The death of print media has been greatly exaggerated. Again. A surge in new print magazines reaffirms that being a media prognosticator can be a pretty dicey business these days. In total, 325 new print magazines debuted with a frequency of quarterly or more within the last two years, according to the MPA. New titles run the cultural gamut. The titles encompass multiple markets, ranging from automotive to travel to science/technology.
The MPA’s Magazine Media Sales Guarantee program, which is offered by several of the MPA’s member companies/publishers, is illustrative. Take Meredith, one of the country’s top magazine publishers. For every $1 that Meredith invested in magazines the publisher generated a return of $3.94 (source: Nielsen Catalina Solutions, 2016).
Marketers are taking action: 45 percent of advertising decision-makers are moving their ad spending to well-regarded premium publishers, according to a survey of 304 U.S. advertising decision marketers conducted by Oath, a subsidiary of Verizon. Fifty-percent of the respondents said they are putting pressure on their partners to screen for brand safety. In contrast to the web, print ad buys don’t suffer the same risks as online ad buying.
More and more it seems like when people surf the web they are being followed at every turn, lending more validity to the creep factor online. In contrast, consumers carry around magazines by choice. A 2017 MarketingSherpa study of 1,200 consumers, for example, found that print publications are the most trusted advertising channel when people want to buy something (82 percent).
“As the media system grows exponentially it’s hard to figure out what you can trust,” said Linda Thomas Brooks, president and CEO of the MPA. “For magazines, it’s become a shortcut to quality — where consumers know they’re getting professional content.”
Source: Schwartz, M. (2019, May 24). Paging Print Magazines. ANA blog.
Editor’s Note: Commentary (with research) on the print magazine industry.