Advertisements in newspapers are not effective. Advertising in a magazine: the truth from the co-owner of the magazine

No matter how much the Internet is praised, the print press is still a tasty morsel for advertisers. I think it’s not worth describing all the advantages of this medium.

I want to focus your attention a little on other places. There is a lot of competition between advertisements in a newspaper - the reader has more than just a choice.

And in this whole situation it is very important to be more cunning, more inventive and wiser than others.

If you pick up a newspaper and look at all the advertising blocks (simple advertisements, classified advertising, block advertising, etc.) - 90% of them are compiled according to old cliches that are not going to retire.

In this article, we decided to prepare for you a collection of old tips that will help make your new newspaper advertising more effective.

These are tips from practice, not from books. Many of them are the result of our own experiments.

Unfortunately, we cannot predict the conditions for advertising on each printed medium - each has its own subtleties (for example, the number of characters in free advertisements).

But we will still present you with an impressive collection of advertising tips. Everything will be clear and structured, in general, in our style.

1. Use special tools to highlight your advertising - frames, bold font, first places - even if it’s paid, you have a good chance to immediately grab the reader’s attention and attract him to read your message.
2. Periodically test advertising in related categories - it will stand out from everything else and be remembered - for example: renting a warehouse in the cargo transportation block.
3. Don’t trust new newspapers too much; it’s better to work with those who have been on the market for a long time and have a good readership.
4. Don't be fooled by the large circulation. This is still not your entire target audience. If a simple advertising newspaper consists of 5 different sections (real estate, dating, transport, services, construction materials), divide the circulation by at least 5. And then divide it further: after all, in the same real estate there is a purchase, sale, residential stock, non-residential stock, 1-room apartments, etc.
5. Give preference to niche and thematic newspapers that your target audience reads. It’s not for nothing that banks advertise their pension programs in newspapers for pensioners.
6. Advertising in the form of inserts in newspapers has the advantage that even if it falls out, it will be picked up and read.
7. Test a tricky tip: instead of one ad, place three different ones: different wording, different contacts - and see which one is more effective.
8. Always give a special offer: the first month of rent is free, when ordering a photo shoot you get an album as a gift etc.
9. Make friends with numbers - they are shorter than words and much more accurate, give specific information.
10. An ad without a price is sad. Many people will not call, and those who do may refuse if the price does not suit them.
11. Don't limit yourself to one newspaper - this will help you test the response of different media and expand your audience of potential customers.
12. If you practice block advertising, make a powerful offer in the title.
13. Few people read advertisements on the second and penultimate pages of advertising newspapers.
14. The words “free” and “gift” always attract attention.
15. If you advertise a promotion, always use restrictions - by duration, quantity, etc.
16. An ad in the form of a coupon that you cut out and present is a powerful tool.
17. Having a photo always increases the effectiveness of advertising.
18. Before you place your ad, study your competitors' ads, understand their strengths, identify their weaknesses - and then use all this to develop your advertising message.
19. The trick of professional copywriting is to agree that some keyword of your advertisement is printed in capital letters - visually, against the background of the entire ad feed, it will attract attention.
20. In your advertisement, include contact information that you will always respond quickly to.
21. Typically the phrase "without intermediaries" means that advertising is provided by the intermediary himself.
22. Consider “sponsoring” a certain category that your potential target audience prefers. For example: in the “culinary masterpieces” category, it would be nice to be a sponsor for a kitchenware store, some food manufacturer, etc.
23. It is recommended to include logos and company names at the bottom of the advertisement rather than at the top. Guess why.
24. A good technique from copywriters: in the title of your ad, immediately highlight the desired target audience. For example: “Great news for Japanese car owners”.
25. Surprise everyone - buy advertising space on an entire page - and make a simply stunning offer.

Simply calling unfamiliar companies will be ineffective. People will not invest even small amounts in unfamiliar projects, so everything must be done to inspire confidence and interest a potential advertiser.

