WMC: Engagement and the magazine media

In an interesting break-out session, moderated by Guy Consterdine, chief executive officer, Consterdine Associates, UK, two speakers compared the research findings of “engagement” in magazine media in India and some European markets.
 
Tarun Rai, the newly appointed chairman of AIM and chief executive officer, Worldwide Media, revealed the top plans of the research he steered on behalf of the Indian magazine industry. The research, conducted by independent research agencies, Quantum and IMRB, with a sample size of 5,500 respondents compared the engagement of users with what Rai termed the “Always on” or digital media with that of magazine media.
 
According to the research, the "Always on" media is leading to unconscious filtering by the consumers, as there is a paradox of too many choices. The digital media is leading to a distracted consumer who is not spending enough time on any one media. Even while consuming one media, the user is multitasking. Thus, the “Always On” media is leading to a lot of "noise" due to which the message that is delivered runs a high risk of being distorted by the time the message is received by the consumer.
 
By comparison, the magazines are consumed with undivided attention, without noise, and by choice. “We, at AIM, decided to have a new conversation with media buyers and advertisers not about ‘more’ but about ‘better’, backed by research,” said Rai.
 
Esther Braspenning, international advertising resource manager, Sanoma Media, Belgium, found similar engagement findings in her research and outlined a few points that made magazine media a better place for advertisers than others in any market: 1. It is a lean-forward media that gets focussed attention; 2. It stays in the house-hold and is read again and again; 3. Magazines get more engagement, attention and appreciation as they give more information; 4. Magazine advertising is not disruptive and people trust it more and; 5. Influentials love magazines most and form the core of magazine audience.

"The best way to leverage the strength of the magazines is to become more relevant for advertisers. Engagement is an important metric and the next new thing in Silicon Valley", she said.