Ellen Romer and John Fetto, Experian Simmons

Karen Ring, Universal McCann

Worldwide Readership Research Symposium Valencia 2009 Session 2.6

INTRODUCTION

Magazine readers are increasingly accessing content via online branded websites. In 2009, traffic to magazine websites was up 10% over 2008. Many of those website visitors access a magazine solely online with no exposure to the print edition, while others access the magazine both in print and via the website. Obviously, a magazine website has opportunities to reach and connect with an audience differently from the print platform. Among them, the addition of a second delivery platform offers readers not just an alternative way of consuming content and advertising from a single publisher, but also a way to extend their relationship with the media brand and its advertisers. This paper investigates the effect that online delivery via branded magazine websites has on readers’ engagement with branded magazine content and advertising as well as the their propensity to buy products and services advertised. It will specifically explore the value that combining website readership with print readership as a way of connecting with an audience in a way that neither print magazines, nor websites can do alone.

RELATED RESEARCH

The ever expanding media landscape has lead to both an explosion of advertising messages and technologies enabling consumers to avoid those messages. While that power has always been within control of the consumers’ hands, accounting for potential non-exposure went largely unaddressed simply because there was no procedure for addressing it. As a hedge against ad avoiders, marketers began examining the relationships consumers had with the media they were using to better understand and predict methods for maximizing ad exposure potential. The idea of engagement emerged: this notion that a certain subset of users felt an affinity for the media they were using and as such were more likely to embrace all the content contained within, including advertising. Not only could accounting for engagement reduce non-exposure, it could additionally lead to higher levels of effectiveness metrics such as ad recall and receptivity to brand messaging.

So if we can understand how to maximize the engagement potential with a medium, we can, by default, increase the effectiveness of the advertising and the efficiency of the media plan. Ads appearing in more engaging vehicles can lead to elevated levels of ad exposure.

Bronner and Neijens (2006) explored the relationship of media context effects on the advertising experience and found positive correlations for eight media studied, though there was wide variation across the various media studied. These correlations would imply that the type of experience a reader has with the publication will carry over into a similar experience with the advertising. The highest average correlation was found for direct mail (0.34). Magazines were found to have a comparatively high correlation (.29), followed by Internet (.25) of media experience to advertising experience. The importance of this research validates the engagement theory: A positive media interaction can have a positive impact on advertising effectiveness.

Further evidence of the importance of engagement was documented by Kilger and Romer (2007) in an analysis linking media engagement and purchase behavior. Using the Simmons Multi-Media Engagement study they showed that “…engagement dimensions are positively related to the likelihood of purchasing products that have been advertised within these media vehicles.”

Understanding the media context effects of different media on engagement is critical for maximizing advertising effectiveness.

EXPERIAN SIMMONS MULTI-MEDIA ENGAGEMENT STUDY

The Experian Simmons Multi-Media Engagement Study was designed to measure the cognitive and emotional engagement that consumers have with the content of specific media vehicles (i.e. a print magazine, a website or a television program or network) and the advertising that typically is placed therein. Launched in October 2006, the study is in field for approximately 40 weeks per year and is conducted online.

Respondents first answer a battery of demographic questions before being randomly directed to one of four media modules of the survey. One of the modules includes questions about the respondents’ usage and engagement with specific print magazine properties. Another module measures respondents’ usage and engagement with Internet websites. Two of the modules measure usage and engagement that respondents have with television programs and networks.

Respondents are screened before entering each media module to verify that they meet minimum usage levels of the media measured in each module. For entry into the magazine module, respondents must have read or looked through at least one magazine in the last 6 months. For entry into the Internet module, respondents must have spent at least one hour online from home or work in the last seven days for something other than e-mail. For entry into the two television modules, respondents must watch at least 5 hours of television in an average week.

Upon entry into each media module, respondent are randomly “flashed” a series of media vehicles through a Java application and instructed to click on vehicles they have read, visited or watched within the specified period of time. If a respondent has not used a displayed vehicle, no action is necessary; another property will be displayed within a few seconds if no click is recorded.

For magazines titles, respondents must have read or looked through it in the last six months. For Internet sites, respondents must have visited the page in the last 30 days. For television programs and networks, respondents must have watched it in the last 7 days. (Additional questions are asked regarding frequency of usage of each property to allow for filtering of the data by frequent readers/visitors/viewers.)

