Print Called “Effortless” Environment for Luxury Marketers

WSJ-magWSJ Magazine sees higher ad page numbers for their September issues.

Print’s detractors will often say that the tangible benefits of reading in print are largely over-romanticized and not solid reasons for advertising there. But according to one publisher, this is wrong-headed thinking.

“I think that print is still the most effective and relevant choice for advertisers, particularly luxury brands, for a number of reasons,” said Anthony Cenname, publisher of WSJ. Magazine, New York at a recent luxury retail summit. “One it is very engaging, it’s memorable and the environment is one that is effortless for a lot of luxury marketers.”

That effortlessness is highly attractive to high-end retails who understand their audience doesn’t appreciate the constant disruption of digital media.

“While discussing print’s benefits for luxury marketers with Luxury Daily’s editor in chief Mickey Alam Khan, Mr. Cenname explained that for affluent consumers, time spent reading magazines is a treasured ‘me’ moment,” writes Jen King in Luxury Daily.

“An integral aspect of reading a print publication is the glamorous advertisements that accompany and lend support to the editorial content,” she continues.

This is evidenced by more than romantic notions, but by the increasing ad page numbers in both the men’s and women’s issues of WS.J Magazine this September.

“With WSJ. Magazine it is pretty evident because our September men’s issue with Robert Redford is up 26 percent in ad pages while the women’s issue, called the September fashion issue, was actually our largest ever, and that is up 11 percent,” Cenname notes.

King points out another important element of print for these high-end retailers, noting that “for marketers, print provides an ad blocking software-free zone, which has been on the rise and is set to increase with the launch of Apple’s latest iOS 9 update. Mr. Cenname shared that there are now 198 million global active users of ad blocking software, a 41 percent increase from the year ago, but with traditional print this is a non-issue,” she writes.

So call it romantic if you wish. We call it smart business.