Magazine Media Launches Industry-Wide Print Magazine Advertising Sales Guarantee

NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning today, magazine media is putting its money where its mouth is.

One year after becoming the first medium to offer a standardized measurement across platforms (see Magazine Media 360 here), confirming double-digit audience growth year-over-year, MPA—The Association of Magazine Media is introducing the Print Magazine Sales Guarantee (link to FAQ), an industry-wide money or space-back guarantee. This most recent first for magazine media further elevates its accountability, promising that print magazine's ability to connect with consumers and serve as the cornerstone of a cross-platform buy will increase an advertiser's brand sales and provide a positive ROI for all qualified print magazine investments. Nancy Telliho, interim president and CEO, MPA—The Association of Magazine Media, announced the bold initiative today.

In making the announcement, Telliho noted, "While many industries have sat back and lamented the disruption caused by technology, magazine media leadership has twice now put aside its wildly competitive culture to aggressively lead and transform the marketplace.  2014's introduction of The Magazine Media 360 Brand Audience Report forced us to open our kimonos and provide a 24/7 transparent view of our audience consumption across platforms. One year later, we're getting naked again, with the Print Magazine Sales Guarantee. But don't listen to me or the legions of our publishers pounding the pavement: Read the white paper and the Millward Brown report."

The release of two new studies affirms the debut of this unprecedented program, approved by the MPA Board of Directors, comprised of the presidents and CEOs of the largest magazine media companies. Most significantly, the studies were based upon data commissioned by advertisers themselves and research conducted by leading neuroscientists.   

The Print Campaign Analysis, a "meta-analysis" conducted by Millward Brown, an authority in the assessment of advertising impact, examined nearly 100 ad effectiveness studies, commissioned by advertisers. Millward Brown's report finds that print advertising results in the greatest increases in persuasion metrics—brand favorability and purchase intent compared to other platforms. These advertiser-generated data also reveal that when advertisers used print in combination with other platforms, they were most successful in raising outcome metrics, leading to the conclusion that digital platforms work best when they are connected to powerful traditional media, such as print magazines (see highlights of the study here).

The new white paper "What Can Neuroscience Tell Us About Why Print Magazine Advertising Works?" summarizes the results of nearly 150 peer-reviewed research papers and explains how consumers' brains respond differently to print and digital environments, with heightened retention and emotional connection, and why those responses not only give print magazine campaigns the highest ROIs of all media, but also enable print to leverage multiplatform buys. The extensive data further indicates that paper-based reading is widely associated with better transfer to long-term memory and clearer comprehension (see highlights of the report here).

Stephen M. Lacy, chairman, MPA Board of Directors, and chairman and chief executive officer, Meredith Corporation, said, "The Print Magazine Sales Guarantee is a clear and powerful statement that magazine media provides unique value to advertisers. We are confident in our product, its future, and the unique role that print magazines play in our multi-platform ecosystem to drive ROI and lift advertisers' brand sales."

Commenting on the announcement, Time Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joe Ripp remarked, "The Print Magazine Sales Guarantee makes our case to the advertising community that if they are looking for the best ROI possible, magazine media is an ideal investment. This new industry-wide guarantee demonstrates the value of the magazine media ecosystem to advertisers. It's a win/win for all of us."

Brenda White, executive vice president/publishing, Starcom, added, "Just as The Magazine Media 360 Brand Audience Report has become an invaluable tool for advertisers to measure audience across platforms, the Print Magazine Sales Guarantee provides another important data point for buyers and planners. Magazine media is delivering an accurate way to measure the industry's entire ecosystem, along with increased accountability. This information provides benefit not only to advertisers, but to the magazine media industry overall."

About MPA
MPA—The Association of Magazine Media is the primary advocate and voice for the magazine media industry, driving thought leadership and game-changing strategies to promote the industry's vitality and increase its revenues and market share. Established in 1919, MPA represents 200 domestic, associate and international members. MPA is headquartered in New York City, with a government affairs office in Washington, D.C.  For more information, visit www.magazine.org.

About Magazine Media 360
Magazine Media 360 is a new industry metric that captures demand for magazine media content by measuring audiences across multiple platforms and formats (including print+digital editions, websites and video) to provide a comprehensive and accurate picture of magazine media vitality. Magazine Media 360 uses data from leading third-party providers and currently covers approximately 143 magazine media brands from 34 companies, representing 95% of the reader universe. Created as a credible, consistent and cost-free measurement tool, Magazine Media 360, which launched September 2014, marked the first time ever any media industry had measured and communicated cross-platform consumer demand by brand.

SOURCE The Association of Magazine Media