Respondents are flashed media vehicles until they have clicked on five or the list of vehicles being measured is exhausted at which point the Java application ends. Respondents are asked to confirm that they consumed the media vehicles that were previously selected before moving on.

A key aspect of the survey is the manner by which the series of media vehicles are flashed to respondents. The media vehicles are served up in a random order, but influenced by a probability score assigned to each property. Vehicles that have a larger audience receive lower probabilities while vehicles with smaller audiences receive higher probabilities. Because respondents complete the engagement battery for a maximum of five media vehicles per module, the probability-driven selection process ensures that widely used media vehicles do not receive excessive numbers of evaluations while lesser used properties fail to meet the minimum reporting standard. It is the goal that all media vehicles measured within each module receive a similar number of evaluations. Probability scores are therefore updated continuously throughout the field period to ensure a steady build of evaluation for each vehicle.

Returning to the survey path, respondents who confirm that they have used at least one of the five selected vehicles are administered a battery of questions designed to measure their engagement with each of the confirmed media vehicles (not to exceed five vehicles per module).

Depending on the medium being measured, the engagement battery consists of between 33 and 35 statements for all ad- supported vehicles. The vast majority of statements are worded in a virtually identical way across the three media being measured in the study. Respondents are instructed to indicate on a five point scale how well each statement describes the specific vehicle being measured. Specifically, the answer options are: Very descriptive; Descriptive, Somewhat descriptive, Slightly descriptive and Not at all descriptive. There is also an option of “NA/Not sure.”

After completing the engagement battery for a vehicle, respondents are asked if they have consumed through another delivery channel content of the same media brand as that of the vehicle they just evaluated. For example, if a respondent is answering engagement questions for a print magazine, they are also asked if they have visited the magazine’s website by the site’s specific URL in the last 30 days as well as if they watched any corresponding TV network or program by name within the last 7 days.

More specifically, respondents who evaluate O, The Oprah Magazine are asked if they have visited Oprah.com in the last 30 days as well as if they have watched The Oprah Winfrey Show in the last 7 days. Likewise, respondents who evaluate Oprah.com are asked if they have read O, The Oprah Magazine in the last 30 days or if they have watched The Oprah Winfrey Show in the last 7 days. Respondents are only asked about usage of a media property via a secondary or tertiary channel provided that the specific media brand delivers content via the corresponding channel. This important series of questions allows Experian Simmons to determine if there is any impact on levels of engagement observed among respondents who access a specific media property via multiple delivery channels.

After a respondent answers all of the questions about the media vehicles they indicated using within that module—not to exceed five vehicles—he/she is deemed to have completed the module. Upon completion of a media module, respondents are randomly directed to another media module until the respondent either completes or is screened out of all remaining modules.

Respondents are compensated via a point system for each module they complete. Respondents may redeem points for goods. Respondents are not allowed to take the Multi-Media Engagement survey more than once per year.

ANALYSIS

Study Design

Respondent-level data from the Spring 2009 Multi-Media Engagement study is the source of the following analysis. The study was fielded continuously between 20 February, 2009 and 24 June, 2009. Because the newest data wave from the Experian Simmons Multi-Media Engagement Study contained new questions critical to the thesis of this study it was decided by the research team to utilize this preliminary data before final weights had been determined.

Twenty-eight magazine brands were selected as the foundation of this analysis. The 28 brands were chosen because each was measured at the vehicle level in both the magazine module and the Internet module.

For example, Better Homes and Gardens is one of the 28 selected magazine brands. It was identified because the Multi-Media Engagement study measured engagement with Better Homes and Gardens through the magazine module as well as with BHG.com in the in Internet module.

