You are sitting at your desk working on your next ad sales effort when your phone rings. It is one of your long-time advertisers, and out of the blue, she asks how the redesign of your magazine is going to impact her advertising. Redesign? How did she find out? You know you haven’t talked about it, and no other staff members were supposed to discuss it in public — but somehow it got out there. You want to panic, but you can’t. Instead, you’ve got to come up with a solid answer to her question.
Although the way this advertiser found out is far from optimal, there are many benefits of a redesign for your advertisers. Here are some of the most notable:
- More attention to the publication from readers means greater attention to the ads. One of the goals of any redesign is to make the magazine more reader friendly and more attractive. The greater the reader attention, the more likely that ads will be seen — and that is, obviously, the goal.
- More involvement from readers means greater loyalty and engagement. Another primary goal of most redesigns is to get the reader more involved with the magazine, so the reader will read more of the magazine and spend more time with each and every issue. As in #1 above, the more engaged the readers are and the more time they spend with each issue, the more likely they are to see your customer’s ad and actually interact with it.
- Increased promotion of magazine means more eyeballs. A redesign is typically accompanied by a promotional launch. The launch gets the magazine in front of current readers in multiple ways, while also potentially reaching new audiences. The more people in the target market who see the magazine, the greater the number of people who will see an ad.
- Changes in color palette may make your ads pop more. Advertisers have no control over the color palette used in a magazine. Sometimes, a color palette helps an ad pop; at other times, it may cause the ad to blend into the editorial. The more an ad pops, the more effective it will be. A change in color palette may make an ad jump out at the reader more than it did before.
- Changes in layout may make your ad stand out more. Many times during a redesign, the layout is made less cluttered, so it is easier for the readers to navigate through the issue. Lack of clutter and a cleaner layout will make well-designed ads stand out more.
- An updated look may provide a better environment for the advertiser. A redesign is often done because a publication is starting to look outdated or old. Companies want to advertise in publications that fit well with their image and are as up-to-date as they are. Having a more current look will make readers feel the publication is more “with it,” which will also impact reader perception of the advertisers appearing in the magazine.
It is never good for advertisers to find out about changes to a magazine through the grapevine. Therefore, it is important that magazine staff try to keep that news as private as possible until a launch strategy, including messaging like the benefits of the redesign listed above, is developed and approved.
A redesign is typically a good thing for the advertiser and the publication. So as long as you are prepared, it is definitely something that you should be excited about.
This article was originally published in Sidebar by Association Media & Publishing.