Salem Monthly

I like the Salem Monthly. I like the articles and features. As an advertiser I find it ad friendly for one major reason. Instead of putting ads near the inside fold like the Statesman, they are mostly along the bottom and the outside of the page where more people will see them. So probably cheaper and better ad locations, hmmm seems like a good place to advertise to me.

I noticed in the last issue two ads that could demonstrate a point. The point of less is more.

Weathers is a full service music store and they have an ad featuring drums. This is a good ad. It features pictures of drums. Has drums on the headline. Drum manufacturer logos on the right hand side. Clear location information at the bottom. Offering a discount never hurts…if it was a specific discount it may be better, but no points off.

All in all this is a solid ad. A drummer would notice this ad and be motivated to read it. So job done and in black and white so the cost stays relatively down.

Take this ad as comparison to this one from the Tea Party Bookshop.

This ad breaks the rule of “Too Much.” For the space they have, they want to say too much, and in saying too much they really don’t say enough.

We have a headline about a remodel. We have big black text lists of products. We have red text about localness. We have a starburst about events. The best and most clear portion of this ad is the address and phone number.

Even with an ad space as large as the Weather’s ad, there is too much information here going in too many different directions to be a coherent advertising message.

If you are making an ad about a remodel…show me the remodel don’t tell me. What is the benefit of the remodel?
If you are making an ad about product…pick a few representational items and rotate each month.
If you are making an ad about local flavor…show me the benefit. What can I get at the Tea Party Bookshop I can’t get anywhere else because it is local?
If you are making an event ad…give me the time and date of the event or a clear reference. If your ad rep is on the ball you may even be able to refer to another page in the Salem Monthly, “See our events on page 32.”

So the message here is focus. Weathers features drums this month and makes a pretty good ad. If the Tea Party Bookshop made a remodel ad or a tarot card or a local artisan ad, or an event ad, chances are it would come out pretty good too.