Advertising may seem expensive, but when done correctly, it’s a great way to broaden your company’s brand awareness and increase sales, especially in down economic times when your competition may be cutting back on their frequency or ad sizes!

As part of an integrated marcom program, advertising is a highly effective way to get your message seen by customers and potential customers. Because you specifically control the message and where it appears, it tends to be more expensive than other marcom tactics, like PR.

And it’s interesting to note that most publications carry separate circulations for their online readers and print readers. There is still a subset of people that rely on print to learn about emerging technologies and products, while others rely more heavily on websites and e-newsletters.

Determining where to advertise can be a bit tricky. Here are three helpful hints to make your advertising program more effective.

First, determine your target audience; who do you want to reach? Narrowing your target audience helps you identify what trade magazines and web sites fit your company best. Look past the raw number of people that receive the publication as well as the click-throughs and impression statistics typically found in a media kit and understand who is reading the magazine or visiting a web site. Pick a publication where the circulation is representative of your target audience – job title, industry or market segment, what products they specify or other relevant criteria. Independent third party audits, such as BPA or ABC statements, are a great source of data if they are available, but there are other ways to obtain this info, too!

Then, review the editorial content of each issue. A publication’s editorial calendar will identify which topics it covers every month, as well as any industry events that it attends or sponsors throughout the year. Make sure that this information matches up with your target objectives.

Finally, study your competitors: What products are they advertising? What messaging are they using and how are they talking to the market?  Are they advertising in a specific magazine or on a website on a regular basis? If they are, it might be a good indication that their advertising is working.

Each media analysis we do includes the data above as well as information on total circulation, dedicated circulation, cost per thousand readers and other similar details to help our clients make an informed decision about the media program before spending precious advertising dollars.

• Total circulation – the total amount of people receiving
      the magazine or visiting a website
• Dedicated circulation – the subset of the circulation interested in your products,
      based on industry, market segment, specifier data, etc.
• Cost per thousand (CPM) – a break down of the cost to reach 1,000 readers

These detailed reports make it easy to compare and contrast relevant publications to determine more than just which ones reach the largest audience. They give you the power to easily compare the cost to reach the specific audience you would like to target.

Being aware of these analysis techniques, researching your options and narrowing down your choices ensures your advertising will be as effective as it can be because, in the end, advertising still pays off.

Advertising, Articles Advertising, Branding, Marketing, Media Analysis