TURNING DATA INTO INTELLIGENCE ©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc. (Almost) Everything You Want to...

TURNING DATA INTO INTELLIGENCE ©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.

(Almost) Everything You Want to Know About Positioning in Magazines:

The Six Questions That Starch is Most Likely to be Asked


Definitions:

Noted: The percent of readers who said they saw any part of the ad – attention-getting power

Read Most: The percent who said they read more than half of the ad’s copy – involvement


Q.. Do ads on the right-hand page earn higher scores than ads on the left- hand page?


Left RightFood Ads 54% 56%Toiletries & Cosmetics 51% 51%Automotive Ads 48% 48%Computers & 42% 43%Computer EquipmentDrugs & Remedies 46% 46%Apparel 52% 55%Financial 44% 42%

NOTED SCORES

A. Over a number of product categories, Starch finds little or no difference between the two.


Q.. How important is size?


Toiletries

Noted Difference RM DifferenceOne-page, 4-Color 51% 19%

20% 26%Two-page, 4-color 61% 24%

Automobiles


15% 24%Two-page, 4-color 55% 21%

A.. It depends on the product category.


Financial


12% 14%Two-page, 4-color 48% 17%

Drugs


9% 6%Two-page, 4-color 50% 17%


Q. How important is color?


TYPICAL FINDINGComputers

Noted Difference RM DifferenceOne-page, B&W 36% 13%

19% 19%One-page, 4-color 43% 16%

BIG DIFFERENCEDrugs & Remedies

Noted Difference RM DifferenceOne-page, B&W 29% 12%

59% 33%One-page, 4-color 46% 16%

AA.. Generally, fairly important. But not always.


NOT-SO-BIG DIFFERENCE

ToiletriesNoted Difference RM Difference

One-page, B&W 49% 19% 6% 0%

One-page, 4-color 51% 19%


Q.. Do far-forward ads have a substantial advantage over those in the back?


A.. There is some drop-off from back to front with certain products,

but the difference is probably not as great as some expect:

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

NotedQ1

RM Q1 NotedQ2

RM Q2 NotedQ3

RM Q3 NotedQ4

RM Q4

Computer

Drugs & Rem.

Toiletries

Food

Auto.


Q.. Does clutter (thickness of issue) have any effect on readership scores?


A.. If there is any effect, it is negligible. Starch data suggest that a

small advantage exists for only the very thinnest of issues.

Definitions: Thin: Fewer than 200 Pages. Medium: 200-249 Thick: 250+

Toiletries

Thin Issues Medium Issues Thick Issues Noted RM Noted RM Noted RM

One-page ads 53% 20% 54% 20% 52% 19%Two-page spreads 65% 24% 61% 23% 61% 25%


Food Ads


One-page ads 58% 24% 58% 26% 56% 23%(Insufficient Number of two-page spreads)

Automobiles




Computers



Financial




MORAL: If you have questions about the power of your creative, avoid the thickest issues.


Q.. Do cover positions offer a readership advantage – and are there differences among the different cover positions?


Index: 100 =average for ROB, 1-Page, 4-Color ads

100 100 100104 108119

108121

130

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

ROB 3C1P4 4C1P4 ROB 3C1P4 4C1P4 ROB 3C1P4 4C1P4

*Note: Fewer than 10 ads

Toiletries & Cosmetics Automotive Computers

*

A.. Ads in cover positions generally score higher than run-of-book ads, and there are substantial differences among the three different positions.


100 100 100

125 122 118

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

ROB 2C1S4 ROB 2C1S4 ROB 2C1S4

Index: 100 = average for ROB, 2-Page, 4-Color Ad

Toiletries & Cosmetics Automotive Apparel


Positioning in an average Women’s Service Magazine


Pages vs. Spreads

Cosmetics & Beauty Aids


16% 22%Two-page, 4-color 64% 22%

Automobiles


23% 15%Two-page, 4-color 53% 15%


Women’s Service ROB Pages

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Quartile 1 Quartile 2 Quartile 3 Quartile 4

Cosmetics

Medicines

Automotive


Left-Hand Pages vs. Right-hand Pages in Women’s Service Publications

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Cosmetics Medicines Automotive

Left

Right


Probability of success depends more on research than on luck.

TURNING DATA INTO INTELLIGENCE ©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc. (Almost) Everything You Want to...

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