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As a valued
MAY 2015
current or potential business partner of Source Media
Group, you are a member of an exclusive club. And one of the benefits you receive as a member of the SMG club — in addition to great advertising opportunities — is this regular newsletter. From expert advertising advice; to upcoming events and publications; to profiles of our friendly, helpful staff; it’s all to assist you in getting the best return on investment for your marketing dollar. Your questions and comments regarding this newsletter or any of our publications may be emailed to newsletter@sourcemediagroup.ca ■
Invest in yourself
When the going gets tough, the tough keep advertising
D
espite what Chicken Little and the daily papers would like you to believe, the sky is not falling. A little cloudy, maybe, but definitely not actually falling. How do we know? Because we’ve been here before. Unfortuantely, the first knee-jerk reaction of many businesses in times of economic decline is to cut the marketing budget. Expenses in areas such as promotion and advertising are trimmed, leaving overall corporate sales expected to sail steady as she goes and weather the storm on their own. So why are companies still surprised when it doesn’t really work that way? When you stop advertising, at any time, for any reason, you create an information void, an empty space in consumers’ minds when it
comes to your product or service – and that space is quickly filled by savvy marketers. It’s a decision that might take an instant with results that might be felt far longer in terms of criteria like market share. In fact, most independent research on the subject shows the exact opposite to be true: slow and steady does win the race and those who continue to market through a recession come back even stronger. In a 1987, on the heels of the ‘80s downturn, McGraw-Hill Research conducted a study on marketing in a recession. In their survey of 600 industrial companies, they “found that business to business firms that maintained or increased their advertising expenditures during the recession grew their sales 275 per cent from 1980-1985. Sales of
those that cut their ad spending averaged only 19 per cent growth during the same period.” Going back even further, to the Great Depression, a report in the Harvard Business Review in 1927 concluded that, after tracking some 200 companies, “companies with the biggest sales increases during this period were those that advertised most”. Customers do become more price sensitive in a downturn, but they also become more value conscious and so brand is still integral to them. In a study of more than 500 brands in 33 product categories, sampling more than 6,000 consumers, Millward Brown found that brand has an influence on over four out of every five purchase decisions. And magazines, of course, with their targeted readership and extended shelf life, provide consumers with the brands they trust. “Research shows that market share is highly correlated with the metrics that reflect the relationship between consumers and brands.” (Source: Millward Brown, 2008)
Invest in yourself
continuation from previous page
Trust has to be built, though. According to YouGovCentaur, a UK-based business researcher, 65 per cent of UK advertisers believe that a recession can lead to higher market influence for their brands and 91 per cent think that “one of the most important things to do in a recession is to continue investing in brands.” Some of the biggest American corporations swear by their branding strategy. For example, when faced with competing against a combined Mars-Wrigley in 2008, Hershey Co. went on the aggressive, diverting money into marketing its biggest brands to invigorate stagnant sales in the slow-growing U.S. market. (Source: BusinessWeek, June 17, 2008) At about the same time, Unilever and Proctor and Gamble, two giants in the manufacturing and magazine advertising world, said they would be making zero cutbacks within their budget pertaining to advertising. “Overall we are sustaining levels of total support. It’s marketing wisdom that the advertisers that sustain advertising at the optimum level in a downturn are the ones who emerge with a much sprightlier step when they come out of that recession.”(Source: Food Business Review, June 23, 2008) Another company that knows a thing or
two about marketing, Heinz, reported a nearly corresponding increase in sales when they increased their marketing through the last recession. (BrandWeek, 5/29/2008) In a totally different consumer category, even Lego, arguably one of the strongest brands ever, anywhere, saw the 2008 recession as a window to tighten their grip on the market. “In a recession, most manufacturers cut back spending on new product development,” said Marko Ilincic, UK managing director for Lego in 2009. “Lego expects to increase this. We see this as an opportunity.” Ford, meanwhile, tells a somewhat different story. “We gave every marketing cost a haircut back in 1990/91,” said Mark Simpson, Marketing Director for Ford UK, back in January 2009. “And we emerged from the recession with poorer products as a consequence.” (Marketing Magazine, January 21, 2009) The bottom line according to a 1998 Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy report, is that “Companies that increased marketing
spend during the last recession achieved an average return capital employed of 4.3 percent, compared to 0.6 per cent for those that maintained marketing spend and -0.8 per cent for those that cut. Brands which invest aggressively in magazine advertising reassure their concerned customers with confidence that they are continuing to grow and also provide an incentive for customers to switch from companies/brands that they perceive as weak. Study after study demonstrates that increasing promotion with magazines during a recession will show positive long-term results in terms of branding, market share, and, ultimately, profitability. ■
Spend 50 per cent of your time writing your headline, and the rest writing your call to action. — Don Draper, Mad Men
S I L H OUETTE B Y D A R I O C R I S A FULL I
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events
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Source Media Group sponsors and/or takes part in many events throughout the year
Charity
S
ource Media Group is proud to be an offical sponsor of both the Gordie Howe CARES program and Calgary’s AARC. As many hockey fans know, Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe has been fighting Alzheimer’s related dementia for several years. Events like the Godrie Howe CARES (Centre for Alzheimer’s Research and Education Ssciety) Pro-Am Hockey Tournament April 17-19 help raise awareness and valuable financial support for the project — a new Alzheimer’s care facility in southwest Calgary. www.gordiehowecaresproam.com We’re also happy to provide advertising and editorial in support of the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre and their annual gala dinner, this year themed Voices of Hope. We’ll have a table at the TELUS Convention Centre at 5 p.m. on May 21 for the event to be emceed by Linda Olsen of Global Television and hope to see you there. http://aarc.ab.ca ■
e are active at many Cochrane and Okotoks Chamber of Commerce events plus many CHBA-Calgary and CHBACentral Alberta member events — from annual awards and conferences, to golf tournments, not to mention literally 100s of show home openings. We also participate in the spring Home + Garden Show, HomExpo, and the Home + Interior Design Show in Calgary. ■
2015
Cochrane Trade Show………………………………… May 2-3 Golf for Girls…………………………………………… June 3 CHBA-Central Alberta golf tournament………………… June 5 Cancervive Bike Tour…………………………………… September 9-13 Calgary Home + Interior Design Show………………… September 17-20 HomExpo 2016………………………………………… January 15-17
10 reasons 1
Reach audiences of scale as well as targeted audiences.
