WHAT MAKES MAGAZINE AD SPACE BUYERS TICK?

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Permalink Reply by Jo Ann Cloud on June 13, 2008 at 4:18pm

Kem,

I know exactkly what you are faced with. Agencies are the hardest to work with.
My "industrial publications" hit the right clientel and are in the center of the market. Yet the
agencies prefer going with the good ol'boys that have always worked in the past and are the most expensive. That way the dollars are implemented faster and the commission is higher.
Although I am finding that alot of my companies have geared up to handle the marketing decisions on their own vs paying out the commission to an agency. They are learning!!

Hang in there!
- Jo Ann

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Permalink Reply by Kem Balani on June 14, 2008 at 10:23am

Jo Ann,
Thanks for your input.
Ad agencies are driven primarily by commissions - typically good-sized like 15% - so 15% of $100 million (e.g. a large ad agency in NJ whose specialty is car dealers) that they buy in advertising in the Star Ledger is more profitable than the 15% of $1 million in ads that they might give us - BIZ INDIA Magazine
We've explained to them that no other immigrant population in the US is wealthier (our readers make an average $131,500 annual household income vs. $57,000 avg for NJ) or growing in size faster than the Asian-Indian population in NJ (1300% faster than overall NJ). As a matter of fact NJ's population would have declined by 30,000 in 2007 if not for the influx of Asian Indians and Chinese.

Most of our readers are business owners, business executives, physicians, and top-notch professionals who are highly educated. We would be a perfect fit for luxury car dealers - Bentley, Lamborghini, Maserati, Benz, Lexus, BMW, Cadillac, and the like.

But this ad agency and others choose to put their customers' ad in the Star Ledger because they can do huge volume.

How have you been able to get around this (ad agency's desire to focus on large
print publications)?
Many car dealer ad agencies are most likely getting volume discounts also from Star Ledger, and other dailies, in addition to the 15% they get from the car dealers.

But are the car dealers being best served this way?

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Permalink Reply by Erika Geiss on July 6, 2008 at 11:24pm

I would love to know the answer to this question too. We have a similar issue being a digital edition, PR and Ad reps don't fully "get" digital editions and even though our market is huge--work-at-home parents, we get a similar reaction that you do, Kem.

Erika-Marie S. Geiss
Editor-in-Chief
theWAHMmagazine

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Permalink Reply by Vince Saputo on July 16, 2008 at 10:54am

The answer is this: risk aversion. Consider: in the face of rising gas prices, why aren't you riding a motorcyle or Versa? All the economic and portability issues are answered logically, yet, if you're like me, I can't get passed the perceived risk of a cycle or scooter. Same with agencies. Sure, big money commissions are important, but more important is not taking a risk on something believed to be untested, unproven, or both, or simply emotionally unacceptable. (Imagine if their creative departments acted the same way as their buyers!) I can buy a CD player cheap nowadays, so why do I buy an iPod when it's so much more expensive? I've learned that the portability, reliability, and all the "logical" issues are answered as well as the emotional ones (e.g., freedom to download and sequence) that the cheaper alternatives don't offer with such ease. That way, I can justify the initial outlay and the ongoing cost for downloads. The same is true for our magazines. The logical value proposition isn't the challenge. You all have good "elevator speeches" extolling the virtues of each venue. What you and I don't have, frequently, is the client or agency who says, "Yes, it's time to shake things up a bit. Let's place a 4x schedule and see how you perform. What kind of value-adds can you offer?" At that point, you got 'em! Too often, agencies want to do what appears to us to be "easy" when, in fact, it is simply risk aversion based on past performance. In short, no need to change if the current schedules are satisfactory to the client. And we know when there is no perceived need, we have a lot of work to do. So, I'm going back to it now!

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Permalink Reply by Damon Wolf on July 17, 2008 at 12:24pm

Kem,
My gut feelings tells me that banks, lending institutions, BMW dealerships, high-end homebuilders, private schools.... want to reach the entire "wealthy" demographic ..and not focus on an ethnic group.

When I put my self in the chair of a media buyer and look at New Jersey Entrepreneur magazine vs. Biz India.... the cost per thousand makes sense to go with a "mass market" approach.

My suggestion would be to create relationships with the CLIENT.. and really talk about the PSCYHO-graphic of your reader...."Asian-Indian" entrepreneurs who are growth oriented and actively looking for opportunities and tools to start and grow businesses.

The agency may not get that part.... the agency's job is to look for reasons NOT to advertise with you.

Good Luck.

Damon

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Permalink Reply by Spencer Longshore III on July 31, 2008 at 11:41am

Kern .....The answer is right in front of you....I owned the largest rep firm in America and sold it several years ago.Still sell lots of programs in the auto market with my current company Time and Space Inc ....SELL THE CLIENT !!!!! Its their money ......As long as you go down the agency track with a mag like yours its only pain .......Sell the client and the agency gets in line ......The client will tell you to see the agency.....Its up to your selling and creative skills to stay on the client untill you make the compelling case for BIZ INDIA MAGAZINE .....go to my web site WWW.Spencerlongshore.com !

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Armor on July 31, 2008 at 1:27pm

Kem,
The majority of media buyers are overworked, underpaid and very young. There is an incredible pressure to provide ROI. Read MediaPost.com and you'll get a good idea who they are, what they do and what they are up against.

Convincing advertisers of the value of an ethnic market can be a hurdle. But look at the Hispanic market today -- incredibly lucrative and growing. Ad revenue is up for Hispanic media. Advertisers used to think of it as a fringe market too not long ago.

Ethnic media is able to speak to the consumer in a different and culturally sensitive way. You need to convince them that it may not be enough for an advertiser to just put an ethnic face in an ad and use mass media to reach this group. Your publication speaks to them on a different level.

Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Kerry Smith on August 21, 2008 at 8:38am

One strategy would be to document the buying power of your niche audience. Survey your readers on their hh income, how many autos they own, and what high-end product categories they plan to make purchases in within the next 6-12 months (autos, homes, vacations, electronics, etc.). Have the research conducted by a third party and package it up into a research report on the buying power of this targeted market. You can use Readex or any one of the other research firms that serve the magazine biz. You can then use this as a "door opener" to secure appointments and conversations with media buyers about what makes your audience unique. You need to educate your buyers on why they should pay attention to this super-niche audience, otherwise it's easier for them to go with more mass-appeal publications.

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