AMPLIFYING YOUR SALES EFFORTS WITH MARKETING RESEARCH AND TIPS WINTER 2016

IN THIS ISSUE HOW YOU BENEFIT WHEN YOU PLAN AHEAD WITH PHYSICS TODAYADVERTISING

• Print is essential to marketing

• The importance of planning ahead

• Look ahead to 2017 with Physics Today advertising

IN THIS ISSUE

Strategically planned campaigns yield higher results for sales success and save you more money than buying as you go.

Like any media buying experience, planning ahead is key. This process not only saves you money—buying a package yields discounts that you may not encounter when buying as you go—but it ensures you greater success. Repetition

builds retention and when ads are strategically placed, you can capture key audiences at just the right time of year. At Physics Today, the process is no different. When you buy a program for the entire year, you are offered frequency

discounts that are not available if you buy ads as you progress through the year. And unlike the happenstance of advertising on a whim, structured advertising builds familiarity and trust among readers. How many ads have you seen only once and were moved to make a purchase from just one interaction? Advertising 101 tells us to build a program and be thoughtful and consistent with the audience we are addressing.

TIPS FOR YOUR AD PLAN WITH PHYSICS TODAYWe encourage you to review the editorial calendar on page 18 of the 2017 media kit to lock in ads for Physics Today issues that will be distributed at conferences that are relevant to your products. You can also find out when the New Products section will be highlighting your product categories. It is also important to remember that there are many ways to reach the maximum audience with your messages, so don’t forget to advertise in multiple channels. Physics Today offers a variety of print ad sizes as well as website and email advertising year-round.

Keep in mind that we know our readers. We survey our audience regularly to understand their habits so we can assure you that you are reaching the customers you expect. The majority of our readers are actively conducting research and spend 30-59 minutes with 3 out of 4 issues of Physics Today*. Be sure to get in front of this captive audience throughout the year to make the most of your advertising budget!

AVAILABLE IN NOVEMBERLOOK FOR THE 2017 PHYSICS TODAY MEDIA KIT WITH THE NOVEMBER ISSUE OF THE MAGAZINE!

A Publication of the American Institute of Physics

The majority of our readers are actively conducting research and spend 30-59 minutes with 3 out of 4 issues of Physics Today*.“ “

*Source: Signet Research, June 2016 Ad Study

By Thomas Dodds, PrintUK

We have all read the articles suggesting “print is dead,” but it’s important to remember

that we connect differently with physical media than with digital media. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 2 out of 3 marketing professionals neglect to utilize print media as part of their marketing strategy. This means they are missing out on valuable opportunities that digital marketing cannot tap into, thus limiting their success. Here we have compiled five solid reasons why print should be a priority in today’s digitally saturated world.

STANDING OUT FROM THE CROWD With email marketing cluttering inboxes on a daily basis, it is now more difficult than ever to ensure your business stands out from its competition. While this still remains a challenge, there is a huge gap in the number of businesses physically using

printed marketing materials to reach potential cus-tomers. Now is the perfect time to take advantage of the void by using the combined power of print advertisements with its digital counterparts, which is a surefire way to stand out from the crowd.

MAXIMIZING EXPOSUREHigh-quality printing maximizes exposure and creates a lasting impact. Your customer can interact with print whenever they want and at a time that suits them. The material can also be passed on to someone else or picked up from a desk where it is displayed. Print marketing flairs up a genuine interest in your company without using disruptive techniques.

FLEXIBILITY AND TARGET MARKETINGPrint advertisements work well as stand-alone campaigns, but they work even better when

used in conjunction with your online market-ing efforts to reach a varied audience. Where some customers may see your current offers on social media or your website, others may not visit your online platforms at all. If this is the case, print is a great way to reach your whole customer base, as well as potentially converting your offline customers to online. Additionally, purchasing ad space in industry-specific print magazines can effectively and cost efficiently reach niche audiences that may be more difficult to target online.

CREDIBILITY Print offers credibility and legitimacy that digital can’t compete with. The internet comes with a certain level of distrust, as we don’t know what is behind the webpage; couple this with the satura-tion of popups and banner ads on the web and the fear of spam and viruses and it’s no wonder people

WHY PRINT ADVERTISING IS STILL AN

ESSENTIAL MARKETING TOOL

THE IMPORTANCE OF

PLANNING AHEADBy Jessica Bjorgaard, InQuest Marketing

As a general rule, your entire ad strategy should be planned out at least six months in advance. Otherwise, you’re rushing around trying to create a plan at the last minute, which can lead

to mistakes, missed opportunities, and possibly going over budget. But planning your marketing strategy well in advance does more than simply keep you from making these mistakes; there are also benefits and savings that come along with it.

