PRINT MAGAZINES KIDS MEDIA
www.toynewsmag.com
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Print power The only media which is actively purchased by children and their parents, print magazines have many factors working in their favour. And if you’re not already using them to complement your TV and online messages, you need to think again, as Samantha Loveday discovers...
“PRINT MEDIA IS definitely undervalued by toy companies,” states Julie Jones, publishing director of Redan Publishing. “I understand that most of their budget has to go to TV advertising for retail purposes, but they’re really missing out by not using magazines more.” Jones’ view is one which is, perhaps not unsurprisingly, shared by her peers. But, used alongside the traditional TV advertising, print is a very effective medium when it comes to getting your brand in front of not only kids, but their parents, too. And, while the magazine market as a whole decreased slightly in retail sales value in 2008 over 2007, the children’s sector actually grew and was worth around £127 million in 2008. “The children’s magazine market is the third biggest magazine category by volume behind women’s magazines and TV listings and 61 million children’s magazines are sold a year,”
states Sam Vernon, group ad sales manager at Egmont Magazines. Despite the sheer size of the sector, however, it hasn’t remained untouched by the wider global economic issues.
Luckily, print media has many factors working in its favour. It is the only actively purchased medium for one. Back to Jones again: “Parents with young children know and trust print media.
To ensure their message reaches kids, advertisers need to communicate with them on many different levels, in the same way grown up brands do with companies spanning TV, print and outdoor. Sam Vernon, Group Ad Sales Manager, Egmont “Sales since September 2008 have been quite erratic – I think this is the economic climate where parents are making cut backs,” admits Jones. “Rather than two or three magazines, they’re buying just one, so competition is fierce. Parents are also taking more notice of titles that offer the best value for money.”
“They were brought up reading print themselves and know that there are no hidden dangers or complicated instructions that they themselves aren’t sure about. “Magazines are interactive, tactile, affordable and disposable, so parents don’t mind if they get scribbled all over or ripped up.”
Egmont’s Vernon adds: “Magazines complement TV advertising and do a different job – TV is all about impact and mass awareness and magazines allow longer to dwell through the activities and interactive content. 56 per cent of parents also keep children’s magazines and refer back to them, meaning that any advertising works really hard for potential advertisers. The advertising/editorial ratio is small – we carry a max of three ad pages in our pre-school magazines and four to five in our own brand titles – so adverts in kids’ magazines have tremendous stand out. “Children today are sophisticated mini-consumers, so access many different types of media including TV, print, online and radio. To ensure the message reaches them, advertisers need to communicate to them on many different levels in the same way that grown up brands do with companies spanning TV, print and outdoor.” APRIL 2009