Ten Reasons Why Magazines are Still the Strongest Media Brand – Steve Blacker

1. Does any other medium offer a "Good Housekeeping Seal" of approval? Magazines have a unique relationship with their readers; subscribers are akin to members of a fashion (Vogue, Bazaar, Elle) or travel (Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure) club. They not only share common interests and a sense of community but rely upon their magazines as a "source guide."

2. When a TV personality reaches real star power what do they do next? If they are Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart, Oprah or Dr. Oz they launch their own magazine. Why? Because magazines will live on long after the TV show has ended. And having your own magazine is limited to only a few and reflects true star power.

3. While many magazines may be offering lower subscription prices than 5 to 10 years ago, magazines are still one of the few mediums people pay for. Whether you are paying over $100 a year for a subscription to People, almost $50 for The Nation or under $7 for Esquire, there is still a strong reader commitment. People only buy something that they are truly interested in and that has value for them.

4. Portability. There is both a tactile pleasure and ease of portability with magazines. Rather than a minute screen there are full pages that one can easily transport to read at one's leisure, i.e. waiting to pick the kids up at school, sitting in a doctor's office, etc.

5. An ad in a magazine gets a reader’s full attention. According to syndicated research most people spend close to an hour or more reading a magazine.

6. Credibility and affinity. In study after study readers state that when they see an ad in a magazine it increases their likelihood to consider purchasing the item or service featured. When someone is reading a fashion magazine and sees a fashion or beauty ad they are most prone to be receptive versus seeing a TV spot or banner ad pop up on their computer or mobile phone. The same is true for a food ad in a food magazine or a travel ad in a travel magazine. Magazines tend offer compatible editorial environments for virtually every ad category.

7. Magazine brands have attributes that are easily portable to other platforms. Carol Smith took Elle Magazine to "Project Runway," Grayden Carter's Oscar Party is still the most sought after ticket and Sports Illustrated's Swim Suit Issue creates multi-platform appeal.

8. An ad in a magazine has an extended shelf life and the opportunity to be seen by multiple people, multiple times.

9. The brand equity of a magazine is transferable to the advertiser's brand. Many magazines have been around for 50 years or more; a few even longer. Generations of women have grown up on Cosmo; the magazine's brand equity is stronger than a TV network or Web site. The same is true for Sports Illustrated, Vogue, Family Circle, GQ, Esquire, Car & Driver, Glamour and numerous more.

10. Magazines are the consumer’s source guide. Magazines influence the food people buy to use a recipe, the beauty products a woman uses to replicate a particular look or the car a family purchases due to a review in Car & Driver. It was a magazine -- TV Guide -- that helped establish television by letting people know what shows to watch. While magazines are not thought of as new media, magazines remain the strongest and most effective medium an advertiser can rely upon. A click on a web site does not build brand equity.

Steve Blacker's most recent book You Can't Fall Off The Floor - The Insiders' Guide to Re-Inventing Yourself and Your Career chronicles his 50 year career working for over 25 different companies with189 lessons learned and insider tips from Gayle King, Cathie Black, Chuck Townsend and 28 others; Blacker is still going strong today as a partner in Frankfurt & Blacker Solutions, LLC. His web site is blacker-reinventions.com and e-mail address is blackersolutions@aol.com

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