There are thousands of magazines in which you can purchase advertising. They can be local, regional, national or even international. And though purchasing space in a magazine can be just right for your product or service, before you take that leap (hopefully with significant research to fall back on), you must still be aware of both the strengths and weaknesses associated with advertising in magazines.

STRENGTHS

• Highly targeted – Magazines are successful at reaching certain selected audiences such as women, parents, auto-enthusiasts, sports fans, etc. Also, many national magazines are capable of targeting to specific regions. So, for example, if your client only has locations in the southeast, you can still look at purchasing in a publication such as Sports Illustrated by buying only the southeast region.
• Allows for heavy copy messages – If you have a complicated message or want to call out specific features of your product in more detail, magazines allow for the space to do this. These are best for branding.
• Long shelf life – Most magazines will stay around a home for at least a week and some for more than a month. Many are also passed on to someone else. This allows for repeat exposure to the primary reader, as well as exposure to the pass-along reader.
• Receptive Audience – Readers subscribe to magazine so they will most likely be receptive to the message, as it will reflect their interests.
• Tangible – The reader can touch it and feel it and can spend as much time with it as they want, unlike television where the messages are only :05 – :60 in length.
• Trust – Consumers tend to trust what they see and read in magazines. Somewhat like a newspaper, it offers that third-party credibility that so many of us subconsciously desire.

WEAKNESSES

• Not intrusive – There is no control as to how a person reads a magazine. They may flip by your ad without even seeing it.
• Lack of immediacy – Since a reader may not look at their magazine for days or even weeks after receiving it, it is best to have a branding message versus a message with a limited time offer or one that needs an immediate action.
• Early close dates – Many magazines require advertisers to have their ads to them 1-2 months prior to publication. This means that creative and marketing need to have complete campaigns ready well ahead of a publication date. As you can imagine, this may not work for all promotions/campaigns.