Trade Advertising

Related Terms

These terms are usually related to Trade Advertising:

• trading advertising
• trade advertisement
• advertising and trade
• advertising in trade
• advertise trade
• trade magazine advertising
• advertising marketing trade
• trade advertisements
• trade for advertising
• advertising in trade publications
• trade publication advertising
• advertising in trade magazines

WHEN TO HIRE A PRO?

• You have no time to negotiate rates with several publications.
• When your creative juices have run dry.
• When the new product or service is very critical to your annual sales goals.
• You trust an agency over your brother Bob.
• If you need professional assistance, please complete the Marketing Xperience Request for Marketing Information.

Real World Marketing Tips

1. Always negotiate pricing using placement and frequency as your bargaining tool.  If you are a new advertiser, ask for the best rate based on the highest frequency (usually 12 times per year) but only commit upfront to 6 insertions.  If your chosen publication will not accommodate your request, present your offer to an alternative publication. Use one publication’s best price to get the final cost down at your preferred publication. Cost savings in trade advertising are comprised of frequency discounts, discounts for black & white ads versus four-color ads, and discounts for less prominent placement within the publication (prime locations carry a premium).
2. A recent Forrester Research shows that digital budgets are up in 2009 and projected to grow dramatically in the next few years (website upgrades, website optimization , and enewsletter campaigns) 70% of the 300+ firms reporting use trade advertising as part of their mix, but it it only considered by ~8% of those firms to be highly effective. Know your industry and speak to your industry associates and ad reps before committing to a costly trade advertising program.

Trade Advertising

Trade advertising refers to advertising in magazines, tradeshow directories, on industry web portals, industry supported websites and in trade association publications.  This type of advertising is generally less costly than business to consumer advertising because ad rates are based on the number of readers.  Each publication should provide you with a BPA (Business Publication Audit):

Business Publication Audits
This audit provides a detailed report on a publication's circulation, including:

• Qualified versus nonqualified recipients
• Key businesses and industries reached - Subscribers' occupations
• Buying influences
• Sources of subscriptions (personal, written or electronic request)
• Qualified circulation "age" (qualified or re-qualified within the past year, two years or three years)
• Geographic locations of subscribers
• Paid subscription data

Select a publication based on the potential customers (subscribers as shown in the Business Publication Audit), the negotiated cost divided by the number of qualified subscribers and the relevancy of the publication.  Other factors to consider in your decision is what the publisher (or authorized sales representative) is offering as a package deal.  Most publishers do not offer editorials or company features as an incentive to book a series of ads, but some will still offer to present your company or service to the Editor as a potential featured story.  Push for some of these additional references to your business particularly when your product matches a story coming up in the Editorial Calendar.  All publications post this Editorial Calendar either late December or early January each year.  If you see that on one or more editorial features fit your product or service, pitch it to your sales representative or directly to the Editor if you can.

When considering purchasing a mailing list, the best list may be one that you purchase from your trade publication or association.  These will generally be more costly than a general business list you could purchase on the web or through a list broker, but you can define the potential customers accurately by the BPA (Business Publication Audits) or by researching the types of members in the association.  Often, the publication or association uses a third party company which they refer you to when requesting a list for purchase.  These third party firms work for multiple publications and may have additional publications to consider as list resources.  We always say that the most difficult, important (and dry) part of marketing is selecting the right database of potential customers. Choose the publication or association list wisely.