Three retail planners and one retail marketer explain their magazine media strategies…

Magazine media allows retail brands to tap into consumer passion points and target specific audiences. This is at the heart of incorporating it into any plan. And it’s helping solve significant issues retailers face.

There’s an anaemic economic outlook, there are cost of living pressures, increased globalised competition and mixed consumer spending intentions. Add in other uncertainties such as supply chain disruptions, shipping costs, rent inflation and the tight labour market – retail’s bottom line is taking a hit.

But… customers like shopping. According to the latest PwC Consumer Sentiment Index, consumer sentiment improved from -5 in Q1 to 0 in Q2 2024, which is the best score in three years. While this is a positive sign, customers are still being careful, with nearly three-quarters making cutbacks, including fewer purchases (36%) and buying cheaper items from the same stores (32%).

So marketing functions are working hard to attract, nurture and retain shoppers. Many marketers and planners have discovered that working with the specialist and engaged audiences of magazine media is an effective way to build both brand and performance. 

So, we’ve asked three media planners and one brand-side marketer to share how they tackle retail’s challenges through the power of trusted media brands.

How important is a magazine media strategy in retail campaigns?

Rachel Haron, publishing director, Goodstuff explains: “Magazines can be incredibly important for tapping into consumer passion points, unlike other channels and especially in a world of fake news. Strong brand loyalty in combination with trusted environments can drive maximum attention and engagement in a brand advertising in that magazine, particularly if there is contextual alignment.”

Shelley Allison is head of marketing – core, in store comms and studio – at home improvement retailer Wickes. She says she’s always looking for a genuine link to customers: “We are able to build an authentic connection with an audience that is interested. But [magazines] also enable us to look at how we can use the media, whether it is the printed version or the digital version to target people through the different levels [of the funnel]. It can help us drive not only brand awareness, but consideration as well.”

Andrew Davies, media planning manager, OMD UK says: “Magazines can target very specific and engaged audiences, which in turn can enhance a brand’s credibility. We know that readers are invested in the magazine [platforms] they read and often spend a significant time reading with no other distractions. We’ve seen magazine campaigns deliver over 13-times ROI for our clients.”

Where have you seen magazine media used successfully?

Alex Groom, print and audio manager at PHD, says the agency is always trying to “innovate and be creative for its clients”. Magazine media offers that opportunity, particularly for retailers. PHD’s most recent campaign for Habitat, which includes a pop-up ad in House Beautiful magazine, combines both contextuality and impact by running a large disruptive format.

Haron cites a strong multi-platform campaign in 2022 where Goodstuff teamed up with Stylist and Body Shop. They told the story of the beauty retailer’s Edelweiss range across all of Stylist’s platforms – digital, social, print, events and email. The work featured a song, ‘Everybody’s Free to Thrive’ and launched with an in-person cultural experience, including a gallery and an editorially led panel session. Branded digital articles and talking heads videos followed, where the Stylist team contributed their own stories of resilience.

Christmas is retail, Davies explains. It is a crucial time, particularly in sectors such as beauty and luxury, as readers look for festive inspiration. He cites Lidl as an example of a retailer that uses visually appealing, high impact festive-themed creative to stand out from competitors with its cover wraps on Christmas food specials, a uniquely magazine execution.

What are the classic mistakes to avoid in magazine campaigns?

Appearing to try too hard has its pitfalls. “It’s about spreading activity across multiple touch points in a way that feels organic and not forced,” says Allison. “Where this works brilliantly is where you do an activation that feels like it’s part of the fabric of the magazine brand. You’re adding value to the reader.”

Davies believes you have to hit your magazine strategy with some confidence: “The biggest mistake when working with magazines is a lack of conviction to do it properly. Whether it’s a lack of vision in the strategy, or not executing the creative properly, magazines are a beautiful format and there is a real opportunity to deliver award-winning work within this channel if you’re brave and work closely with editorial.”

