(Almost) Everything You Want to Know
About Positioning in Magazines:
The Six Questions That Starch is Most Likely to be Asked
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Definitions:
Noted: The percent of readers who said they saw
any part of the ad – attention-getting power
Read Most: The percent who said they read more
than half of the ad’s copy – involvement
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©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.
Q. Do ads on the right-hand page earn
higher scores than ads on the lefthand page?
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A. Over a number of product categories, Starch
finds little or no difference between the two.
Food Ads
Toiletries & Cosmetics
Automotive Ads
Computers &
Computer Equipment
Drugs & Remedies
Apparel
Financial
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©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.
NOTED SCORES
Left
Right
54%
56%
51%
51%
48%
48%
42%
43%
46%
52%
44%
46%
55%
42%
Q. How
important
is size?
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A. It depends on the product category.
Toiletries
One-page, 4-Color
Noted
51%
Difference
RM
19%
20%
Two-page, 4-color
61%
Difference
26%
24%
Automobiles
One-page, 4-Color
Noted
48%
Difference
RM
17%
15%
Two-page, 4-color
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55%
Difference
24%
21%
Financial
One-page, 4-Color
Noted
43%
Difference
RM
14%
12%
Two-page, 4-color
48%
Difference
14%
17%
Drugs
One-page, 4-Color
Noted
46%
Difference
RM
16%
9%
Two-page, 4-color
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©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.
50%
Difference
6%
17%
Q. How important is color?
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A. Generally, fairly important. But not always.
TYPICAL FINDING
Computers
One-page, B&W
Noted
36%
Difference
RM
13%
19%
One-page, 4-color
43%
Difference
19%
16%
BIG DIFFERENCE
Drugs & Remedies
One-page, B&W
Noted
29%
Difference
RM
12%
59%
One-page, 4-color
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46%
Difference
33%
16%
NOT-SO-BIG DIFFERENCE
Toiletries
One-page, B&W
Noted
49%
One-page, 4-color
51%
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Difference RM Difference
19%
6%
0%
19%
Q. Do far-forward ads have a substantial
advantage over those in the back?
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A. There is some drop-off from back to front with certain products,
but the difference is probably not as great as some expect:
60
50
40
Computer
Drugs & Rem.
Toiletries
Food
Auto.
30
20
10
0
Noted
Q1
RM Q1 Noted
Q2
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RM Q2 Noted
Q3
RM Q3 Noted
Q4
RM Q4
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©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.
Q. Does clutter (thickness of issue) have
any effect on readership scores?
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©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.
A. If there is any effect, it is negligible. Starch data suggest that a
small advantage exists for only the very thinnest of issues.
Definitions:
Thin: Fewer than 200 Pages.
Medium: 200-249
Thick: 250+
Toiletries
One-page ads
Two-page spreads
Thin Issues
Noted RM
Medium Issues
Noted RM
Thick Issues
Noted RM
53%
65%
54%
61%
52%
61%
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©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.
20%
24%
20%
23%
19%
25%
Food Ads
Thin Issues
Noted RM
Medium Issues
Noted RM
One-page ads
58%
24%
58%
(Insufficient Number of two-page spreads)
26%
Thick Issues
Noted RM
56%
23%
Automobiles
One-page ads
Two-page spreads
Thin Issues
Noted RM
Medium Issues
Noted RM
Thick Issues
Noted RM
49%
55%
49%
58%
48%
53%
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19%
19%
16%
23%
17%
20%
Computers
One-page ads
Two-page spreads
Thin Issues
Noted RM
Medium Issues
Noted RM
Thick Issues
Noted RM
41%
51%
42%
51%
41%
48%
15%
18%
16%
18%
14%
16%
Financial
One-page ads
Two-page spreads
Thin Issues
Noted RM
Medium Issues
Noted RM
Thick Issues
Noted RM
43%
51%
40%
49%
40%
48%
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©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.
15%
18%
13%
17%
13%
17%
MORAL: If you have questions about the power of your
creative, avoid the thickest issues.
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©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.
Q. Do cover positions offer a readership
advantage – and are there differences
among the different cover positions?
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©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.
A. Ads in cover positions generally score higher than run-of-book ads, and
there are substantial differences among the three different positions.
Toiletries & Cosmetics
Automotive
Computers
150
119*
121
125
100
104
108
100
108
130
100
100
75
50
25
0
ROB 3C1P4 4C1P4
ROB 3C1P4 4C1P4
ROB 3C1P4 4C1P4
Index: 100 =average for ROB, 1-Page, 4-Color ads
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©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.
*Note: Fewer than 10 ads
Toiletries & Cosmetics
Automotive
Apparel
150
125
122
125
100
100
118
100
100
75
50
25
0
ROB
2C1S4
ROB
2C1S4
Index: 100 = average for ROB, 2-Page, 4-Color Ad
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ROB
2C1S4
Positioning in an average
Women’s Service Magazine
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Pages vs. Spreads
Cosmetics & Beauty Aids
One-page, 4-Color
Noted
55%
Difference
RM
18%
16%
Two-page, 4-color
64%
Difference
22%
22%
Automobiles
One-page, 4-Color
Noted
43%
Difference
RM
13%
23%
Two-page, 4-color
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53%
Difference
15%
15%
Women’s Service ROB Pages
60
50
40
Cosmetics
Medicines
Automotive
30
20
10
0
Quartile 1 Quartile 2 Quartile 3 Quartile 4
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Left-Hand Pages vs. Right-hand Pages in
Women’s Service Publications
60
50
40
Left
Right
30
20
10
0
Cosmetics
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Medicines
Automotive
Probability of success depends
more on research than on luck.
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©1999 Roper Starch Worldwide Inc.