Which magazines are your prospects really reading?
Actual readership is critical to the success of your magazine advertising. Deciding which magazine to choose to tap the vast potential of the athletic, recreation and fitness market can be daunting. To make that task easier, an independent Readership Preference Survey was undertaken to track actual magazine readership of top decsion-makers across 6 market segments.
This survey was conducted in April 2007 by Readex Research, a nationally recogonized independent research company. The survey sample of 2,800 was selected in systematic, stratified fashion by Readex from domestic recipients of Athletic Business. None of the survey materials indentified the sponsor in any way. Respondents returned their surveys directly to Redex, and Athletic Business was not involved in the tabulation of the resutls.
| Athletic Business is ranked the #1 magazine by top decision-makers across the industry. Not only do buyers read AB, they consider it their top resource for purchasing decisions. |
Readex Survey Downlaod the Readership Preference Survey
You Should Know...
Why does it seem that the research you see always favors the magazine showing it to you? Two reasons:
- Most magazines already know where they stand in the marketplace, so high-quality research is most often done on the magazines that expect to come out on top. After all, if you are No. 3 or No. 4 in the market, why would you pay for research that would help promote your competition?
- Some research is done that you will never see. Some magazines may do quality research just hoping to come out on top. And when they don't, you can be sure those results will not be released.
What is a "quality" survey?
Consider the type of survey done, as well as the company doing it. Athletic Business uses only leading research companies (in this case, Readex) because they are respected in the field.
Readership vs. Reader Preference Surveys
The type of survey is also extremely important in projecting the value of the results. For example, is it a "readership survey" or a "reader preference survey"? Although AB does both types of surveys, it is important for advertisers to know the difference.
A "readership survey" is conducted to find out more about who the readers are, what they buy and what they like about a magazine. The survey clearly identifies the sponsor. For example, the survey might begin, "We are conducting a survey for Athletic Business. Can you help us?" This can be a valuable source of information for both a magazine and its advertisers. But asking, "Which magazine do you prefer?" in this type of survey does not yield credible results because of the inherent sponsor-identified bias.
On the other hand, a "reader preference survey" is conducted to gauge the level of reader preference for a variety of magazines in a market. The sponsoring magazine is not identified in any way and those answering the survey only see or hear the name of the research firm that sent the survey, not the magazine's name itself.
If you want to answer the question, "Which magazine does my prospect really read?" the most credible source is a reader preference survey by a leading research company.
Some industry magazines promote "readership survey" data and some magazines promote "readership preference survey" data. Knowing the difference between the two can make a huge difference in your decision to buy advertising and the impact those ad placements will have on your business.
Want more information?
Download the Readership Preference Survey or visit our Advertising page for contact information and other resources.
