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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
Summary
Magazines and newspapers, the
two major forms of print media,
play an important role in the
media plans and strategy of many
advertisers. Magazines are a very
selective medium and are very
valuable for reaching specific
types of customers and market
segments. The three broad
categories of magazines are consumer,
farm, and business publications.
Each of these categories can
be further classified according to
the publication’s editorial content
and audience appeal.
In addition to their selectivity,
the advantages of magazines
include their excellent reproduction
quality, creative flexibility, long life,
prestige, and readers’ high receptivity
to magazine advertising, as well
as the services they offer to advertisers.
Disadvantages of magazines
include their high cost, limited
reach and frequency, long lead time,
and the advertising clutter in most
publications.
Advertising space rates in magazines
vary according to a number
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V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
12. Evaluation of Print
Media
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
more interesting to readers by targeting specific groups and expanding services to
encourage advertisers to continue using newspapers. The newspaper industry
launched a comprehensive program to address some of these issues. Called the Newspaper
Readership Initiative, this program seeks to reverse the decline in newspaper
readership and circulation and make newspapers a part of every advertiser’s media
plan. 36
The growth of the Internet and online services is another factor that may erode
newspaper readership. As penetration of the Internet into households increases, newspapers
and magazines are among the most threatened of the major media. A survey
conducted for Advertising Age found that consumers with home Internet access are
less likely to use magazines or newspapers as a primary information source when
shopping for a car, financial services, travel, or fashion. The study also found that consumers
from teens to seniors are comfortable with the idea of using the Internet in the
future to read books, magazines, and newspapers. 37
Newspaper publishers are addressing this threat by making their papers available
online. Nearly every major newspaper has established a website, and many publishers
now make their papers available online. The number of U.S. newspapers available
online increased from less than 100 in 1995 to more than 1,300 in 2002. Many papers
are also developing innovative programs for advertisers to attract their online advertising
dollars. Networks are forming to help local newspapers go online and to facilitate
the sale and purchase of banner ads and sponsorships. But as with magazines, audience
measurement and user involvement are making it difficult for newspapers to
attract advertisers and are issues that must be addressed.
of factors, among them the size of
the ad, position in the publication,
particular editions purchased, use
of color, and number and
frequency of insertions. Rates for
magazines are compared on the
basis of the cost per thousand,
although other factors such as the
editorial content of the
publication and its ability to reach
specific target audiences must
also be considered.
Newspapers represent the
largest advertising medium in
terms of total volume, receiving
nearly a fourth of all advertising
dollars. Newspapers are a very
important medium to local advertisers,
especially retailers. They are
also used by national advertisers,
although the differential rate
structure for national versus local
advertisers is a source of
controversy. Newspapers are a
broad-based medium that reaches
a large percentage of households
in a particular area. Newspapers’
other advantages include flexibility,
geographic selectivity, reader
involvement, and special services.
Drawbacks of newspapers include
their lack of high-quality ad reproduction,
short life span, lack of
audience selectivity, and clutter.
Trends toward market segmentation
and regional marketing are
prompting many advertisers to
make more use of newspapers and
magazines. However, both
magazines and newspapers face
increasing competition from such
other media as radio, cable TV,
direct marketing, and the Internet.
Both magazines and newspapers
are working to improve the quality
of their circulation bases, offer
database marketing services, and
initiate cross-media deals. Rising
costs and declining readership are
problems for many magazines and
newspapers. Both magazines and
newspapers are making their publications
available online, but problems
with audience measurement
and interactions with ads are
important issues that must be
resolved.