These days, you hear a lot of talk about surviving. But marketing strategist Bill Rice of Better Closer suggests that approach is the number one killer of businesses. Why? “Survival is about conserving resources, slowing your movement and hoping no one notices that you are dying,” he says. “Escaping is doing something about it.”

So how do you “escape” the advertising slump? Here’s a look at how ad inserts can contribute to brighter days.

Help Your Advertisers Innovate

Okay, we know that selling ad inserts might sound like a counter-intuitive proposition for these times. Selling a magazine page is challenging enough, and ad inserts are more expensive. Clients are looking for bargains, right?

Some clients are. But others are looking for results and the best possible return on their media investment. They want to spend their marketing dollars strategically, not just on the cheapest alternatives.

Here are three ways inserts help your advertisers, according to extensive research by Magazines Canada:

1. Inserts have a higher impact than on-page ads. They allow for special creative treatments, including interactive solutions, which generate higher reader interest and participation—to say nothing of the heavier paper resulting in the magazine falling open to the insert.

2. Pop-up inserts make good things happen. These eye catchers allow the reader to experience unexpected creative elements from the page. Pop-up inserts are ideal for increasing positive attitudes toward the brand, serving as print’s equivalent of a 60-second commercial.
    
3. Tipped-on booklets can communicate long or complex messages. They also work well for a family of brands that require a single communication piece. Tipped-on booklets not only stop readers in their tracks, but can also be easily removed as a reference piece.

So Step Outside the Box—TODAY!

Remember, an important part of escaping the ad sales slump is to help your clients succeed by doing something different and effective. It’s up to you to help inspire them and show how a great message, creatively presented through an ad insert, can provide:

• More consistent influence at all levels of the decision-making process
• Unmatched results in driving overall purchase intent
• Superior performance in driving online searches, including searches initiated by younger consumers

Source: Magazine Publishers of America

Show up at an advertiser’s door with a full arsenal of inserts that will put them on the attack within their own marketplace.

1. Tell them how inserts can travel inside the magazine or as a polybagged outsert
2. Talk about how inserts can serve multiple uses as sales collateral, trade show materials and direct mail fulfillment pieces
3. And be sure to mention that inserts can be personalized and targeted through technologies such as variable-data digital printing, inkjet imaging and selective binding.

In fact, you can easily make the case that personalized ad inserts make a greater impact than personalization in other media, because it is less expected.

How Transcontinental Can Help with Ad Inserts

Transcontinental offers a full range of options for printing and binding ad inserts from basic gatefolds to the most complex formats. We also feature a wide range of personalization and selective binding options that enable your clients to reach target groups or speak 1to1 with individual subscribers. Most importantly, we recognize the importance of helping you satisfy advertisers’ needs and work collaboratively to achieve your end customers’ goals.

For more information about Transcontinental’s ad insert capabilities, please contact us today.

8 Tips for Creating Effective Ad Inserts

Here are some helpful tips to pass along to your advertisers when discussion turns to ad inserts:

• Choose the appropriate insert format for your message.
• Consider an advertorial insert to simulate editorial content and convey valuable information.
• Write killer headlines that speak to benefits—five times more people read a headline than body copy.
• Incorporate high-impact visuals and easy-to-read fonts.
• Select paper that makes the insert stand out from the rest of the magazine.
• Include URLs to drive website traffic—A study shows the biggest lifts in women’s service (198%), home (203%), and travel (286%) categories vs. ads with no URL. 
• Improve tracking with coupons, special pricing, landing pages, subscriber surveys, etc.
• Advance the reader to the next step in the sales process.