13 Ways to Fight the Ad Downturn

With ad pages projected to decline in 2009, publishers are looking for every possible advantage to draw advertisers to printed magazines. Sure, the stampede continues toward screens and away from pages, but the magazine has some compelling properties as an effective marketing medium. Here, from the manufacturing side, are some ideas to present to your ad sales team. On the CoverIf The New York Times can sell advertising on the front page, perhaps you can, too. This is not for the faint of heart—a cover is your most prestigious page, and any commercial message here runs the risk of alienating readers and contaminating your editorial with a crass overtone. But, if the ad and the audience fit together well, the result can be stimulating and even fun. 1. StickersSlap on a sticker alerting readers to an ad or an issue sponsorship. Your printer can purchase the stickers for you, and you can choose from a vast array of colors, and die-cut shapes and sizes. The cost of the sticker itself and the printer’s application is significantly lower than the impact it can have on a cover. Charge the advertiser a hefty markup, and require the purchase of an underlying page or spread. Or, use the sticker as a free premium to reward a major ad schedule. 2. French-Door CoverEveryone peeks. The overlap panel on a French-door cover is impossible to resist, so whatever an advertiser wants to put here is certain to be seen. This type of tactile impression is precisely what makes a magazine as a physical object different from a Web page. Production costs are fairly high and may require an unusual roll width or heavier basis weight, so this gimmick is not for the last-minute ad sale. 3. Cover FlapAnother peek-a-boo device is the partial cover, either tipped on or bound. The front cover tip-on requires the least paper and has some of the same impact as the French door. For saddle-stitch publications, you can bind a full back page and a partial front, or a partial cover front and back. (Beware of the potential wear and tear in the mailstream, though.) The flap can be designed to match your editorial cover with only the underside sporting the ad message, or it can start selling a product right away. For high impact, consider giving the flap a die-cut edge, like a wavy or pointed border. 4. Gatefold CoverThis alternative is in every production person’s vocabulary, but don’t forget the extravaganza variation—a gatefold cover combined with a four-page text gate. Turning and unfolding pages is just so satisfying that gatefold ads almost always are perused. Inside the BookMagazines can carry a lot within their pages. For the most part, readers enjoy navigating through gimmicks, but there are those who abhor all scent strips and consider insert cards an affront. What everyone seems to enjoy is paper that calls attention to itself as an object, either with texture, size, folds or just plain having something stuck to it. It’s tough not to see these things as little presents, and who is churlish enough not to interact with them? 5. Inserting “Things”Beyond the lush paper of a typical insert lies the wonderful world of advertising gimmicks. You can insert a CD or DVD into a variety of envelopes or holders, either bound in or tipped. A wide variety of product samples can make it through binding, provided the carrier card is well-designed and the printer can keep compensating the stack for what’s descriptively called “footballing” (wider around the middle). If the product can fit in a plastic or foil sample packet, and if the packet can resist tearing and pressure, it probably can be attached to a carrier and bound in. But as soon as the item leaves the realm of printed pages, the postal service is prepared to call it merchandise that’s outside the discount structure of periodicals mail. It can be very expensive to mail a product sample, so be certain to get a postal opinion and pricing before quoting an advertiser. A typical postal brain twister: If you tip on a greeting card and its envelope, are you mailing an ad in an interesting format or giving away a sample card? Let the all-knowing USPS and Classification people answer questions like these, for if you’re wrong, the postage difference is massive. 6. Inserting PaperThe magazine production team is not usually called on to design or produce inserts, but helping your potential advertiser visualize what’s possible may stimulate an insert sale. Foil stamping, die-cuts, textured surfaces, holographic printing, sound chips, synthetic papers, fluorescent and metallic inks, 3-D printing (with accompanying 3-D glasses!), perf-outs, LED lights, trick folds, embossing and tour-de-force pop-ups are all impressive standouts. Size variations are just as attention-getting—the mini insert tacked to a carrier card or the jumbo poster are both certain to be noticed. Advertisers may end up producing these through their ad agencies, but you can subcontract the work yourself to a specialty printer. You’ll need a complete mock-up to get a binding quote, and some of these gems can slow the binding line down to a crawl, so be braced for both cost and schedule consequences. 7. Scent StripsThe scent strip is an amazingly efficient way to get a product sample (that the post office still considers paper) distributed. The ability to incorporate scents in ink actually has improved in recent years, and though the subtlety of fine perfumes is lost, the basic olfactory tone is conveyed. The manufacturing and binding cost is much lower than the impact. 8. Sticky NotesWhy not give advertisers a way to nudge the reader a little closer to a purchase? A sticky note can be removed from the ad page and pasted right on the prospect’s desk. Most printers have the equipment to attach the notes and can subcontract production of the notes themselves. 9. Tip-onsLong live the removable, rubberized glue strip. Thanks to the next generation of rubber cement, almost any flat item can be tipped on and removed by the reader. The production planning includes tipping the item to a signature that’s strong enough to hold the extra weight and thickness through binding, and getting an estimate based on all the particulars: insert dimensions, weight and page count. It’s also smart to have the USPS evaluate your tipped item, in case it could be considered a product sample. Case in point: A little recipe booklet I felt certain was just an advertising piece was considered merchandise because it had a hole drilled in it so it also could hang on a supermarket rack. 10. Fold-out TabsYou see these in directory issues: the die-cut tabs that are folded short of the outside trim and then compel the reader to unfold every one of them to set up the magazine’s dividers. Advertisers can sponsor everything from an ad on the divider page to a mention on the tab itself. Because the paper is usually 100 pounds or heavier, the tabs demand attention. Around the BookWrapping the magazine can add the final touch. 11. Printed PolybagThe days of printing ad messages on polybag film seem to have ended with the dot-com bust, but the idea is still as show-stopping as ever. It’s also quite expensive, so an advertiser would presumably want to run a long campaign. 12. OnsertsThe same items you might have to struggle to attach to carrier cards and bind in as inserts might be less expensive to onsert in a polybag with the magazine. As always, a USPS opinion is vital if the item could be considered merchandise. Most printers have efficient equipment for handling a CD or DVD onsert, and any onsert made of paper generally is going to run fine. But it’s smart to send a mock-up or sample to get an estimate for items of unusual size, thickness or weight. Because the onsert is the first thing a reader sees after opening the polybag, the advertiser takes center stage. 13. Belly BandThe belly band trumps the cover itself for visibility, and it has to be handled before the issue can be opened. The ad message on a belly band can’t be overlooked, but it is perhaps the most transitory ad spot, as the band is usually torn and discarded. Belly bands are popular for trade-show distribution, but they also can be used on subscriber copies. They don’t even have to be protected within a polybag, but you’re advised to have the printer tack the band securely to the cover and make sure the band doesn’t cover the magazine nameplate or fall where the address box appears. Bands on newsstand copies, however, are likely to be destroyed by those who like to thumb through a copy, so use a polybag to protect them. The next thing to do with this list is round up an example of all these ideas and build a sample kit for your ad sales force. Specialty printers are happy to show off their work, and your printer can provide some demos, too. In so many instances, advertisers know about these gimmicks, but they don’t think to use them until they’re shown a sample or a mock-up. Manufacturing can provide that last little push to help the sale get made. Alex Brown is a consultant to magazine publishers specializing in manufacturing and magazine management. She founded her consulting company, Printmark, in 1984, and is a frequent speaker at industry events.

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13 Ways to Fight the Ad Downturn

Alex Brown

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