Basic Magazine Advertisement Research

We began researching advertisements in magazines similar to those that our advert would be released in. The image shows different types of advertisements from NME magazine and Q magazine.

• Full Page Ad - As simple as they sound. They are an advertisement that takes up a full page of the magazine. This is often for bigger bands and releases as it costs a lot to do. They can also appear on the back of magazines.
• Two Page Spread - Probably the most expensive of the different styles, this allows the company to in affect become a part of the magazine. The audience must look at the advert and thus the product. Again big companies, or big festivals use this.
• Half page ad - Very simply, it takes up half of the page.
• Relevant Advertisements - Relevant adverts in a music magazine could be for single/album releases, upcoming concerts or even actual equipment such as guitars or drums etc. Basically they are adverts for products that link to the subject matter of the magazine.
• Non-relevant advertisements - These however, are advertisements for everything else. Many of these will be big brands or companies that will have their adverts appearing in a wide range of magazines. However sometimes advertisements can be placed in magazines that have the same target audience as the product.
• Advertorials - These are different to the other styles of adverts in that they aren't instantly recognisable as adverts. They are often articles or features written by marketing companies in order to promote their product.
• Classifieds - Appear at the back of the magazine, and are often very concise advertisements. They are the cheapest form of advertising and often range anywhere from listing small shops or job vacancies, all the way to dating services and personal advertisements. They can be a big way for magazines to earn their revenue.
• Display ads - These are the most recognisable and many of the above categories, are in fact sub-groups of this one. They are the glossy, colourful advertisements we see in most magazines.