What needs to be done to effectively present a new advertising magazine:

— Select a couple of articles on the topic of the magazine (if the topics are everything for cars - an article on how to choose tires, for construction - installation technologies, etc.). Even if the magazine only contains advertisements, it needs to have something interesting in it so that it doesn't get thrown away after the first five minutes of flipping through it.

Road billboards have been around for over a hundred years. And in car-loving America, such advertising is still an important and effective way to attract the attention of motorists. But if you're planning on investing your hard-earned money in massive, high-profile advertising, it's worth making sure you're successful at it. How do you know if your billboard will be both attractive and effective? Read on for 5 rules that will help you create an impressive billboard design.

Leo Burnett

1. Tell your story

If your billboard is on the side of the road where people will be driving at high speeds, then a design without a story simply won’t be remembered. To find your story, think about one thing you want people to take away from your ad. Do you want them to remember the name of your site? So they can recognize your brand the next time they're in the supermarket? Or do you want them to run to the other side of the store for your fried chicken? Use this key message to find your story. For example:

• www.yourwebsite.ru will help them solve the very problem they have.
• Your Brand is about fun. And happiness. And cool people like it.
• Your delicious fried birds will satisfy their cravings and take them all the way to another city.

Got the point? To find your story, you identify a key message and give it meaning: solve a problem, evoke an emotion, or fulfill a need (even if they didn't know they needed it until they saw your billboard).

Why is history important?

Because people are very bad at remembering facts, but very good at remembering stories.

Billboard design is all about visual information, so the next step is figuring out how to tell that story through images and text. You really need to be strategic when creating a design. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Achieve for barlow

One traditional way is to use a short and funny pun that will get a laugh, or even a short rhyme that will help convey your message.

How to attract advertisers to a magazine

The Oklahoma Football Association wanted people to have fun discovering football. So they decided to play on words and took what people are looking for: Bigfoot. It's fun, funny, and has a sense of adventure that kids will definitely get from playing soccer. (Approx.: foot - foot from English. The word football comes from this word. Bigfoot - Bigfoot, that is, literally - big foot).

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? The YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) basketball billboard uses dynamic imagery to make their brand immediately come to mind.

A big dynamic image can say it all. In fact, a picture can help convey your message better than just words. Make sure the image can influence a person in 5 seconds or less. You can check this by sharing your design with your friends. If they smile, you've done a good job. If no one understands anything, try again.

2. Keep it short and sweet!

The average driver will have about 5-10 seconds to see your billboard, read the text and understand the message. During these 5-10 seconds, the driver also needs to look from the billboard, to the road, and back to the billboard, depending on the speed of the traffic flow. So you end up with even less time spent watching your ads! Therefore, one of the most important rules is to keep the message short. Very short! Maximum 7 words, but less is better.

CR75™ for ellingtonac

After your initial message, you may want to think about other important information. Do I need to provide a phone number? Should I add a logo? What about the location to better attract motorists? Just make sure to place important information correctly so that your billboard doesn't appear cluttered.

3. Be loud

With such a huge layout, where the elements are larger than their natural size, you can’t be modest! Make sure that any text in your design is well printed and has the best possible readability. In addition, the larger the font, the faster it will be seen by a driver from a distance. So do more!

Smashing Hub

4. Be bright

Use bright colors and large images to draw attention to the billboard. Contrasting colors in your design will also help enhance your message.

Ads of the World

But for your image to be effective, you'll want to have a simple background to highlight the foreground and draw attention to it. And concentrate on one image or photo. This one dynamic image will create much more visual impact than multiple images each taking up only a quarter of the entire layout.

5. Check the map

If you've realized that you still need a fun story for your banner, then let's look at where your design will be placed to use that medium for your message. For example, poke fun at techies using local California lingo, or reminisce about the “hangover” of drivers leaving Las Vegas (and if they're heading east, this is another opportunity to make a good joke about their trip to the Colorado River).

Job search website Dice created a series of billboards that played on stereotypes about techies.