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Provide an audience that values and trusts advertising.
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Provide an advertising space that forms an essential part of the overall reader experience.
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Capture the mood of and engage their readers.
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Reach influenced and influential readers who will act on what they see.
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Work efficiently to generate long term brand awareness.
7
Increase word of mouth, including on social media.
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Are #1 in driving readers to websites.
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Drive sales.
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3
Why magazines are a good place to advertise in a recession
Reach the highest spenders during a recession.
upcoming deadlines JUNE ISSUE Ad Booking: Thursday, April 30 Ad Material: Thusday, May 7 JULY ISSUE Ad Booking: Thursday, May 28 Ad Material: Thusday, June 4 JUNE ISSUE Ad Booking: Thursday, May 7 Ad Material: Thusday, May 14 JULY ISSUE Ad Booking: Thursday, June 4 Ad Material: Thusday, June 11 JUNE-JULY ISSUE Ad Booking: Friday, May 1 Ad Material: Friday, May 8 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER ISSUE Ad Booking: Monday, July 6 Ad Material: Monday, July 13
Suite 207, 5809 Macleod Trail SW Calgary, Alberta T2H 0J9 newsletters@sourcemediagroup.ca www.sourcemediagroup.ca Telephone: 403.532.3101 Fax: 403.532.3109 Toll Free: 1.888.932.3101
key contacts Richard MacQuarrie, Publisher t: 403.532.3101 ext. 224 e: richard.macquarrie@sourcemediagroup.ca
Norma Robertson, Publisher t: 403.532.3101 ext. 223 e: norma.robertson@sourcemediagroup.ca
Jim Zang, Associate Publisher Editor: Cagary Living (Chinese Edition), Okotoks Living and Central Alberta Homes t: 403.532.3101 ext. 222 e: jim.zang@sourcemediagroup.ca
Jean Faye Rodriguez, Art Director t: 403.532.3101 ext. 236 e: jean.rodriguez@sourcemediagroup.ca
SUMMER ISSUE Ad Booking: Wednesday, May 20 Ad Material: Wednesday, May 27 FALL ISSUE Ad Booking: Wednesday, August 12 Ad Material: Wednesday, August 19
Pepper Rodriguez, Editor Condo Living, New Home Living and DOMUS t: 403.532.3101 ext. 233 e: pepper.rodriguez@sourcemediagroup.ca
Colleen Leier, Production Administrator
SUMMER ISSUE Ad Booking: Friday, May 1 Ad Material: Friday, May 14
t: 403.532.3101 ext. 226 e: colleen.leier@sourcemediagroup.ca
FALL ISSUE Ad Booking: Friday, August 7 Ad Material: Friday, August 14
Heather Dougall, Account Executive
SUMMER ISSUE Ad Booking: Wednesday, May 6 Ad Material: Wednesday, May 13
Cindy Marks, Account Executive
FALL ISSUE Ad Booking: Wednesday, August 12 Ad Material: Wednesday, August 19 SUMMER ISSUE Ad Booking: Tuesday, May 26 Ad Material: Wednesday, June 10 FALL ISSUE Ad Booking: Monday, August 24 Ad Material: Wednesday, September 9
Condo Living and DOMUS t: 403.532.3101 ext. 241 e: heather.dougall@sourcemediagroup.ca
New Home Living, Cochrane Living and DOMUS t: 403.532.3101 ext. 228 e: cindy.marks@sourcemediagroup.ca
Andrea Glowatsky, Account Executive Okotoks Living, Profile and CHBA – CR Membership Directory t: 403.532.3101 ext. 242 e: andrea.glowatsky @sourcemediagroup.ca
Feng Liu, Account Executive Calgary Living (Chinese magazine) t: 403.532.3101 ext. 237 e: feng.liu@sourcemediagroup.ca