Your customers are spending more time than ever at home. During this time, research shows they are consuming far more media, which means even more time in front of screens of all kinds. The very same research also shows, however, that people are reading more printed magazines and newspapers. This is the ideal moment to serve them a printed magazine, one that helps them dream of a better time, plan their holiday shopping and ease their digital burnout.

STAYING POWER

There are even more reasons that this is the perfect time to provide your current and potential customers with a printed magazine. First, it breaks through the digital clutter. If the publication is high-quality it is likely it will remain in the house for one to weeks. Second, it radiates permanence and reliability – just like a brick-and-mortar location. Furthermore, the printed word lends an aura of prestige (though that depends on the paper – and prestige may not be needed in the discount or consumer electronics sectors).

If well-made (more on quality below) the magazine is likely to engage readers for a much longer period of time with the power to tell a story unmatched by digital formats. Home-bound customers can flip through the pages and plan their Christmas shopping, which they will act on in the digital realm or physically as soon as restrictions are eased.

HELPING CUSTOMERS

“Advertising leaflets and magazines from retailers are by far the most important source of information about promotions. Almost 60 percent of buyers declare using them to plan their shopping at least from time to time,” says Renata Twardowska, Gf K expert in the consumer panels and services department. 

“Discounts still play a huge role for Polish buyers and they are most susceptible to this type of promotion. That’s why further investment in printed promotional materials can have the greatest impact on raising awareness of a product and on promotional offers of a chain of stores,” she adds.

There are good reasons that brands pay a premium to their retailers for the presence of in-store magazines and leaflets – they are effective at driving sales.

NOT JUST FOR LIDL AND BIEDRONKA

Magazines need not be limited to discount chain stores. Examples of quality publications include the always much anticipated IKEA catalog, Play Expert or the Exim Tours Menu – a mix of magazine and catalog, with augmented reality elements, produced by Valkea Media.

CONVERSION QUANTIFIABLE

Paper magazines have gotten a bad rap because they cannot be analyzed to the same extent as digital advertising. However, there are ways to get around this problem.

Warsaw’s Fashion House Shopping Center Klif cleverly drove sales and managed to track the success of their fall magazine. Klif published a small fashion magazine with an inserted gift card mock-up. The card invited readers to take advantage of the pro-sale promotion – customers who brought the card and made a purchase, received an actual gift card to any Klif tenant for subsequent purchases. Anna Szlaga, Klif ’s marketing manager, confirms the gift card registration results suggest that the activity highly motivated customers, especially regular customers, to make additional purchases.

COVID-SAFE

As for some fears that newspapers or printed materials transmit the Covid-19virus, they are unfounded. To date, there has been no confirmed case of coronavirus contamination from contact with a newspaper or other type of surfaces used for printing. In an interview with BBC Radio Scotland, virologist Prof George Lomonossoff stated that the surface of the newspaper is fairly sterile due to the entire printing process it undergoes. The chance of transmitting the coronavirus through newspapers is negligible, according to him.

For added security, special anti-virus/anti-bacterial varnishes such as aqueous coating can be used.

None of this is to suggest that you stop your digital or social advertising. There are many factors to consider when deciding if a custom magazine aligns with your brand strategy. However, doing the same thing as the competition is no way to get ahead, while a well-executed magazine distributed during the coronavirus restrictions may be the perfect way to increase brand engagement and sales.

Jerzy Kamecki 

New Business Director at Valkea Media – a marketing agency in Warsaw.