You can also take advantage of the route several kilometers between cities to pique the interest of hungry and tired travelers with repeated signage. Do you have a unique attraction that can't be missed? Or a comfortable parking lot for travelers who are in need of convenience? If so, let drivers know how long they have until their destination. Set up several banners located several kilometers apart to let drivers know they are almost there. It doesn't have to be witty, but the message should still be short, noticeable, and easy to read.

Wall Drug began placing their banners hundreds of kilometers before their actual location. Photos: The Barn Door, Traveling Dancers, San Diego Reader and The Selfish Years.

theory, print media

The most popular type of advertising today is advertising in the press. However, advertising in the press involves solving many problems, especially in a multinational society or in those groups where literacy is low. But despite this, the press remains the most popular means of advertising.

Features of advertising in the magazine

Magazines are in most cases similar to their predecessors, newspapers. They have many similarities, but there are also striking differences.

Magazines, unlike newspapers, are not as fast - it can take several weeks to prepare materials and images. However, prices and other terms of sale for the advertised product may change during this time. Magazines are read slowly, so the effect of advertising will be slightly slower.

Note 1

In weekly magazines, about 65% of readers become familiar with the latest issue within a week, and more than 90% study the issue by the end of the fourth week.

Magazines have a less local audience than newspapers. Magazine readers are not generally concentrated in a particular region. Advertising information in this type of press takes up more than 1/4 of a page. Accordingly, the cost of its placement will be slightly higher than in newspapers.

Note 2

In magazine publications you can place not only advertising information, but also samples of the products offered. Issues are printed using the latest technologies, thanks to which the magazine can include advertising inserts, brochures, numerous inserts, layouts, holographs or even audio pages. You can even include samples of advertised shampoo, gel, soap, perfume and other personal care products. In a magazine, you can print advertisements on special and special paper, which in structure will stand out from the rest of the pages of the publication.

Thanks to advertising in magazines, it is possible to reach a certain category of the population, since now more and more magazines are being published for a specific target audience: for men, women, medical workers, creative people, etc.

Advantages of advertising in magazines

One of the biggest advantages of advertising in a magazine is its longevity. Magazines are often re-read from time to time; some even keep them for years. More than 80% of readers turn to the publication they read again and again, studying it from time to time.

The great interest of readers is also important, since they are often interested in a certain topic, thanks to this, a competent interest in advertising is aroused as a quality editorial material.

Magazine sections often coincide with the topic of the advertised product or service, so advertising information placed near the topical material will create the best effect on a potential consumer.

Magazine advertising can contain quite long information materials. People read magazines to pass time with pleasure, so readers then have a higher quality of perception of advertising.

You can enhance the effect of placement in a magazine by distributing leaflets, booklets or mailing advertised material. The latest technologies make it possible to make certain inserts in magazine publications, thanks to which you can appeal to a certain circle of readers.

Magazines can be classified as follows:

• by geography of distribution;
• by circulation;
• by information content;
• by method of distribution;
• according to the frequency of release;
• by format.

From a geographic point of view, magazines can be national and transnational; local (urban) ones are much less common.

Based on their readership, magazine publications are divided into: popular and specialized. However, unlike newspapers, specialized publications satisfy the desires of a narrow circle of people. Magazines are often published weekly, monthly, biweekly and quarterly.

Types of advertising blocks in the magazine

Note 3

Modular ads simultaneously show a product and describe its characteristics and features. This is a useful type of information for the reader, the quality of presentation of which is guaranteed by the printed publication. Thanks to this type of magazine advertising, readers not only see the product with their own eyes, but also navigate the products, prices, monitor their changes, and learn about the company's new products.

Often, block ads are published by representatives of the advertised service or product. In addition, this type applies to advertising by retailers, government and political organizations.

Modular declarations come in three types:

• traditional;
• coupon;
• editorial.

A traditional ad in a magazine has clear text, illustrations and advertiser details.

An editorial ad contains a message from the advertiser that imitates magazine or newspaper coverage and is often disguised as an interview. Unlike a traditional publication, such an advertisement may not have obvious signs of advertising: a trademark, company details and a direct call to purchase.

