Newspapers and magazines that reach readers interested in travel can run this attractive print ad that features a great deal to consumers for cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean and Europe courtesy of Celebrity Cruises. To learn more about the campaign or request a custom-sized ad – click here: https://www.mediabids.com/campaign/details/celebrity-cruises/?pici=41036
Advertisers buy ads in newspapers and magazines for a variety of reasons, and for each reason there is a corresponding way to design the ad to make the most out of the space. Here are a few of the most common reasons advertisers we work with purchase print ads, and some of the attributes of ads that we’ve seen work well.
1.) General Branding – These ads lend themselves to the most creativity. Most companies use branding ads to position themselves in the marketplace and create a memorable image in the reader’s mind. The goal is to get consumers to recognize a brand instantly, and associate certain values and ideas with the brand. For example, these companies have done an amazing job with branding over the years, and are ranked as the top brands globally according to Interbrand. So how do you craft a successful branding ad?
a.) Distinct Logo – Companies use a unique, distinct logo that they showcase in print and other mediums.
b.) Eye-Catching/Evocative Imagery – Print ads won’t work if the images are boring or easily flipped by. From beautiful photography to unbelievably creative illustrations and design, the images branding ads use must make the reader stop in their tracks and take notice.
c.) Memorable Slogan – Whether it’s Nike’s “Just Do It” or McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It”, most branding ads use a short, memorable slogan that sticks with a reader.
d.) Repetition – It takes a while to drill messaging into the subconscious minds of consumers. If the goal is branding, advertisers must buy many ads over the course of time to drive home the message.
2.) Direct-Response – Direct-response advertising’s main purpose is straightforward – to get as many people to respond to the ad as possible, as soon as possible. Here are some direct-response ad features we’ve seen work well:
a.) Compelling Offer to Consumer – The ad either offers a deep discount or other special incentive to the consumer to respond right away.
b.) Large/Easy-To-Read Response Mechanism – Whether it’s a phone number or website, the ad has to give the reader an easy way to respond.
c.) Enough Information for Consumer to Take Action – Giving consumers bait to call to learn more is one thing, but you always want to make sure to include enough information and description about the product or service to help them make an informed decision to call/visit. This leads to a high-intent, qualified potential customer.
3.) Event Marketing – Advertisers often use print to advertise an event they’re hosting. Here’s what to include in event ads:
a.) Clear Description of Date/Time – Make sure to include the who, what, when, where why & how in the Event Description. The more questions you leave with readers, the less likely they are to attend your event.
b.) Clear RSVP Instructions – If your event requires an RSVP, make sure you include a prominent way for readers to get in touch with you.
Event Marketing Ad Sample We Like:
4.) Classified Advertising – Classified ads are affordable text ads often found in the back of newspapers and magazines. Typically these are local ads, but sometimes national companies use them too.
a.) Clear, Concise Text – The main thing about a classified ad is you have to fit a lot of info in a little space, so copy is key. It must be short, to the point, and include a phone number.
Classified Sample We Like:
Switch to DIRECTV and get a $100 Gift Card. FREE Whole-Home Genie HD/DVR upgrade. Starting at $19.99/mo. New Customers Only. Don’t settle for cable. Call Now 1-800-XXXX
5.) Local Retail Sales – This ad type is typically for local advertisers who are looking to get the word out about sales at their brick and mortar stores in their community.
a.) Clear Description of Discount/Sale Items – This type of ad usually features a limited time sale or showcase of products that are on sale for a specific date range.
b.) Store Hours/Contact Information/Directions – Since these are local businesses, location information is very important.
Local Retail Sample Ad We Like:
Are you looking to place some print advertising? MediaBids can help. Shoot us an email at advertiserhelp@mediabids.com or call 1-860-379-9602.
Newspaper & Magazine Friends – Start running this pretty pastel Mother’s Day ad now! It’s never too early to get your readers into the giving spirit. Dancing Deer Baking Co. is offering a super 40% discount for adorable festive cookies. Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 8th.