Figure 1

28 Analyzed Magazine Brands by Vehicle Name as Measured in the Study

Print:	Website:
Better Homes and Gardens	BHG.com (Better Homes and Gardens)
Business Week	BusinessWeek.com
Cosmopolitan	Cosmopolitan.com
Elle	Elle.com
Entertainment Weekly	EW.com (Entertainment Weekly)
ESPN The Magazine	ESPN.com
Essence	Essence.com
FamilyFun	Familyfun.com
Forbes	Forbes.com
Golf Magazine	Golf.com
In Style	InStyle.com
Martha Stewart Living	MarthaStewart.com
Men’s Health	MensHealth.com
Motor Trend Magazine	MotorTrend.com
O, The Oprah Magazine	Oprah.com
Parents	Parents.com
People Magazine	People.com
Popular Mechanics	PopularMechanics.com
Prevention	Prevention.com
Reader’s Digest	RD.com (Reader’s Digest)
Real Simple	RealSimple.com
Rolling Stone	RollingStone.com
Sporting News	SportingNews.com
Sports Illustrated	SportsIllustrated.com
Time	Time.com
TV Guide	TVGuide.com
US Weekly	USmagazine.com
Woman’s Day	WomansDay.com

The level of engagement that respondents had with the vehicles analyzed was determined by their answers to 29 statements included in the engagement battery. The selected statements were chosen because they were asked in either an identical or virtually identical manner in both the magazine module and the Internet module.

For example, respondents were asked to evaluate the following question for each print property: “This magazine gets me to try new things.” For the corresponding website, the question was worded: “This website gets me to try new things.” Statements that were not asked across both the magazine and Internet module in a consistent manner were not included in the analysis. The twenty-nine statements are listed below in Figure 2.

Figure 2

29 Engagement Statements by Medium

Print:	Website:
This magazine inspires me in my own life	This website inspires me in my own life
Some articles in this magazine touch me deep down	The content on this website touches me deep down
This magazine definitely affects me emotionally	This website definitely affects me emotionally
I trust this magazine to tell the truth	I trust this website to tell the truth
I don’t have to worry about accuracy with this magazine	I don’t have to worry about accuracy with this website
This magazine does not sensationalize things	This website does not sensationalize things
This magazine gets me to try new things	This website gets me to try new things
This magazine provides information that helps me make important decisions	This website provides information that helps me make important decisions
It is a way to learn about new products	It is a way to learn about new products
I bring up things I have read in this magazine in conversations with many other people	I bring up things I have seen on this website in conversations with many other people
This magazine often gives me something to talk about	This website often gives me something to talk about
This magazine has advertisements about things I actually care about	This website has advertisements about things I actually care about
The advertisements in this magazine fit well with the articles in the magazine	The advertisements on this website fit well with the theme of the website
I like the advertisements in this magazine just as much as the articles	I like the advertisements just as much or more than the other things on this website
The products and services advertised in this magazine are high quality	The products and services advertised on this website are high quality
I get valuable information from the advertising in this magazine	I get valuable information from the advertising on this website
The advertising I see in this magazine helps me make purchase decisions	The advertising I see on this website helps me make purchase decisions
I am more likely to purchase products advertised in this magazine	I am more likely to purchase products advertised on this website
I like to kick back and wind down with this magazine	I like to kick back and wind down with this website
Reading this magazine improves my mood, and makes me happier	This website improves my mood, and makes me happier
This magazine is a treat for me	This website is a treat for me
This magazine is an escape	This website is an escape
This magazine is one of my favorites	This website is one of my favorites
This magazine inspires me to buy things	This website inspires me to buy things
This magazine is definitely entertaining	This website is definitely entertaining
This magazine has a distinct personality to it	This website has a very distinct personality to it
This magazine brings to mind things I really enjoy	This website brings to mind things I really enjoy
I get valuable information from this magazine	I get valuable information from this website.
This magazine is relevant to me	This website is relevant to me

In order to quantify the engagement that respondents had with the media vehicles, each of the responses to the engagement statements were assigned a numeric value from 1 to 5. A 5 was assigned to “Very descriptive” whereas a 1 was assigned to “Not at all descriptive.” All “NA/Not Sure” responses were assigned missing for the purpose of this evaluation.

Figure 3

Values assigned to engagement responses

Very descriptive	5
Descriptive	4
Somewhat descriptive	3
Slightly descriptive	2
Not at all descriptive	1
NA/Not Sure	No value; missing

Any respondent who had fully evaluated at least one of the 28 magazine websites was included in the analysis. As per the instructions of the Internet module, all respondents visited the evaluated site or sites within the last 30 days. There were 3,310 respondents who evaluated at least one of the 28 websites. Those respondents provided 4,378 evaluations in total across the 28 sites.

