City A.M., a luxury lifestyle magazine for “the clued-in City worker” (righto, that means London), veers off the expected track when it comes to getting into the right hands. You might expect that a magazine for workers would be distributed heavily around top commuter spots. And yes, that is certainly part of the strategy, explains this post in Print Power.
“Distributed at regular reader hotspots Canary Wharf and the Square Mile, City A.M. Magazine is also handed out far away from the commute,” the article notes. Why? Because City AM COO Harry Owen believes engagement is all about context.
“We know our readers travel a lot so we put City A.M. Magazine in places where they have more time to browse. Places like Edinburgh Airport or the Four Seasons Hotel in Hampshire,” Owen explains.
And more time to browse automatically means better engagement – significantly more according to behavioral economics expert Richard Shotton. He cites research that shows “relaxed people notice 56% of ads, as opposed to 36% when they’re stressed.”
For City A.M.’s big ticket item ad partners, this extra time to linger is important.
“It takes time to think about those big-ticket purchases,” said Owen. “It’s not like you see an ad in the morning and buy a car in the afternoon. It’s all about the environment. About being associated with the right content, the right brand, the right tone of voice. And City AM is just that.”
It’s a simple yet important lesson – if you want to engage your reader, where you do it is often just as important as how. For luxury retailers, a high-end, relaxed print experience like City A.M. is a perfect fit.