Magazines and Newspapers.
1. Magazine Ads typically include more details.
one advantage of Magazine Advertising is that typically they are able to include more specific details about the product, than online banner ads. Studies show that most often people do not decide to act on an impulse until they know enough about the product to make a well thought out and informed decision. (Newspaper Advertisement on Consumer Behavior 2014)
2. Print Advertising has broader coverage
Most online display ads are only seen by a person who is specifically looking for that product. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. If you are a small business competing with larger brands online it can be quite difficult to capture someone’s attention even if you do have a big banner ad right in their face. A targeted print advertising campaign can actually do this that because it appeals directly to the things that matter most to that specific audience. Printed display ads have the ability to cover a very broad area and reach a huge amount of people across a broad demographic, or they have the ability to target one group of people specifically, which makes them very versatile.
3. Print tends to be more cost-effective over the length of the campaign versus other types of advertising.
Most often, the cost to place a display ad in a newspaper is very cost efficient. Even more so than many other forms of advertising. Targeted print advertising campaigns can also usually be started very fast. And ads can be changed out rather quickly as well.
4. Magazine and Newspaper Advertising has a Long Shelf Life than online advertising.
Those in the industry also tout the value in display advertising. Print gives the advertiser a much longer shelf life with more time spent focusing on your ad. When people are online they will scroll over or close your ad. Before it even registers what the ad was about. A well-done display ad is known for grabbing the reader’s attention. It also lets them hang onto the hard copy to reference in the future. Response to a print ad can come weeks or even months. Well after an ad has ran from someone who hung onto the ad or came across it later on.
5. Magazine and Newspaper Advertising have to lead to reduced advertising fatigue for their audience.
Facebook is one of the main ways people get news online, social media is in fact one of the main areas that social media fatigue is starting to hit people hard, even when the amount of dollars spent on digital advertising is going up. Studies are also showing the progression of digital fatigue between 2015-2016 dramatically increased. You might be saying, but magazines used to be so thick? And now they aren’t? Why? The answer to that is because there are fewer ads. Fewer ads equal a thinner magazine. Thinner magazines do not mean that no one will see your ad.
While all of the hoopla has drawn attention towards digital marketing it doesn’t mean that everything else has disappeared. Among the key findings were that being able to touch a print ad is able to increase the audience’s belief that a brand is honest. By 41%, with also an increase in purchase intent by 24%. By adding elements to your ad that convey different textures, shapes, and colors you are able to create a more visually compelling ad. One that resonates with the viewer. Tactile elements draw the focus in. It also compels the reader to look and touch is a key way to increase the response rate. Studies show that because the ability to physically touch an ad increases the likelihood that a person may purchase as well as an increase in confidence, satisfaction, and reliability.