While the magazine module collects engagement evaluations from all respondents who read or looked through each measured print magazine in the last six months, only those who indicated that they had also read one of the selected magazine vehicles in print in the last 30 days were included in this analysis. The addition of this filter provided us with an identical time frame for comparing respondents’ engagement with the print vehicles to their engagement with the corresponding websites. A total of 6,925 respondents evaluated at least one of the 28 print vehicles, which they reported having read in the last 30 days. Those respondents provided 7,739 evaluations in total across the 28 print vehicles.

The base of respondents was divided into four targets shown in the grid below and explained in the following bullet points:

Figure 4 Population Targets

	Evaluated Print	Evaluated Website
Exposed to both print and website	Target Pw	Target Wp
Exposed to only print or only website	Target P	Target W

• Target Pw: Respondents who evaluated the Print magazine who also visited the corresponding website in the last 30 days
• Target P: Respondents who evaluated the Print magazine who did not visit the corresponding website in the last 30 days
• Target Wp: Respondents who evaluated the magazine Website who also read the corresponding magazine in print in the last 30 days
• Target W: Respondents who evaluated the magazine Website who did not read the corresponding magazine in print in the last 30 days.

Overall Engagement

The level of engagement that each target had with the typical print vehicle or website was determined by averaging the 29 statements against the selected vehicles. A simple sample size weighted average was utilized because it was known from historical analyses that these statements all carry approximately the same weight in forming the overall general engagement level.

Chart 1

Average Level of Engagement by Delivery Channel and Channels to Which Readers Were Exposed (Last 30 Days)

Exposed to only print or only web

Exposed to both print and web

Delivery channel evaluated

Web

Print

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Targe t W: 2.83

Target P: 3.03

Target Wp: 3.27

3.0

Target Pw: 3.56

3.5

4.0

Level of Engagement

Source: Experian Simmons Multi-Media Engagement Study, Spring 2009

The data clearly showed that those respondents who consumed a branded media property in print and through the website had engagement levels with both delivery channels that were higher than those of respondents who had consumed a branded media property via only one channel.

On average, respondents who consumed a branded magazine in print only (Target P) were engaged with the print vehicle at a level of 3.03 on a scale ranging from 1 to 5. Multi-channel readers who consumed a branded magazine in print and through the website (Target Pw) had engagement levels with the print vehicle of 3.56, which is 18% higher than those who only read the magazine in print.

Conversely, respondents who consumed a branded magazine via the website only (Target W) were engaged with the website at a level of 2.83—while respondents who visited a branded magazine’s website and read it in print (Target Wp) were engaged with the website at an average level of 3.27—16% higher than those who only visited the magazine’s website.

Multi-channel readers who visited the magazine’s website and read it in print found the print vehicle to be 9% more engaging, on average, than the corresponding website when the respondent had also read the magazine in print.

Similarly, respondents who only consumed the branded magazine in print had levels of engagement with the print vehicle that were 7% higher than the engagement levels observed among respondents who only visited the website.

It stands to reason that Target Pw would have the highest levels of engagement as they represent that portion of the readership with the highest levels of brand affinity. Readers wishing to extend their experience with that title will actively seek to do that via the website. Many magazines offer additional and unique content on their websites, typically related to content within the issue (e.g. “For more cupcake ideas to go our website…”). Magazines represent a community and in recognition of that provide forums for readers to connect with that community through their websites.

This research suggests that if a publisher were to cease to produce a print magazine in favor of delivery solely online, consumer engagement with the branded magazine would almost certainly decline as website-only readers report having the least engaging experience, in general, with the typical branded magazine.

Analysis of Ad Receptivity Statements

An examination of the individual engagement statements provides additional insight into exactly how multi-channel delivery affects an audience’s attention and receptivity to advertising.

For this analysis we have focused on five specific statements:

• This magazine/website has advertisements for things I actually care about.
• I get valuable information from the advertising in/on this magazine/website.
• The advertising I see in/on this magazine/website helps me make purchase decisions.
• I am more likely to purchase products advertised in/on this magazine/website.
• This magazine/website inspires me to buy things.