Spring is here, at least according to the calendar, and that means it’s time to hit the road. Here’s a few big events to add to your travel calendar in April, May and June:
April 1st – Free Community Papers of New York (FCPNY) – Sales Summit & Graphic Awards, Rochester, NY
April 4th-6th – America East – Hershey, PA
April 17th- Newspaper Association of America (NAA) – mediaXchange 2016, Washington, D.C.
April 28th-30th – AFCP Annual Conference & Trade Show, San Diego, CA
May 27th-28th – Newspapers Canada- National Conference, Edmonton, Alberta
June 8th-10th – Illinois Press Association – Annual Convention & Awards Ceremonies. Springfield, IL
If you have a newspaper convention later this year, please send us the details at your convenience.
Join media/advertising sales expert Ernest F. Oriente, the the founder of the live weekly PowerHour Advertising Sales Academy and Jedd Gould, CEO of MediaBids for a free MediaBids PowerHour on Thursday, March 31st at 1:00 p.m. Eastern/New York time focused on Ad Buyer Jargon + 3 Tiers. To register, please go to: http://marketing.mediabids.com/seminar/TeleSeminarReg.html
For additional registration information, please contact MediaBids.com at 800-989-0406 or E-mail jpeterson@mediabids.com
Details are below~for our 240th free educational PowerHour, since 1995.
During this 60-minute MediaBids PowerHour we will be discussing the points below plus fielding your specific questions:
#1. How quickly can you assess the knowledge of your prospective ad buyers? Why does this have such a large impact on your ability to sell more [or less] of your advertising solutions?
#2. What are the 3 tiers of ad buyers you are going to face? What is your specific strategy for selling to each of these 3 tiers?
#3. What is the power of knowing industry jargon when making a powerful advertising sales presentation? Why does it matter to prospective advertisers? How does industry jargon help you close more sales? CPC, CPL, CPS, ROI—let’s sort these out together then discuss how to include them in every ad sales presentation you give.
#4. SPIN: Situation + Problem + Implication = Need Payoff
For additional registration information, please contact MediaBids.com at 800-989-0406 or E-mail jpeterson@mediabids.com
As prep for #4 above and to continue this discussion with ad sales leaders from around the world, please join our flagship LinkedIn group, Advertising Sales Success—with 4650+ leaders on this url: http://tinyurl.com/kxtlmvv
Registration Information
=================
When: Thursday, March 31st.
Please note, the above MediaBids PowerHour starts at 1:00 p.m. Eastern/New York/Toronto time, which is
12:00 p.m. Central/Dallas/Winnipeg time
11:00 a.m. Mountain/Denver/Calgary time
10:00 a.m. Pacific/San Francisco/Vancouver time
9:00 a.m. Alaska time
6:00 p.m. GMT/London time
Fee: No charge
Recording is available after the MediaBids PowerHour, but you must register below to receive it.
Print media companies are ripe for innovation. In a time where readership is moving online, media brands need to figure out new ways for readers to engage with their content on all platforms. Here’s a few examples of companies doing cool things to keep readers interested in quality journalism.
1.) Blendle – Blendle is a company that lets consumers read articles in some of the top newspapers and magazines in the US on a pay-per-article basis. No frustrating paywalls, no limitations. Readers can just pay for what they want. It’s currently in its testing phase, but it will be interesting to see how many readers sign up. Currently their site says about 22K readers have signed up – a good sign!
2.) Layar – Layar helps advertisers create interactive experiences in the print media they purchase and create. It enables consumers to interact with print media on their mobile phones – creating an “augmented reality” experience.
3.) Media Math – Media Math is a technology company that is powering Time Magazine’s programmatic print offering. They help Time create targeted ad programs that reach specific readers offline – customizing the ads readers see by their demographic info and the magazine title they are reading.
4.) Mag Cloud – Mag Cloud makes magazine publishing easy for the small publisher. They let you produce beautiful editions of print magazines along with top-not digital versions as well.
5.) Quad Graphics – This printing company is always on the cutting edge of printing technology, and recently took a big leap into virtual reality by outfitting the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition with printed virtual reality viewers.
Know of a company innovating the print media space that’s not listed above? Let us know in the comments!
