Print advertising

Paid advertising in physical printed publications and printed commercial media. Common forms include newspapers, magazines, trade publications, supplements and inserts. Availability varies by market, supplier and campaign date.

Print advertising can be considered when a brief needs contextual readership, specialist audiences, local reach and tangible creative formats. It should still be compared against alternative channels rather than treated as an automatic choice.

Planning normally considers publication, readership, distribution, issue date, position, size, colour, deadlines, production and insert requirements. The appropriate mix depends on the objective, audience, geography, campaign period, budget and creative.

There is no single fixed price for print advertising. Cost can change with geography, inventory quality, format, demand, campaign dates, duration, production, buying method and the scale of the schedule.

Targeting options depend on the medium and supplier. For print advertising, planners should be explicit about whether targeting is geographic, contextual, audience-based, intent-based, behavioural or a combination, and what data supports it.

Use current audited circulation or readership data where available and distinguish distribution from readership.

Before booking, confirm the campaign objective, target audience, geography, dates, creative format, budget, delivery basis, measurement method, production requirements and what would cause the recommendation to change.

PMA can assess whether print advertising fits the brief, compare it with other media, investigate current inventory and buying conditions, build it into a wider schedule and coordinate the practical steps required to launch.