Why Magazine Media is Having a Kardashian Moment

Influence.  

Brands crave it, and an entire industry has sprung up around online influencers on Instagram, YouTube and other social channels. At its inception, brands that looked to influencer marketing had worthwhile goals; engaging their fan base and potential customers in authentic, real-time conversation. And wow, has it backfired.

As consumers begin to see through the thin veil of influencer marketer, where will influence come from? According to research from Magnetic, the “new” influencer is magazine media, especially in the home design and consumer technology markets.

“Conducted in partnership with research specialists Emotional Logic, Magnetic surveyed 738 consumers at different stages in the buying journey,” explains this post in Mediatel. “According to the research, magazines are able to directly influence consumer budgets, with 61% of readers increasing their connected home budgets by an average of 67% after reading a magazine.”

“Magazines can also play a role in helping homes, interiors and technology brands make it onto their readers’ consideration lists; after reading a magazine, 91% of readers changed the brands on their home furnishing shortlist.”

This new research backs up what we already know about magazine media – it’s a great place for brands to build credibility, trust and engagement. This goes for display advertising as well as editorial content, according to Magnetic.

“[T]he research suggests that display and editorial work well in combination to increase the levels of attention given to brands: where printed display ads in magazines get a consumer’s attention, contextual relevancy achieves eight times the number of double-takes and achieves on average 40% more in terms of share of attention,” the Mediatel article continues.

As more marketers understand this, we’re beginning to see renewed interest in magazine media as a marketing platform. Yes, change is slow, and we are still dealing with a lot of FOMO in the digital ad space – but that beast is turning.  Consumers have told us clearly that they don’t trust social media.

For brands looking to influence consumer behavior, you can’t beat magazine media.