We all want to be happier. Entire industries are dedicated to helping us find ourselves, live fuller lives, and ultimately be a better-adjusted version of ourselves.
Looking for a short cut? Pick up a magazine.
According to an article in MediaSpecs, magazines offer a “moment of happiness” in a digitally heavy world. (The article is in French; use your browser translation setting to read it in English.)
“Magazines are proving to be the channel of choice for brands and was the focus of MAGnify, the WE MEDIA event,” the article notes. Held earlier this month in Zaventem, Brussels, the event was hosted by Marcel Vanthilt and included commentary from a number of publishing industry representatives.
“Magazines confer a unique value, and allow you to refocus, to be at the forefront, investigated the perception of the media,” explained Nancy Detrixhe, Research Manager at the Media Association Magazine in the Netherlands. “These moments are becoming rarer, but they are experienced in a more intense way. You get greater satisfaction.
“Why are magazines so adapted to such a moment of happiness? This is within the power of the reading experience because consumers themselves have control over magazines,” she continues. “A magazine has all the attention, while there is a lot of information online and therefore stress. This stress is due to the feeling that people miss a lot of things, but with magazines, there is a beginning and an end. You go from hubbub to tranquility.”
We hear this idea of tranquility echoed often when people talk about their preference for print. We need to escape the digital distraction to be able to hear ourselves think.
Eva Van Driessche, editor-in-chief of Flair, was introspective in talking about the learning moments magazine brands have gone through.
“Flair remains primarily consumer-driven,” said Van Driessche. “The advertiser is also important. But nothing must come to disturb the reader. What has changed: native advertising, and there are strict rules for that. There are things we do not do: we cannot publish what does not support journalism in particular.”
This return to the mission, if you will, is echoed by many in the industry, as publishers recognize the value of the hard-won trust they’ve built with their readership. That trust, as we know, is paramount in this age of instant fake news and bot-fed trends.
Ultimately, your customers are searching to be happier – however, they happen to define “happy” – and magazines are a wonderful place to reach them when they are fully engaged. Want a shortcut to happiness? You just might find it inside the nearest magazine.