A coupon ad is a coupon that can be cut or torn off and gives the potential consumer the right to buy a product or service at a discount, receive a gift, or participate in a promotion. The overall effectiveness of the coupon ad is 25% higher than usual.

A line ad is an informational advertising message that is published in magazines in the form of a line. It does not contain logos and can be ordered by mail or telephone.

Advertising, which is placed in special sections or certain pages of the magazine, can be line and modular. The advantage of such advertising is that it can attract large audiences of readers who are ready for a positive perception of information.

To achieve maximum efficiency, multi-page advertising is used. Such advertising in magazines is much more expensive, but its effectiveness is many times higher.

• the magazine publication publishes identical advertising blocks, which are spaced apart from each other through a certain number of pages;
• two advertisements follow each other in one publication, and complement each other’s semantic load;
• a practical product catalog is introduced into the publication, which forms an integral part of it;
• advertising is placed as a “clamshell” type (this type of advertising unit is very effective because it can interest a potential buyer).

Sponsorship advertising in a magazine publication is aimed at promoting a specific brand or brand, rather than a specific sale. Cooking columns, sports columns, and consumer market columns are often sponsored.

A well-written text of an advertisement with the obligatory inclusion of psychological elements makes it possible to provide potential consumers with information about a product, service, as well as planned promotions.

The most advantageous offers for customers about discounts, gifts for purchases, holiday events accompanied by prizes will not be effective and will not attract the expected number of customers without organizing their information.

How to attract buyers

Timely drawing attention to planned marketing activities will increase the effectiveness of their implementation among numerous potential clients. Advanced entrepreneurs take advantage of the modern capabilities of specialized Internet platforms. They allow you to quickly, and in some cases free, post current news in specialized services and on social networks. All resources provide the opportunity to select target audiences based on interests. If you already know your target audience, you can order printing of your brand or slogan on clothing from FairPrint, which will undoubtedly be effective in attracting attention to your product or activity.

Features of advertising text

1. The headline should reflect the essence of the trade proposal, as well as the benefits of cooperation. There must be an element of intrigue.
2. The text part should take into account all channels of human perception and detail the advantages of the proposal.
3. Text advertising must take into account the interests of the target audience for which it is intended.
4. The use of specific facts and precise information expressed in numerical terms is encouraged.
5. The product should be concise and not intrusive.

Algorithm for presenting information

Customers' interest in a product is directly dependent on the way information is presented.

His choice depends on the social affiliation of the citizens for whom the product or service is intended, and on the place where the advertisement is published.

The best examples of advertising texts contain a bright headline that is informative. They are characterized by clearly formulated rules for the promotion and price parameters of the product. And the offer to purchase is always veiled and expressed in the form of a motivating offer.

The advertising text for any product can be published on social networks, on specialized platforms, on your own website, in newspapers and magazines. Placing it on billboards is effective. Distribution to the mailing addresses of regular customers and, through patronage, their acquaintances is effective. Read also:

Before creating your own advertising brainchild, you should study various examples of product advertising in order to copy the best ideas that are a feature of the product in question. To compose your own advertising, you should first think through all your wishes, as well as compile a list of information that was relevant and useful at the time of creating the brand.

A marketing model must be chosen based on the advertised product and the target audience that might be interested in it. In this case, only one parameter of the model should be taken into account, aimed at activating attention, understanding, desire, and, as a consequence, actions. The technique of identifying with a well-known brand has a good effect.

By adding a unique style to your advertising, you can give your entrepreneurial idea an exclusive image, which will ensure product recognition and significantly expand the target audience. The use of slogans will add an element of originality and uniqueness, and a well-written text structure will allow you to quickly achieve the desired effect.

When advertising is ineffective

Advertising is a powerful sales tool. However, if used incorrectly, it can ruin the reputation of a business entity. It must reflect truthful information. It is unacceptable to embellish with events or additional services that are not relevant to the advertised product.

