Indiantelevision.com Team

(19 August 2006 2:00 pm)

MUMBAI: A first of its kind study commissioned by Time Inc. and Mediaedge:cia shows public place magazines, those copies not paid for by the reader, bring value to multiple constituencies.

The magazines, which are not paid for by the reader, bring value to multiple constituencies including:

• To advertisers, reaching an audience that is likely to take actions based on the advertising
  
• To readers, for whom magazine reading is the #1 activity while visiting doctors’ and dentists’ offices, hair salons, barber shops and business reception areas
  
• To publishers, providing opportunities to attract new readers
  
• To the hair salon, waiting room and other public places, enhancing the customer experience

The online study was conducted by the independent research firm Marketing and Research Resources, Inc. (M&RR) among a sample of over 5000 adults from an internet panel of more than 4.5 million US households. Respondents were surveyed on their magazine reading habits in public places including doctors’ and dentists’ offices, hair salons, barber shops, business reception areas, libraries and airlines. The study included Entertainment Weekly, In Style, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Parenting and People magazines.

Time Inc. co-chief operating officer John Squires explains, "Public place copies are an important part of the magazine industry both for publishers and advertisers. We have always believed their presence adds value for our advertisers and readers and now we have a study that supports this."

Mediaedge:cia director of print George Janson added, "The study gave us valuable insights into how actively engaged public place readers are with their magazines and we are already using these key findings in our clients’ communications plans."