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Hot off the press

How to get more from your press advertising budget

Times have certainly changed. With falling press circulations, increased consumer choice and a cost of living crisis, some businesses we talk to are finding it more difficult than ever to achieve a good return on their press advertising budget.

We’re huge fans of press advertising. We know it can deliver the responses and sales clients need but it’s not as easy as it once was. The days of running a full page in the Daily Mail and waiting whilst hundreds or thousands of responses come flooding in are sadly long gone. To get press to work these days requires more strategy and work than ever but if you get it right the rewards can be huge. Almost all of our clients include press on their media schedule and as an agency we have huge faith in the medium. So how do we do it?

Look beyond the full page

Full page ads look great and they’re easy. They’re easy to plan, easy to book and easy to artwork but they aren’t always the most cost effective format. To get the best performing schedule you need to mix up the sizes; we haven’t met a client yet who can’t benefit from a 20 x 2 or a well placed half page. It’s all about getting the balance right, run a page one day and then bolster it with smaller sizes afterwards or maybe consider running two half pages instead. There is an element of trial and error until you hit the sweet spot but by using ads of different sizes you can balance large volume response and cost effectiveness.

Take advantage of short term to make your press advertising budget go further

Buying some or all of your press advertising on the short term market will make your budget stretch further. Publications often have unsold inventory that they will look to fill at discounted rates. We encourage all of our clients to take advantage of these opportunities so they can get more ads for their press advertising budget, ultimately improving their ROI. To find out more about how we buy short term space read our blog piece here.

Make the most of premium positions

If you want your message to really stand out, think about how you can use high traffic and high dwell time spaces to maximise returns on your press advertising budget. We know press titles inside out and publishers know we can turn copy around quickly so we’re often the first to know when a cover spot or a premium display space is available at short term rates. This means our clients get excellent value for money and get their ads in prime spots.

Regularly review creative

Making your press advertising budget work hard is never just about your media strategy. Your creative has to pull its weight too. You could have a good value, cost efficient media schedule but if your ad copy is not hitting the spot you’re wasting money. Creative also fatigues, what delivers in January could be tired and stale by June. This is why we always stay one step ahead; we supply our clients with a constant stream of new concepts and ideas so the next ad is always waiting in the wings, ready to take over as soon as response shows signs of tailing off.

At AJ we have decades of press planning and buying experience under our belts. Press advertising is a key channel for most of our clients. We know what works and what doesn’t, helping our clients get more from their press advertising spend. If you want to know how we can help you maximise your returns get in touch to find out more.