PLANNING AHEAD TO SAVEDon’t wait around for a last-minute sale. While a last-chance discount might seem like a good deal at the time, it doesn’t compare to the financial and stress savings that planning ahead offers. Planning out an advertising strategy is the only way to balance the budget for the year. You don’t want to mistakenly spend an entire year’s budget in the first quarter.

Often you can order television and radio ads with only a couple days’ notice. But this method can get expensive. Planning media schedules in advance is essential to producing a successful and efficient campaign. The benefit to planning your advertising schedules further out is that sales representatives want to fill up their inventory, so you’ll often have access to better rates and more placement options.

Long-term contracts work even better for accessing lower rates. If you make a yearlong commit-ment with a media outlet, the prices for each spot will be even less expensive because publishers like guaranteed advertising.

Keep in mind that deadlines for print publications often come much faster than you think. For magazines, the lead time for ad artwork is sometimes more than a month out from when the in-home date lands. Good luck ordering an ad on November 25 for a December issue.

PLANNING YOUR CONTENTYour marketing plan should outline what types of media your audience engages with regularly. Consumers aren’t isolated within one medium, so plan ahead to distribute your messaging across various platforms. Create an advertising campaign calendar to see what kind of distribution makes sense for your message. Match up your calendar to the media kits of the publications that your audience interacts with most often, and book advertising space in those issues now. Coordinate a layered campaign throughout different media to bolster the effect of individual ads. By incorporat-ing an overall message into several different pieces across various media like print, audiovisual, and social media, you can build strong messaging to drive engagement and build brand recognition.

THE BOTTOM LINEYou could plan, or you could rush around at last minute. Rushing often leads to higher costs, missed opportunities, and overlooking risks. Looking ahead is vital to plan resources, seeing where you are, and where you need to be.

This article by Jessica Bjorgaard was originally published at www.inquestmarketing.com/blog. It has been edited for style and fit and is used with permission.

are weary of clicking. There is no imminent danger in a print ad. People tend to purchase from websites that they know to be trustworthy, and print media reinforces that mindset and improves the level of brand trust customers have.

BRANDING Print advertisements are excellent for improving your brand awareness and solidifying your brand identity. Ads should be consistent across print and digital platforms in terms of fonts, colors, and images to establish brand recognition.

When creating your 2017 marketing plan, ensure print advertisements are at the top of the list to increase your visibility, enhance your brand recognition, and diversify your advertis-ing channels.

This article by Thomas Dodds originally appeared at https://blog.printuk.com. It has been edited for style and fit and is used with permission.

American Institute of PhysicsOne Physics EllipseCollege Park, MD 20740

Added Value is published quarterly for Physics Today by The YGS

Group, 3650 West Market Street, York, PA 17404. ©2016.

Sourced articles have been edited for style and fit.

CONTACT YOUR AD SALES CONSULTANT TO PLAN YOUR NEXT CAMPAIGN!

2017 MEDIA KITSwww.physicstoday.org/advertising

80%of our readers

have responsibility for budgeting and/or managing expenditures

for research technology.SOURCE: Changing Dynamics in the Adoption of Research Technology,

Akel & Associates, April 2015.

MIDWEST & SOUTHEAST USA Mike Shevlin +1 847 749 0168 mshevlin@theshevlingroup.com

NORTHEAST USA, EAST CANADA Merrie Lynch +1 617 357 8190 merrie.lynch@celassociates2.com

NJ, NY, PA Jody Estabrook +1 774 283 4528 jodyestabrook@comcast.net

WEST USA, WEST CANADA Mike Sabo +1 310 346 5837 msabo@earthlink.net

GERMANY, AUSTRIA, SWITZERLAND, CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE Leopold Ploner +49 0 8192 933 7820 leo@ploner.de

UK, BELGIUM, DENMARK, FINLAND, FRANCE, IRELAND, ITALY, NETHERLANDS, NORWAY, SPAIN, SWEDEN John Gold +44 208 641 7717 johnfgold@gmail.com

JANUARY ISSUEProduct Focus: biotechnologies and biomedical optics Bonus Distribution: American Astronomical Society; American Meteorological Society; SPIE Photonics West

FEBRUARY ISSUE Product Focus: analytical equipment, sensors, and detectors Bonus Distribution: Society of Laboratory Automation & Screening; Biophysical Society; Society of Rheology; American Association of Physics Teachers

MARCH ISSUE Product Focus: test and measurement Bonus Distribution: Pittcon; American Physical Society; Optical Fiber Conference

PUBLISHER

Randolph A. Nanna

EDITOR

Christina Unger

MANAGING EDITOR

Melanie Bracey Moul

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Drew Bankert

PUBLICATION DESIGNER

Zon Buckley

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Thomas Dodds PrintUK

Jessica Bjorgaard InQuest Marketing

A Publication of the American Institute of Physics