The Magazine Publishers of America recently updated their free Magazine Handbook which provides compelling information and research regarding the effectiveness of magazine advertising.  The Top 10 reasons, as described by the MPA, are as follows:

1.) Magazines & Magazine Ads Garner Greater Attention
2.) Magazine Advertising is Valuable Content
3.) Magazines Supply Credibility
4.) Magazine Advertising Performs Consistently Throughout the Purchase Funnel
5.) Magazine Advertising Sells & Influences
6.) Magazine Advertising Drives Web Searches & Visits
7.) Magazine Advertising Improves ROI
8.) Magazine Advertising is Relevant and Targeted
9.) Magazines Deliver Reach
10.) Magazine Audiences Accumulate Rapidly - With Lasting Impact 

To view the research and studies involved in creating the Top 10 - and read more interesting information about the role of magazines within the advertising arena as a whole - download the free Magazine Handbook from the MPA.
 

A recent article from Media Life reports that magazines such as The Economist, OK!, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Women's Health, Wondertime, Men's Journal, Guideposts, Parents and more markedly increased their number of ad pages in the first quarter of '08. Reasons for this increase vary among titles, but the author of the article, Diego Vasquez, attributes it to "investing dollars...repositioning...creating new voices that reach readers in new ways... building staff...adding features to their web sites....selling aggressively...taking chances."

The methods profiled that led to each publication's respective page increase vary, but they share one commonality - the magazines have a clear understanding of what both their readers and marketers value in their publications, and they emphasize those strengths. To read the full content of the article, Click Here

 

Using a tracking mechanism in your print ad is extremely important if you're using your magazine or newspaper advertising for direct-response purposes. Some ways to gauge response include using unique URLs that correspond to an ad in a specific publication, using unique 800#'s in each publication (A reliable service with comprehensive reporting is CallSource), SMS code or using a promo or coupon code that people can use at registration or check-out. There is also currently a  2D barcode service being explored for which a user can use their cell phone even further go retrieve more information about an ad that they see, but it is not yet readily available.

A new study of 833 print ads in seven magazines conducted by the Magazine Publishers of America - in conjunction with VISTA's print effectiveness rating service -  revealed that when a URL was included in a magazine ad, response rates increased markedly.  To read the context of the study and the full MediaPost article, Click Here

To read an informative article about developing unique URLs for your print ads, Dr. Ralph Wilson wrote something helpful a while back. 

If you are interested in using 800#s to track your advertising and have a direct-response product, we'd encourage you to take a look at our Per-Inquiry advertising program.