Influential Inserts

People who 'shake their magazines over the bin' are not, after all, riding the wave of the future. According to research commissioned by marketing and advertising solutions provider Vertis, advertising inserts are now the single most popular and influential form of media in consumers' buying decisions.

Vertis is headquartered in Baltimore, MD, with production and sales offices throughout the US and UK. Since 1998 the company has commissioned the Customer Focus survey, a biannual survey tracking consumer behavior across a wide variety of retail settings including automotive, grocery, department and discount stores, the Internet, and speciality retailers.

85% of respondents in the Customer Focus 2004: Ad Inserts study use ad inserts in some form, up from 82% in 1998. 90% of women now read ad inserts, an increase of 4% from 1998.

Inserts are most influential in deciding where to shop for clothing (56%), groceries (52%) and home electronics (50%). In actual buying decisions ad inserts are the most influential form of media for 28% of respondents, versus 22% for TV and 18% for ads on the page of a newspaper. A lower proportion of men rate inserts as most influential - 24% - but this is up from 16% in 2002.

Inserts are often the first thing consulted. 30% of respondents said that when they are ready to make a purchase they turn to advertising inserts first, compared with 18% for ads on the page of a newspaper and 10% for TV. Men aged 35+ and women aged 18-54 are particularly likely to make ad inserts their first choice.

For the first time, more respondents said they had read an insert in the past week than listened to morning drive radio (69% vs. 67%) (see figure 5). The ad inserts figure is up from 61% in 2000.

'Ad inserts have been around for over 30 years and they've always been influential, but our survey shows that consumers are increasingly drawn to this medium,' says Thérèse Mulvey, vice president of marketing research at Vertis. 'With less time on their hands and less money in their wallets, a growing number of shoppers are seeking out the best deals before they leave the house to go shopping. Now, more than ever, retailers and other marketers should consider including advertising inserts in their multi-channel marketing programs'.

The survey of 3,000 US adults was conducted by Marshall Marketing and Communication of Pittsburgh. Results are provided to clients by Vertis as a value-added service. More information is available from Donovan Roche or Carla Marshall, tel +1 (619) 234-0345.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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