MAGAZINE MARKETING MEDIA

Many of the same "print" type principles which apply to newspaper advertising also apply to magazine advertising. The biggest differences are:

Magazines are usually weekly or monthly publications instead of daily.

Advertising messages are more image-oriented and less price-oriented.

The quality of the pictures and paper are superior to newsprint.

Advertisements involve color more often.

The general rule that you can run the same ad 3-5 times within a campaign period before its appeal lessens applies to magazine advertising as well, even with a monthly publication. So it makes sense to spend extra time and money to prepare a worthwhile ad that can be successfully repeated. Over long terms such as these, however, be aware that the client (you) often tire of the ad before the audience does.

Because ads in magazines are not immediate, they take more planning. Often, an ad for a monthly magazine must be prepared at least a month in advance of publication, so ads detailing prices and items have to be carefully crafted to insure accuracy.

Since the quality of the magazines are superior, the advertising that you generate must be superior as well. Negatives are usually required instead of prints or "PMTs" (photo-mechanical transfers). Consider getting assistance from a graphic artist or an advertising agency.

There are two categories of magazines: trade magazines and consumer magazines. Trade magazines are publications that go to certain types of businesses, services and industries. Consumer magazines are generally the kind you find on the average news stand. Investigate which type would do your business the most good.

An agency can also purchase the magazine space for you, often at no charge, because the magazine pays the agency a commission directly. If you wish to purchase the advertising yourself, contact the magazine directly and ask for an "Ad Kit" or "Media Package." They will send you a folder that includes demographic information, reach information, a current rate card and a sample of the publication.

Although most magazines are national in nature, many have regional advertising sections that allow your business to look like it purchased a national ad when it only went to a certain geographical area. This can be especially useful if your product or service is regional in nature as well and could not benefit from the magazine's complete readership. Each magazine does this differently, so contact the one(s) you are interested in and ask them about their geographic editions. Some sophisticated magazines even have demographic editions available, which might also be advantageous.

RADIO ADVERTISING MEDIA

Since its inception, radio has become an integral part of our culture. In some way, it touches the lives of almost everyone, every day. Radio, as a medium, offers a form of entertainment that attracts listeners while they are working, traveling, relaxing or doing almost anything. A farmer, for example, may listen to the radio while he is having breakfast or plowing his field. People driving to work often listen to the radio. Radio offers information such as: news, weather reports, traffic conditions, advertising and music for your listening pleasure.

What Are Some of the Good Things About Radio?

Radio media advertising is a relatively inexpensive way of reaching people. It has often been called the "theater of the mind" because voices or sounds can be used to create moods or images that if crested by visual effects would be impossible to afford.

You can also negotiate rates for your commercials, or even barter. Stations are often looking for prizes they can give away to listeners, so it's possible to get full commercial credit for the product or service you offer.

Advantages to radio advertising media include:

The ability to easily change and update scripts are paramount to radio broadcasting, since news stories can and often do happen live.

Radio is a personal advertising medium. Station personalities have a good rapport with their listeners. If a radio personality announces your commercial, it's almost an implied endorsement.

Radio is also a way to support your printed advertising. You can say in your commercial, "See our ad in the Sunday Times," which makes your message twice as effective.

What are Some Limitations to Radio Advertising Media?

Radio advertising is not without its disadvantages too, such as:

You can't review a radio commercial. Once it plays, it's gone. If you didn't catch all the message, you can't go back and hear it again.

Since there are a lot of radio stations, the total listening audience for any one station is just a piece of a much larger whole. That's why it's important to know what stations your customers and prospects probably listen to. Therefore, most of the time, you'll have to buy time on several radio stations to reach the market you are after.

People don't listen to the radio all the time...only during certain times of day. So, it's important to know when your customers or prospects are listening. For example, if you want to reach a large portion of your audience by advertising during the morning farm report, you'll have to specify that time period to the radio station when you buy the time.

One of the most popular times to reach people is during Drive Times (from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.) It's called that because most people are going to or from work during this period, and because most people listen to their radio when they drive. Unfortunately, radio stations know that this is a favorite time to advertise, so commercial costs are much higher during this time.

Radio as a broadcasting medium, can effectively sell an image...or one or two ideas at the most. It is not, however, a detailed medium...and is a poor place for prices and telephone numbers.

