Community magazines are considered the most effective form of targeted advertising, according to a recent study performed by L.E.K Consulting. In addition to being ranked #1 in overall effectiveness, the study shows that advertisers prefer community magazines for targeting “upscale” consumers twice as much as any other media channel.

Thanks to research by Rochester Institute of Technology, we know that advertising’s effectiveness is controlled primarily by the consumer’s needs and secondly by their ability to buy based on their budget.

In their research, RIT determined that the advertising medium that most prompted consumers to buy products based on an ad are magazines. So, combine the consumer’s willingness/ability to purchase with the most effective medium and you have the formula for a successful ad campaign: affluent consumers who read community magazines.

In fact, 50% of advertisers in Best Version Media magazines rank them #1 for target marketing, while 75% say that BVM magazines are equal to or better than any other form of advertising. Social media, the distant second, is preferred by only 15% of clients. All other forms of advertising came in at under 9%.

Also, in focusing on the written/narrative content of magazines, consumers are in a state of mind to more readily assess their own needs and see them reflected in the ads message. This leads the consumer to purchase, thus increasing ad effectiveness in magazines.