Again we found that across all five statements multi-channel readers scored each higher than those who consumed the branded magazine via only one delivery channel. This illustrates that multi-channel readers not only find the print magazine and websites more engaging, but are also more likely to both notice the advertisements and purchase products advertised.

Table 1

Average Level of Engagement by Delivery Channel and Channels to Which Readers Were Exposed

	Level of engagement with Print		% Difference	Level of engagement with Website		% Difference
	Target Pw	Target P	Target Pw vs. Target P	Target Wp	Target W	Target Wp vs. Target W
This magazine/website has advertisements for things I actually care about.	3.20	2.62	+22%	2.96	2.50	+18%
I get valuable information from the advertising in/on this magazine/website.	3.16	2.63	+20%	2.95	2.51	+17%
The advertising I see in/on this magazine/website helps me make purchase decisions.	3.02	2.43	+24%	2.82	2.37	+19%
I am more likely to purchase products advertised in/on this magazine/website.	3.00	2.38	+26%	2.78	2.34	+19%
This magazine/website inspires me to buy things.	3.05	2.43	+26%	2.90	2.36	+23%

Source: Experian Simmons Multi-Media Engagement Study, Spring 2009

Respondents who read a magazine in print and visited the corresponding website were 22% more likely than those who only read a magazine only in print to say that the magazine has ads for things they “actually care about.” Multi-channel readers were also 18% more likely than those who only visited a magazine’s website to say that the site has ads for things they “actually care about.”

The increased relevance of ads clearly plays a role in providing valuable information and informing purchase decisions. Those who read a magazine in print and visited the website were 20% more likely than print only readers to say that they get valuable information from the advertising in the magazine and 24% more likely to say the advertising they see in the print magazine helps them make purchase decisions. Likewise those who read the magazine in both print and visit the website were 17% more likely than website-only readers to say they get valuable information from the ads on the website and 19% more likely to say that the ads on the site help them make purchase decisions.

When it comes to actually buying advertised products, multi-channel readers are 26% more likely than print only readers to say that they are more likely to buy products advertised in the magazine and 26% more likely to say that the print magazine actually “inspires” them to buy things. Respondents who read the magazine in print and visited the website are also 19% more likely than website-only visitors to say they are more likely to purchase products advertised on the website and 23% more likely to say that the website inspires them to buy things.

Men’s and Women’s Magazines

We also examined different genres of magazines to determine if there were any different or interesting patterns in the levels of engagement across the four target population targets. To perform this analysis, we identified 11 magazine brands as primarily men’s magazines and 14 as primarily women’s magazines. In addition, for analysis of engagement with men’s magazines, a filter of males was used. For the analysis of engagement with women’s magazines, a filter of females was used.

Figure 5

11 Analyzed Men’s Magazine Brands by Vehicle Name as Measured in the Study

Business Week	BusinessWeek.com
ESPN The Magazine	ESPN.com
Forbes	Forbes.com
Golf Magazine	Golf.com
Men’s Health	MensHealth.com
Motor Trend Magazine	MotorTrend.com
Popular Mechanics	PopularMechanics.com
Rolling Stone	RollingStone.com
Sporting News	SportingNews.com
Sports Illustrated	SportsIllustrated.com
Time	Time.com

Figure 6

14 Analyzed Women’s Magazine Brands by Vehicle Name as Measured in the Study

Better Homes and Gardens	BHG.com (Better Homes and Gardens)
Cosmopolitan	Cosmopolitan.com
Elle	Elle.com
Essence	Essence.com
FamilyFun	Familyfun.com
In Style	InStyle.com
Martha Stewart Living	MarthaStewart.com
O, The Oprah Magazine	Oprah.com
Parents	Parents.com
People Magazine	People.com
Prevention	Prevention.com
Real Simple	RealSimple.com
US Weekly	USmagazine.com
Woman’s Day	WomansDay.com

Among the male audience of men’s branded magazines, those who read the print magazine and also visited the magazine’s website were 15% more engaged in the print magazine than those men who only read the magazine in print. Likewise, those men who read the print magazine and also visited the magazine’s website were 15% more engaged in the magazine’s website than those who only visited the site.

