Is magazine advertising effective?

Let’s just ask ourselves some questions. Why do we need advertising? Why do we need to show people our product? Why do I have to spend money to just “advertise” my product? It seems an awful lot of money just for some spaces in magazines, billboards, TV screens and some paper that people will eventually throw away. Hmm….it does makes a valid point when we think about it. Who buys your product? The public does. Why do they buy it? Because they got to know your product and they saw that your product deemed to satisfy their need or want. The whole picture comes together now doesn’t it?

Now, one might ask what the best form of advertising is, well it will be called the “best” if it is viewed by the most amount of people. But why are magazine based advertising more effective? One of the crucial factors why magazines hold the zenith of all print based medium is because magazines are extremely accessible. Just go to any establishment in the world and you are bound to find a magazine shelf. The internet is like an encyclopedia we have within our reach and not everyone has access to the World Wide Web, but almost everyone has access to a magazine. Imagine yourself going to a hospital, a barber shop, a bank or any place where you are bound to be waiting for some time and the first thing that you will notice (if you don’t have a mobile phone) is that you are bored to death! Now you are searching for new ways to cure your rapidly growing boredom and then you will find the handy little magazine stand that is standing around in some corner. You then immediately grab one and start reading it with all your attention, you enjoy the glamorous colors and presentation of this magazine from page to page and not to mention all of the food you can feed your brain with. In some hotels they even have a magazine shelf in their comfort rooms. Now do you see what I am on about here? It is where these Magazines are placed that make them irresistible to be read.

Magazines are placed strategically meaning that they are placed in locations where the content and the advertisements in it are specific to the type of place they are located. If you are in a Jewelry shop you will find magazines related to jewelry, if you are in a salon you will find magazines related to hair and if you are in a hospital you will find magazines related to health. I think the picture I am portraying is quite clear now. For an example let’s take a couple who are planning their wedding and they are in search for the best wedding services in town and most of all, wedding rings. A more obvious choice would be the internet because it is readily accessible these days and it is easy to use, but that means having to do a whole lot of things like opening tabs and going from one site to another and who knows you might end up getting a scam cause one never truly knows whether it is legit or not. The internet is a huge place but only a handful of the services offered are legit and satisfactory and the experience with the internet never truly beats the experience of a magazine. Isn’t it?

It all seems like quite a hassle right? But why not inquire magazines? Why not the couple have some snacks and a cup of tea and settle down to look up on the magazines where everything is in one simple book. It will be quite romantic as well don’t you think? As you turn the pages you don’t have to search for anything you will find everything in front of your face. The nuisance of looking into each every website can be avoided and let’s be honest it is quite relaxing and old fashioned in a good way.

The audience that magazines capture has been growing at an exponential rate due to availability of magazines in digital format and due to the fact that people are always hunting for new things to buy and the past has taught them the most profound way into getting to know product information is through magazines. People are always searching for new things to buy because the wants of human beings are endless. Magazines always manage to get the job done by introducing its reader to a wide array of products and services which boosts the sales of the companies who are being advertised.

The benefits and the power that magazines provide are truly endless. That is why many of the successful companies who understand the copious amount of publicity a magazine can give invest a lot of money in them because they sure do get the word of there.

By Sandeepa Konagama.