Excellent replies, both of you! Although you are both coming at the subject from two different interests, you've each struck a blow to the head of the nail.
Let me say, up front, that I don't presume to be the ultimate print ad guru. In fact, I only have one basic criteria when it comes to defining the success of an ad campaign. My strategy is similar to creating a perpetual motion machine. What I would warn everyone about, when reading this discussion, is to consider everything said here. But make a decision that you feel is right for you, when it comes to creating, testing and perpetuating any marketing campaign.
In this vein, let me also say that I don't believe that the major knife magazines have a guru on their staff, either. Or, at minimum, they're blatantly throttling it back when it comes to the staff chops that they present you with to assist you with creating and producing a successful campaign. You should always spend your own money?never let an ad rep do it for you; unless you want to part with it quickly!
Not only am I of the opinion that they don't have the chops at the ground troops level. My personal feeling is that they have one direct interest in your ad campaign, regardless of the magazine, regardless of the industry. That is, to get the maximum portion of your print ad budget for their publication at all times. I'll bet many advertisers will agree.
Let?s get going?
Jim said,
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Most viewers, I am suspecting, do NOT have this experience to offer direct input.
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- That?s what the magazines are banking on. They realize that most people don?t have a clue about what they?re doing, or what results it produces. A real advertiser won?t pay a nickel over what the ad is truly worth. (We?ll discuss ?worth? later, if anyone is interested.)
Jim also said,
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Although my work is related. I often shoot images for maker's/dealer's ads.
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- In no other place than a commercial ad does a product image have so much worth. If a normal image is worth 1000 words, then an SBC image is surely worth 2000 words by comparison. The magazine will take your money whether you provide a good image or not. The same thing applies to the layout and the content, and we?ll deal with that over the course of the thread.
Steve said?
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Unless your ad is one of those that force the reader to stop and read it, it is mostly a waste of money.
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- You are correct. However, I would add that, ?an unread ad is completely worthless?. And, I would also add, ?that the worst kind of all is an ad that everyone reads, but is detrimental to the business it represents.? I would rather have an ad that goes un-noticed, when it might contain images that make me look bad, or have statements that cause the public to perceive me as a bozo, etc. I call these, ?Killer Ads?. The funny thing is, if you call any of the major knife magazines and ask them to do an ad for you, there is a high probability that this type of ad is what you?re about to invest in. It?s not their fault, it?s yours as the advertiser. (more later)
Steve then said,
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I have seen a few ads that make me stop and say " WOW that is an incredible knife, I wonder who made it" but other than that ads are simply clutter on the page.
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- I call that, ?a good marketing investment.?
He then said,
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In the past ads were an available search altermative but that is no longer a use with the advent of Google etc.
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- A brilliant observation. In fact, I contend that there isn?t a magazine publisher in existence that wouldn?t give you a free ad for you to agree to keep your mouth shut about what you just said. (oh, the roads we will travel in this forum ? for those who are in this to win.)
My goal will always remain to maximize return and minimize risk and loss.
Comments?