Chart 2

Average Level of Engagement Male Readers Had with Men’s Print Magazines and Men’s Magazine Websites by Channel to Which Readers Were Exposed (Last 30 Days)

Exposed to only print or only web

Exposed to both print and web

Delivery channel evaluated

Web

Print

1.0

1.5

2.0

Target W: 2.91

Targe t P:

2.5 3.01

Target Wp: 3.36

Target Pw: 3.46

3.0

3.5

4.0

Level of Engagement

Source: Experian Simmons Multi-Media Engagement Study, Spring 2009

Among the female audience of women’s branded magazines, those who read the print magazine and also visited the magazine’s website were 17% more engaged in the print magazine than those women who only read the magazine in print. Likewise, those women who read the print magazine and also visited the magazine’s website were 8% more engaged in the magazine’s website than those who only visited the site.

Chart 3

Average Level of Engagement Female Readers Had with Women’s Print Magazines and Women’s Magazine Websites by Channel to Which Readers Were Exposed (Last 30 Days)

Exposed to only print or only web

Exposed to both print and web

Delivery channel evaluated

Web

Print

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Target W: 3.22

Targe t P: 3.2

Target Wp: 3.47

3.0

Target Pw: 3.74

3.5

4.0

Level of Engagement

Source: Experian Simmons Multi-Media Engagement Study, Spring 2009

While we typically observe that the least engaging experience of a branded magazine’s audience is that which website-only readers have with a magazine’s website, we found that among the female audience of women’s branded magazines, print-only readers and website-only readers were engaged with their respective delivery channels at about the same level.

Table 2

Average Level of Engagement by Delivery Channel and Channels to Which Female Readers of Women’s Magazines Were Exposed

	Level of engagement with Print		% Difference	Level of engagement with Website		% Difference
	Target Pw	Target P	Target Pw vs. Target P	Target Wp	Target W	Target Wp vs. Target W
This magazine/website has advertisements for things I actually care about.	3.38	2.89	+17%	3.29	3.15	+4%
I get valuable information from the advertising in/on this magazine/website.	3.35	2.89	+16%	3.26	3.11	+5%
The advertising I see in/on this magazine/website helps me make purchase decisions.	3.19	2.72	+17%	3.16	2.95	+7%
I am more likely to purchase products advertised in/on this magazine/website.	3.16	2.63	+20%	3.08	2.94	+5%
This magazine/website inspires me to buy things.	3.37	2.77	+22%	3.18	2.86	+11%

Source: Experian Simmons Multi-Media Engagement Study, Spring 2009

When it comes to the statements related to advertising, we found that female multi-channel readers of women’s branded magazines were always more likely to care about ads, get valuable information from ads and purchase advertised products than those females who either only read the magazine in print or only visited the magazine website.

Interestingly, we found that females who only visited a women’s magazine’s site were 12% more likely than females who only read a magazine in print to say that they were more likely to buy advertised products. This would seem to indicate that women’s magazines websites have a slight edge over women’s print magazines at engaging female readers with advertising—at least among those females who consume the branded magazine via only one delivery channel.

Among female multi-channel readers, however, women’s print magazines still scored higher than the women’s magazine website for all five statements related to advertising.

Table 3

Average Level of Engagement by Delivery Channel and Channels to Which Male Readers of Men’s Magazines Were Exposed

	Level of engagement with Print		% Difference	Level of engagement with Website		% Difference
	Target Pw	Target P	Target Pw vs. Target P	Target Wp	Target W	Target Wp vs. Target W
This magazine/website has advertisements for things I actually care about.	3.13	2.64	+19%	3.15	2.69	+17%
I get valuable information from the advertising in/on this magazine/website.	3.06	2.63	+16%	3.08	2.62	+18%
The advertising I see in/on this magazine/website helps me make purchase decisions.	2.98	2.42	+23%	2.96	2.47	+20%
I am more likely to purchase products advertised in/on this magazine/website.	2.96	2.39	+24%	2.92	2.47	+18%
This magazine/website inspires me to buy things.	2.83	2.39	+18%	2.91	2.34	+24%

Source: Experian Simmons Multi-Media Engagement Study, Spring 2009

Male multi-channel readers of men’s magazines, too, were more likely to care about advertised products, get valuable information from advertising and purchase advertised products than males who only visited a magazine’s website or only read a magazine in print.