In this week’s N/E/W/S Report we’re looking at a daily paper on the east coast, with Sunday paper circulation of 30k-40k. The total ad space in Main News is 636.69 inches and the average ad size is 21.95 inches. There are nine different ad categories represented and twenty-nine total ad placements this past Sunday.
Real Estate only has two ads but they made the most of it with full-page, color ads. Of course, this isn’t unusual for real estate ads in the paper, especially on Sundays. The Real Estate category had the two largest ads and these were three times the size of the average size ad in the section.
The ads in the Contractor/Home Services category were all a part of a marketplace section in Main News. This accounts for the relatively small ads and the high number of ads in the category. The average size of these ads was only 2% of the average size ad in the section. Needless to say, the contractor ads may have been tough to spot.
Local Retail had the largest number of ads in the section with eight total, nearly 30% of the ads in the section. However, like the Contractors, Automotive, Non-profit and Health Care ads, the Local retail ads were mostly smaller ads. The largest ad in the group was a 3×6.
The National Retail and Senior Living ads, if you’re only going to run one ad in the section, are good examples of how to have a larger share of voice in the section. The ads in these two categories were about average or much larger relative to most of the other ad categories. In other words, go big or go home!
Believe it or not, March is winding down and Easter Sunday is this weekend! To celebrate, we took a look through a variety of newspaper and magazine advertising archives to find some Easter ads that stood out beyond the traditional chocolate and bunnies. Here’s a look at some unique ads and content from over the years. Click on each image to view the full size ad.
Pretty clever
Flowers are the most traditional product of the bunch, but this ad provides delicate imagery not often seen.
Blood donation – not your typical Easter activity, but important nonetheless.
Not an ad, but a slightly terrifying coloring activity for the children.
More with the Easter Bonnets.
A unique ad layout.
Not how one traditionally things of Easter Eggs.
Lord & Taylor featured some unique slacks for women.
Easter Bonnets were the talk of newspapers for many years.
A Song Bird is definitely no longer a traditional Easter gift.
In this week’s N/E/W/S Report we look at the composition of the advertising in the main news section of a recent Sunday paper. The paper this week is a 20k-30k daily paper on the west coast. There were ten different ad categories represented and a total of 21 ads. The total ad space in main news was 489 inches and the average ad size was 23.29 inches.
The diversity of ad categories is relatively high for a paper of this size. While we generally find ads for health care/medical, local retail, real estate and contractors, there were several other categories we don’t see as often. In this case, the usual suspects also had competition a local college, local and state government, a restaurant and an employment agency. Clearly the local ad sales team is doing a great job of selling to small businesses and organizations in the area.
Local Retail (35.7%) and Real Estate (14.9%) advertisers are grabbing the largest share of voice, in terms of total ad space.
Local Retail (188.4%) and Real Estate (154.6%) also had the largest ads, relative to the average ad size in the section.
The advertisers in the Entertainment/Travel, Contractor/Home Services, Restaurant and Employment Services all had only one, small ad in Sunday main news. These advertisers also had small ads, relative to the average size ad in the section. In these categories, the advertisers could easily increase their share of voice with slightly larger ads. They may be the only ads in their respective categories but their diminutive size is likely resulting in them being overlooked by readers.
In the Education category, the same advertiser ran four different ads. Their average ad was only about half the size of the average ad size in the section but with four ads, they accounted for 12.3% of the total ad inches. This is a good approach if your advertiser has many different messages they want to promote.
We’re always working to help provide newspapers & magazines with an additional revenue stream. Part of the way we do this is through our Per-Inquiry Print Advertising Program, which provides newspapers and magazines with a commission every time you drive a call, lead or sale to our participating advertisers.
Always on the lookout for offers and advertisers that work well in a wide range of publications, we’re happy to welcome our newest group to the mix.
Our newest advertiser additions are a diverse group that run the gamut from home security to tax preparation. To learn more about each advertisers or request a custom-sized ad for your publication, click on the image below. As always, if you have questions, call MediaBids at 860-379-9602 or email publicationhelp@mediabids.com.