There is no need to intrusively attract the buyer; this always creates the impression of lack of demand in the market for similar goods or services. You need to be able to masterfully present relevant information. If this rule is violated, all marketing and advertising efforts to promote your product are doomed to failure.

Determining the target audience

In advertising activities, it is important to competently determine the target category, since this parameter has a direct impact on the effect of the information offered for review. Its main feature is that the potential client belongs to a certain social status, age, gender, and place of residence.

Advertising is necessary so that a business entity can stand out among thousands of similar companies with their own offers.

To do this, it is not enough to simply tell your potential consumers about the availability of a quality product and encourage them to buy it. To attract the attention of customers, it is recommended to use several marketing schemes, following which allows you to advertise correctly. This will ensure maximum results from its publication. Promotion methods such as a unique selling proposition and the classic sales model, in which the buyer is accompanied at all stages of the purchase, are popular.

Either never, or for a very long time. And why? Because the cost of placement is just crazy?

Or because you were unhappy with the result? Or maybe because you think that your target audience does not read the press?

In any case, sales managers periodically call you and offer to place advertisements of this kind.

the whole truth behind the scenes

Articles of this kind (especially if you study the Internet, for example, the TOP 10 search queries in Yandex) begin to tell you how advertising in a newspaper differs from advertising in a magazine, how cool it is and what an increase it will be reflected in your wallet after placement.

Therefore, as Tabaqui said from the cartoon about Mowgli: “And we will go north!”, that is, another way and I will tell you the truth.

The truth is based on the fact that I was a co-owner of a federal magazine for almost six months.

Circulation 5000 copies/month per city (declared), readers – premium segment. Therefore, now there will be facts that no sales manager will tell you.

The facts are more or less suitable for average regional magazines. After this background, we will move on to how to act correctly.

Sell ​​and release

The task of the sales manager who offered you to place an advertisement is to sell you advertising space and make sure that your advertisement comes out.

He doesn’t think about anything else, since he receives a percentage of sales and sales, that is, from advertising issues in the magazine.

And in order to sell, they may show you the numbers that you want to see (circulation, target audience and its purchasing power, etc.), BUT which are not actually true.

Selling?! Did not hear

But develop it according to a selling structure, for example, according to. They don't know how to do this. They do not have such a task and specialists for this.

Yes Yes

They don't know the audience

Research of the target audience of magazine readers? Are you seriously? This is not done! Or extremely rarely and very carelessly (like a survey in groups on social networks or several phone calls).

By the way, I once requested such statistics from a fairly well-known newspaper in Russia (circulation 50,000 per week in our city alone). I was provided with statistics on readers from last year, and also general statistics for Russia.

For those who were looking for similar statistics in a fresh form and for a specific city, the information is of a very dubious nature.

Promise, not fact

It is a rare magazine that can boast that the stated circulation corresponds to the actual one.

Therefore, if 5,000 copies are written a month, then God willing, 3,000 are printed. That is, in fact, you are overpaying about 40% for... No way, you’re just overpaying.

Turnover

Magazines tend to have a high turnover. Especially now, since popularity is falling and earnings are no longer the same.

Therefore, be prepared to coordinate everything 10 times, that the layouts will always be of different styles and directions.

Especially if you don’t have a corporate identity, any existing advertising products and you decide to place for the first time at the discretion of the performer.

WE ARE ALREADY MORE THAN 29,000 people.
TURN ON

Big discounts

Discounts of 10-20-30-40-50%? As soon as I think about such discounts, magazine everyday life immediately comes to mind.

There is a production cost for one page, but it is much lower than the price they ask you for advertising on this page.

Therefore, you can always (once again – ALWAYS!) negotiate a discount when placing a property. Especially considering that the advertising market in the press is now falling at a catastrophic rate.

Barter

With all their love for money, magazine owners quite willingly agree to barter. Especially towards the end of the month.

Especially towards the end of the year. Especially if you have popular areas (furniture, clothing, bags, catering).