However, among male readers of men’s magazines—including multi-channel readers—we found the difference between engagement levels with the print magazine ads and the website ads to be virtually equal. This would seem to suggest that for male readers of men’s magazines, print holds no advantage over websites in terms of engaging readers with advertised products.

This may be largely explained by the nature of the men’s magazines included in the analysis. Magazines and Internet each provide different experiences and benefits that the reader will utilize each based on their need state. In fact, Bronner and Neijens identified 7 factors that “underlie the experience items.” Magazines scored high on experience factors of transformation, pastime and information, whereas the Internet was experienced as an information medium. Given the rather utilitarian nature of many of the branded magazines included in the men’s category, web delivery may suit their audience as well as print.

INDEPENDENT CASE STUDY VALIDATION:

A study conducted by a leading business publication confirms the findings outlined in this paper. The main objective of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the online and print advertising investment at building brand awareness for a major technology advertiser. The research used a control/exposed methodology and was designed to measure the impact of each medium in isolation, as well as the synergistic effects of the combined print-plus-online exposure. The publication commissioned Dynamic Logic for the study.

The sample frame, recruited from the publication’s website, was comprised of the segments in Table 4.

Table 4

Cross-media campaign analysis matrix

	Print Exposure Opportunity	Web Exposure Opportunity
Control	NO	NO
Online-only	NO	YES
Print-only	YES	NO
Print-plus-Online	YES	YES

As illustrated in Chart 4, brand awareness (aided and unaided), ad awareness, brand favorability and purchase consideration were all higher among those exposed to the campaign via both the print magazine and web compared to those who were exposed to the campaign exclusively online or via print. (Aided brand awareness levels among print-plus-online readers were significantly higher than the other two exposure groups at a 90% confidence level.) Readers who were exposed to only the print campaign exhibited higher aided awareness, ad recall, brand favorability and purchase consideration than those readers who were exposed only to the online campaign. Online-only exposed readers had higher unaided awareness than those exposed only in print.

Chart 4

Ad Engagement Metrics for Cross-Media Campaign of Major Technology Advertiser by Exposure Channel

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Unaided Awareness (3 mentions)

Aided Brand Awareness

Ad Awareness/ Recall Brand Favorability Ad Engagement Metrics

Control Online-only Print-only Print-plus-Online

Purchase Consideration

Source: Dynamic Logic CrossMedia Advertising Effectiveness Study, commissioned by a leading business publication

SUMMARY

Measuring engagement that consumers have with media properties has proven to be an effective way to gauge the attention and receptivity that a given audience will have with the advertising placed within a specific media vehicle. The higher a consumer’s engagement with a media vehicle—regardless of channel—the more likely they are to notice advertising and buy products advertised within that vehicle. As consumers are increasingly effective at avoiding advertisements, accounting for engagement allows advertisers a hedge for ad-avoiders and potential non-exposure when preparing their media plans and buys.

Despite the shift of advertising dollars from print to online, the research in this paper has shown that, on average, print magazines still engage consumers in ways that online cannot. Compared to magazine websites, print magazines are a more engaging platform at this point in history. But differences do exist, especially when the topic or genre of the magazine is utilitarian in nature—a type of content the web is rather effective at delivering.

The research also shows that audience members of branded magazines who consume content from the publisher in both print and through a magazine’s website are consistently more engaged with the branded magazine than those audience members who only consume content via only one delivery channel. As a result, multi-channel readers are more likely to care about advertising and purchase products advertised on both the magazine’s website as well as in print.

As the case study from Dynamic Logic proves, advertisers who make cross-platform buys are able to raise key brand performance attributes—like awareness, favorability and purchase consideration—to significantly higher levels among consumers who are exposed via both print and online. In order to maximize this engagement potential and the resulting payoff, advertisers should be buying ads on both magazine websites and in the print editions. At the same time, publishers should seek to maximize the share of their print and website audiences who are multi-channel readers in order to grow the number of highly engaged readers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fielding, R. and Bahary J., (2005), Are you experienced? The Development of an Engagement Based Planning Approach in Print. Worldwide Readership Research Symposium, Prague, October

Bronner, F., and Neijens, P., (2006), Audience Experiences of Media Context and Embedded Advertising: A comparison of eight media. International Journal of Market Research

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