directortriada.blogg.se

The Men’s market suffered yet again with a 7% decline, the only circulation successes coming from GQ, Esquire and ShortList.

While print circulations have seen declines across most sectors year on year, publishers continue to increase their multi-platform offering. This focus seems particularly sensible as, more than ever, print circulation is just one facet of a magazine brand’s engagement. Rather than get too caught up in individual circulation fluctuations, it is perhaps equally (if not more) important to make sure we are using magazines in the right ways – focusing on the inherent strengths that magazines deliver and their application in delivering business objectives as part of a wider media mix. Importantly too, magazines provide an un-distracted consumption often digested during personal ‘me time’ moments where advertising is viewed as complementary to the experience. Creative is regularly matched to relevant environments, which together with short lead times makes tactical and reactive campaigns possible. Magazines allow us to target consumers very specifically based on their magazine choice, yet combine to give scale and reach. To the consumer, reading a magazine is akin to talking with a friend, and advertisers can use that close relationship to enhance their own messaging.

As we know, the unique way magazines are consumed and the associated trust that is evoked with the reader are key traits.

While the circulation results themselves contain their usual mix of successes and declines, the inherent strengths of the medium itself remain constant. Despite this, I believe as an industry we are preoccupied with circulation fluctuations and this takes valuable focus away from the real world advertising benefits magazine brands offer. This is even more contentious when you consider I’ve made a career as a press buyer, using ABC results as leverage for thousands of negotiations. In an article discussing the latest set of magazine ABC results, I’m going to say something controversial… ‘ABC figures aren’t that important’.