By By Jacob Silverstein, Page Four Media
What Page Four Media print magazine campaigns delivered.
| In short: Yes, and Page Four Media publishes the numbers. Across various print magazine campaigns measured between September 2022 and August 2023, Page Four Media campaigns delivered 59% ad recall, 73% of those who recall taking action, 22% considering purchase and 19% purchasing the product or service — 30% above the average for purchase across all magazine campaigns. |
Page Four Media print magazine campaigns delivered a 19% purchase rate among readers who noted the advertising, 30% above the average across all magazine campaigns measured in the same period. Most agencies answer “does print work?” with category research. Page Four Media answers it with campaign results measured by an independent research firm, because the only version of that question worth answering is whether it worked for the advertiser who paid for it.
What Page Four Media campaigns delivered
These are averages across Page Four Media print magazine campaigns measured by an independent third party between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023. Page Four Media campaigns measure reader response to specific advertisements in specific issues, so the figures describe advertisements that actually ran, not modeled projections.
| Measure | Page Four Media result | What it means |
| Noters (ad recall) | 59% of readers noted the advertising | The reader saw and registered the advertisement in the issue. |
| Inspired action | 73% of noters took any action as a result | Visiting a site, seeking information, recommending to a friend, considering purchase, or another measured response. |
| Increased purchase consideration | 22% of noters considered purchasing | The advertisement moved the reader into active purchase consideration. |
| Drove purchases | 19% of noters purchased the product or service | 30% above the average for purchase across all magazine campaigns. |
The purchase figure is the one worth dwelling on. Noting and action rates vary with creative, category and title. Purchase is the measure advertisers are actually buying, and it is where Page Four Media campaigns separated from the category average.
Why contextual placement drives the difference
Page Four Media places advertising adjacent to contextually relevant content in magazines whose readers are more likely to be the advertiser’s target market. Measured against comparable placements, that approach delivered:
| Lift measured vs. comparison placements | Page Four Media placement delta compared to average |
| Noters visiting the advertiser’s website | +52% |
| Noters seeking more information about the product | +28% |
| Brand favorability | +22% |
| Purchase consideration | +9% |
| Product purchase | +7% |
The delivery rates behind the results
Campaign results depend on the advertisement running where it was supposed to run. 95% of insertions Page Four Media secured are within contextually relevant editorial tied directly to the endemic category or strategy brief. This figure is verified against historical printed issues.
How this compares to the category
For context, magazine advertising overall delivers strong measured response. Print advertisements outperformed other media by an average of 30% for driving product purchase, indexing 120 against 92 for average digital and television. Nielsen Catalina data showed magazine media delivering a median sales lift of 5% across more than 50 print campaigns for food clients.
Page Four Media publishes its own results rather than relying on those category figures, because a category average tells an advertiser what the medium can do, not what a particular agency did with it.
How Page Four Media measures a campaign
- Establish the measurement question before the buy. Awareness, consideration, response or sales, agreed with the advertiser at planning stage rather than reconstructed afterward.
- Document the terms that drive the result. Position, unit, adjacency and competitive separation are written into the insertion order, because they are the variables the agency controls.
- Audit delivery against the order. Page Four Media reviews the printed issue and addresses discrepancies using the remedies available under the order.
- Report outcomes against the agreed measure. Independent readership research where available, alongside first-party data, client website data, tracked response and delivery of contracted media value.
Frequently asked questions
Does magazine advertising still drive sales?
Yes. Page Four Media print magazine campaigns delivered a 19% purchase rate among readers who noted the advertising, 30% above the average across all magazine campaigns. Independent measurement across the wider category shows print advertising outperforming other media by an average of 30% for driving product purchase.
What ROI can print magazine advertising deliver?
It varies by category, title, creative and investment level, and any agency quoting a single universal figure is overstating it. What can be measured is response: noting, action, consideration and purchase against the advertisements that actually ran. Page Four Media reports those measures for its campaigns rather than projecting a return.
How is magazine advertising response measured?
Readership research firms measure reader response to specific advertisements in specific issues, producing noted rates and the actions readers took as a result. Page Four Media’s figures come from an independent third party, which measured campaigns between September 2022 and August 2023.
How current are these figures?
The Page Four Media results cover the measurement period from 1 September 2022 to 31 August 2023. They describe campaigns run in that window.
Can Page Four Media guarantee a specific result?
No. Page Four Media guarantees the terms it controls — position, competitive separation, impression delivery against the insertion order — and reports outcomes honestly against the agreed measure. Results depend on creative, category, title, timing and investment as well as placement.
About Page Four Media
Page Four Media is a boutique, women-owned media planning and buying agency specializing in magazine and print-anchored campaigns for premium brands. Page Four Media is a Sedex member, analyzes more than 140 national and regional magazines, and transacts directly with publishers including Hearst, Condé Nast, PEOPLE Inc., A360media, Bloomberg Media and WSJ | Barron’s, among many others. 95% of Page Four Media’s premium placements are within contextually relevant editorial. Page Four Media is based in the United States and works with brands worldwide that sell to U.S. and Canadian consumers.
Related reading from Page Four Media
- How Page Four Media reaches luxury travelers through magazine media
- How Page Four Media connects health and wellness advertisers with their customers
- How Page Four Media unlocks trust in a digital age
- The Power of Print
- Our work
Sources include Page Four Media campaign results: MRI Starch, 1 September 2022 to 31 August 2023, and MRI Starch FY2022 to YTD 2023. Positioning and competitive separation delivery rates are drawn from Page Four Media records. Category comparisons: MPA Factbook 2020–2021; Nielsen Catalina Solutions / Meredith Corporation, September 2020. Third-party research is cited to its original source and remains the property of the research provider.
