Up North, the Preferred Magazine Platform IS…

mc-vancouverFor Canadian magazine readers, the data shows that print is definitely first choice when it comes time to read.

We are pretty clear about U.S. magazine readers and their preference for print titles, but how about our neighbors to the north?

“Vividata’s recently released 2016 Q2 results indicate that print remains the preferred platform for reading a magazine,” writes Sara Hill of Vividata, a Toronto-based audience data analyst.

According to the data, 57% of magazine consumers read in print only, as opposed to 8% who say they read digital only. Just over one-third of the respondents reported reading magazines in both digital and print formats, with the younger-skewing a bit more toward digital.

The results did vary by genre, and by language.

“Sports, business, and news magazines, for example, have a higher digital readership than other genres,” she notes. “In general, English Canadians have a higher propensity to read their magazines on their mobile (52%), versus only 40% of French Canadians,” she adds.

It’s clear that this kind of data is critical as publishers seek solid cross-channel strategies to engage our hyper-connected audiences. What’s also clear, and has been to us for some time now, is that print continues to hold court in cross-platform ad strategies.

And Vividata seems to be a solid source for helping publishers understand the nuances of these strategies.

“Our single source, cross-platform audience metrics and detailed consumer behaviour profile provides magazine publishers and buyers with a deeper understanding of how to effectively reach a specific target across multiple platforms,” Hill explains.

We aren’t necessarily advocating Vividata (we’ve had no direct experience working with them), but do strongly advocate gaining a deeper understanding of what’s really going on with your audience so you can better connect.

This kind of information looks like a good place to start.