I personally know a couple of magazine owners who live solely on barter from advertising in the magazine. The pleasure is very dubious, but it’s everyone’s business.

Lifehack. If you have your eye on a good magazine, call and offer barter. I can say with 50%/50% confidence that the majority will agree.

In fact, everything is fine

It turned out a little tough, but now you have been warned and know what to expect from them.

I will say right away that not all magazines work extremely poorly; there are very good ones, effective and beneficial to readers and advertisers.

Even if they are few, they really exist and bring very, very cool results for some of our clients.

And if you have found just such a magazine, then let’s make sure you get the maximum from placing your advertising. First, decide what your advertisement will be like.

Image

We have already written a whole article about it, but I’ll still say a few words here. Image advertising is that advertising that simply says what you are as a company and where to find you.

In fact, its components are: logo, company name, slogan and contacts. And you use this type if you have:

1. The franchise/branch/store and senior management/owners simply send you promotional materials that you must place in a magazine of your choice. Arguing/contributing/creative is prohibited.
2. There is a lot of money and there is a dream for your brand to be known, like, for example, Gucci. In addition, you also agree to wait 20-30 years for advertising to work on the recognition of your brand and not expect a return on it in the form of sales.

In general, it’s up to you to decide, but our experience has shown that if you are not in the luxury segment, then it’s better to forget about such an implementation. But as always there are exceptions, although I doubt that this is about you.

Selling

This is where things get a lot more interesting. You could make a whole article about this type of advertising. But first, I recommend reading about ODC technology.

1. Visual layout (modular)
2. Article (advertorial)

A visual layout is actually the same image implementation option, only done in a smarter way.

There is some kind of offer, promotion, or first step. All this is backed up and has a clear call to action.

Advertorial or selling article. And it’s a selling one, because you work through all the objections on the topic voiced in the text through a narration and then offer to get a solution from your company.

Our practice has shown that such an article is more effective when at the end there is a closure on a chain of touches. That is, for some free or profitable first step.

The note. Advertorial can be implemented not only in the form of an article. This could be “Advice from a specialist”, “Experience from a blogger”, “Checking for falsity”. In other words, you can package it however you like, the main thing is that the material ignites and works off bad beliefs.

How to evaluate the result?

To be honest, placement in print media is a rather dubious matter; in addition to the fact that it is not the highest efficiency, it is also quite difficult to evaluate the result.

Therefore, whatever result you get, prepare for the fact that it will have an error of 50%.

But it is still possible to track effectiveness, and for this it is better to use one of the manipulations:

1. A special offer that was featured only in this magazine;
2. A special issue, which was also not used anywhere except for this magazine;
3. A coupon that you need to cut out and bring (not suitable for everyone);
4. A photograph that needs to be shown to the seller, having previously captured the layout of your advertisement;
5. A magazine that you just need to bring and show to one of the sales managers;
6. The code word that must be called to receive a bonus/discount/gift.

In any case, due to these additional actions, some clients will either stupidly not reach you, or will not do what is written in the advertising material, because they are embarrassed, do not consider themselves worthy, or simply forget.

Briefly about the main thing

And maybe it’s you, since we have a couple of clients on , who are successfully getting leads (at least neutral).

But still, to sum it up concretely, I’ll mention a few cases when this will be useful:

1. You are a large company. And such materials in magazines are an extra reminder of yourself;
2. You are a premium company. Your customers need to see that the product you are selling is quite “show-off”;
3. You have found a “gold mine”. The magazine in which you are going to advertise falls exactly into the hands of the target audience you need. Usually these are narrow-niche magazines like “Mechanic”, “Aviation”, “Fishing”.

P.S. A final thought regarding the second point of the above. Do you really think that a person who saw an advertisement for a new Jaguar car in a magazine will actually go and buy it?! Of course not!

This ad is aimed at current owners of this car to make them feel extra proud that they have such a cool car that is being talked about in the elite media. And all his friends see it the same way he does. It's not that simple...