Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Jennifer Boyd

The publishing industry is of course the first on the bandwagon of "advertise more during a recession, and your business will be stronger." Pages go down and marketers, sales and publishers alike reach for studies like the recent ABM report, retelling any advertiser who will listen the old familiar story.

But when ad pages plummet what happens to your budget as a marketer in the publishing industry? Yeah, that's right ...those dollars you once had to get your message across to the "right" audience at the "right" time are all but gone. But you still have web and email marketing right? Thank goodness it's basically "free"! Ok, it can be effective, but is it as effective at it used to be? Some, like DMA think not. After all what happened to the integrated marketing model anyway? Is going full-force web only the solution, or is that strategy bringing the effectiveness of email marketing itself down?

Yes, yes I know the cost of paper is up; postage is through the roof and readership, in some cases, may be down due to our pal the web. But hey, I'm sure our advertisers' sales are down and the cost of widgets is getting higher too...so why the annoying double standard? Better yet, what can you do about it?

Here are a few resources that may help, including some easy-to-implement web strategies. Of course a reminder to your boss of your sales team's current message to advertisers couldn't hurt either! Good luck!

Recession-Beating Marketing

Tough choices in hard times

Folio Event: Generating More Revenue in a Downturned Economy

Jennifer Boyd
Jennifer Boyd has been a marketing professional for more than 15 years. She spent several years at Reed Business Information in the areas of sales as well as marketing, and currently is Marketing Director for a small publishing firm in the Midwest. With experience in brand management, market research, direct marketing and new media Jennifer has an array of experiences and insights to draw from.