Radio listeners increase in the spring and summer, contrary to television audiences which increase in the fall and winter and decrease in the summer. This is an important aspect to consider when you are choosing advertising media.

Prior to opening your Company you must decide upon the general price Level you expect to maintain. Will you cater to people buying
in the high, moderate, or low budget? Your choice of location, appearance of your institution, quality of goods handled, and
solutions to be provided will depend on the clients you hope to attract, and so will your costs.

After establishing this general price level, you are ready to cost Individual products. Generally, the purchase price of an item
has to cover the cost of this item, the other expenses, plus a profit. Therefore, you will need to markup the thing by a specific
amount to cover costs and earn a profit. In a company that sells few things, total costs can readily be allocated to each item and
a markup quickly ascertained. With many different items, allocating costs and determining markup may require an accountant. In
retail operations, products are often marked up by 50 to 100 per cent or more simply to earn a 5 percent to 10% profit!

Let us work through a markup example. Suppose your organization sells One product, Product A. The supplier sells Product A to you
for $5.00 each. You and your accountant decide the costs entailed in selling Product A are $4.00 per item, and you also desire a
$1 per item gain. What's your markup? The selling price is: $5 plus $4 plus $1 or $10; the markup therefore is 5. As a percent,
it's 100%. So you have to markup Merchandise A by 100% to make a 10% profit!

Many small business managers are interested in knowing what Industry markup norms are for a variety of products. Wholesalers,
distributors, trade associations and company research companies publish a huge variety of these ratios and company statistics.
They're useful as guidelines. Another ratio (along with the markup percent ) important to small businesses is the Gross Margin
Percentage.

The GMP is similar to your markup percent but whereas markup Identifies the percentage above the cost to you of every product you
have to set the selling cost so as to cover the other costs and make profits, the GMP indicates the association between sales
revenues minus the expense of the item, which is your gross margin, and your sales revenues. Exactly what the GMP is telling you
is that your markup bears a certain relationship to your sales earnings. The markup percent along with the GMP are basically the
exact same formula, with the markup referring to individual product pricing and GMP referring to the product prices times the
amount of items sold (volume).

Maybe an illustration will clarify the point. Your firm sells Product Z. It costs you $.70 each and you decide to sell it for $1
per cent to cover costs and profit. Your markup is 43%. Now let up say you sold 10,000 Product Z's Last month hence producing
$10,000 in revenues. Your cost to purchase Product Z was 7000; your gross margin was $3,000 (earnings minus cost of products
sold). Additionally, this is your gross markup for your month's volume. Your GMP would be 30%. Both of these percentages use the
exact same basic amounts, differing only in division. Both are utilized to establish a pricing system. And both are printed and
can be used as guidelines for smaller firms starting out. Often supervisors decide what Gross Margin Percentage they'll have to
earn a profit and simply go to some published Markup Table to find the percentage markup which correlates with that margin
requirement.

While this discussion of pricing might seem, in certain respects, to Be directed just to the pricing of retail product it could be
applied to other types of companies too. For services the markup must cover selling and administrative costs as well as the direct
cost of performing a specific service. If you are manufacturing a product, the costs of direct labor, materials and supplies,
parts purchased from different issues, special tools and equipment, plant overhead, selling and administrative expenditures must
be carefully estimated. To calculate a price per unit needs an estimate of the number of units you intend to produce. Before your
factory becomes too large it would be smart to consult an accountant about a cost accounting system.

Not all items are marked up by the typical markup. Luxurious articles Will require more, staples less. For instance, increased
sales volume by a lower-than-average markup on a specific item - a"loss leader" - may bring a higher gross profit unless the
purchase price is lowered too much. Then the resulting increase in earnings won't increase the entire gross profit enough to
compensate for the minimal cost.

Sometimes you may wish to market a certain item or service in a lower Markup in order to boost store traffic with the expectation
of increasing earnings of Regularly priced product or creating a large number of new support contracts. Competitors' prices will
also regulate your prices. You Can't market a Product if your competition is greatly underselling you. These and other reasons May
cause you to change your markup one of items and solutions. There's no magic Formula which will work on every product or every
service all the time. However, You ought to keep in mind the general average markup which you need to make a Gain.

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