To back this up, PwC’s report highlights that, when done well, magazine media can provide advertisers with a way of getting high engagement, high dwell time and impact – and the ability to cater to audience passions. When you’re in a sector as squeezed as retail, this is invaluable.

How do you measure a campaign’s impact – what are your key metrics?

“On digital, and particularly in partnerships, we measure article dwell times, reach and click-through rate,” says Haron. “Publishers often provide brand uplift studies which provide more detailed insight into the campaign’s impact and the consumers they were reaching, brand recall etc.” 

For Groom, when it comes to print ads, it’s a more straightforward measure to stay ahead of the competition: “Positioning is key, especially across the retail market, running on coversites and or across relevant sections are something we push for. Due to the competitive nature of the retail market, we want to be in the best possible spots to stay ahead of our competitors.”

As Haron says, research is particularly impactful with specialist audiences – and can inform tactical shifts, particularly at important times of year for your sector.

PwC’s report realises that magazines are a channel where advertisers can engage with consumers in a multi-format way through contextual advertising, social media, events, branded content, podcasts, and membership activities.

In retail, Christmas is a calendar regular, so are national sporting events such as football World Cups or the Olympics – using and optimising these channels with engaged and knowledgeable consumers at these peak moments is a powerful tactic.

How do you convince your brand(s) to invest in trusted magazine media?

Davies says: “You’ve got to start with a clearly defined role of channel for magazine media. There are a number of considerations that go into this: why this campaign? Why are you putting forward the title mix that you are? Will the creative work? What mindset will the audience be in when they see the ad? Backing this up with well thought-out data and previous success stories will help get the client buy-in too.”

“It starts with the audience and KPIs,” Haron adds, “and where we can see target audiences indexing strongly against magazine media, it seems a no brainer. It’s about placing brands in environments readers are already engaged in.”

And she still believes there’s enormous value in the printed page: “The tangible aspect makes magazine media unlike other channels. Monthlies will have particularly high readerships due to being in the home for longer, and that ad that may be on the outside back cover of a mag will be visible for a while.”

For Wickes, Allison explains, it’s an essential ingredient to the marketing mix – and it’s been central to a strategic shift (see box below): “When there is such a proliferation of reference points and brands bombarding you every day, you actually do want to come back to get a recommendation from a magazine. It can be considered a friend. 

“They’ve given you some pretty good advice in the past, whether that’s retail advice or personal advice or life advice. That is the connection that makes magazines enduring.”

To see more retail case studies such as White Stuff from Hearst, Ikea from Time Out and many more, visit the PPA Magnetic site here >>>

How magazines drove Wickes’ customer growth

Wickes changed its marketing strategy around 10 years ago, expanding its target audience from tradespeople to anyone doing DIY and home improvement. According to Allison, the brand had previously not used magazine media.

“We’d be in the sports section, and that’s a really good example of us recognising the power of print to get to a vital audience,” she said.

Following the change to its business model, Wickes teamed up with Grazia to reach its new target audience – women with an interest in DIY who might not think to consider Wickes.

Allison said: “Magazine media has been brilliant for reaching a female audience. We’re a brand with physical products that you want to see, and magazines can do a great job in terms of inspiring people.”

The campaign has been such a success over the last 10 years that Wickes has now extended the partnership across Bauer’s female-focused magazine media brands. For instance, a key element was partnering on Bauer’s magazine brand Pinterest activity, which Allison said has been great for measuring engagement. “We can see how many people have interacted and saved down those products that we put on Pinterest, or the projects that we’ve shown and highlighted,” she said. 

“We can get an understanding of whether the content is landing.”

In numbers: Carat research found significant impacts. Drove brand consideration: consideration among Grazia readers grew by 8 percentage points, with 70% now considering Wickes for DIY projects. Changed perceptions: 74% of Grazia readers reported feeling more positive about Wickes due to the partnership.

Additionally, 91% of ABC1 Grazia readers liked the sponsorship, and 90% would recommend Wickes to family/friends. Readers found the articles informative and gave them confidence to undertake DIY projects. See full case study here. 

This feature originally appeared in Campaign