Power To The People – Why Magazines Are More Relevant To Advertisers Than Ever

The impact of new technologies on the media world is giving consumers increasing control on their advertising consumption. Neil Perkins, Ad Director, marketing & strategy, IPC Media and chair of events committee at PPA Marketing outlines the importance of magazines as a way to engage readers in advertising messages.

Back in July, Ofcom announced that UK households were spending a third more on communications than they were five years ago. Magazines have played their part in this. Research done by WARC for the AA showed that consumer spending on the medium has reached its highest ever level, surpassing £2bn last year.

And just like the rest of us, consumers want a return on their investment. They are more demanding than ever of their media. As time rapidly becomes one of the most precious of commodities, so the options (and the technology) for self-editing become more prevalent.

Inattention to commercial messages is a big enough issue for some media without people being provided the means to actively screen them out altogether. PVRs are one of many new technologies and services that offer consumers plenty of opportunity for avoiding the kind of commercial messages which are uninvited, and probably unwelcome. Ad avoidance is not just about PVRs, but the ability to fast forward through ads at thirty times real speed seems to be pretty appealing. Sky’s own figures suggest that up to three quarters of users never watch any advertising when viewing time shifted content, so this is no small issue for TV advertisers.

Put simply, consumers are in control. They are less willing to accept commercial messages that interrupt their media experience. Ad avoidance is therefore a bigger threat to those media which are based on an intrusive model of advertising. Or, if you prefer, the difference between actively and passively consumed media has never been more important.

So the balance of power is shifting. A shift that Ofcom’s head of strategy, Ed Richards, describes as a ‘gradual change in power from broadcaster, distributor and supplier to viewer, listener and consumer.’ Media which enable a personal, custom experience will benefit. Those that allow advertisers to customise messages to the environment in which they are carried and allow consumers to control the rate of commercial exposure will ultimately deliver more powerful and effective messages.

Advertisers can no longer afford to rely on mass scheduling alone. Metrics like reach and frequency are still relevant, but are not everything. Millward Brown agrees that the personality and tone of the media that carries the message can be a crucial determinant of its power and effectiveness. So there is a fundamental inequality in media. And those which have the ability to not only retain users attention but engage audiences with commercial messages will benefit.

Let’s start with attention. Media is about more than just placing the ad in front of the audience. For a start they may not be looking (or perhaps they are but at thirty times the speed), or may have already edited your ad out.

A recent American report found that nearly all people spend a third of their day using two or more media at one time. Multi-tasking helps people cope with the time pressures of daily life, and media is no exception. If concentration is divided and so reduced, so is attention.

Studies have shown that magazines are the least multi-tasked medium. With magazines, the newsstand is the PVR. Consumers have already made their choice. The last thing they then want to do is to fly through the pages of their favourite magazine at thirty times real speed.

So we have your attention as a reader. But is that enough? For advertisers, attention is a big word. But engagement is even bigger.

Magazines engage their readers. They inspire, inform and entertain. The experience of reading a magazine is often an intensely personal one with the reader in a completely absorbed, and so receptive, mood. As an actively consumed medium, readers are in control of the rate of commercial exposure and so are more likely to absorb and less likely to reject. Try reading your favourite magazine passively – it’s just not possible.

Last year, the Henley Centre found that consumers trust institutions, governments and corporate bodies less as a reliable source of advice and information. Instead, the importance of what they called ‘my world’ – advice and values from family, friends and colleagues has never been greater, particularly when it comes to recommending what to buy.

Magazines dovetail better than any media with the concept of ‘my world’. They enjoy many of the same characteristics of a close friend – they are a trusted source of advice, help generate points of view, and are triggers for conversation.

And this has inherent benefits for advertisers. The PPA’s Absorbing media study showed that in comparison to other media, readers expected magazines to be most closely tailored to their individual needs, contain the information that they are most interested in and advertising which is relevant to them. If people think a message is relevant to them they are more likely to take notice of it.

Just as power is nothing without control, advertising is nothing without engagement. The PPA’s Sales Uncovered research has proved that magazine advertising delivers a return on investment for advertisers which compares favourably to any media. Is it any wonder?