Introduction
The rising prominence of the Internet-based magazines, as the publications of choice for many users in the developed world, has seen the role of the advertising manager in print-oriented magazine publishing companies thrust to the fore. The number of print magazines has been declining remarkably with many former subscribers to these magazines turning to the Internet-based magazines, which are easily accessible and less costly (Nyilsy, King, and Reid 168).
Therefore, advertising managers of the print magazine companies have their work cut out insofar as ensuring that the companies that they represent remain competitive in the face of the onslaught by the Internet publications, through formulating aggressive, sustained, and smart advertising campaigns coupled with programmes that generate revenue (Esteban-Bravo, Múgica, and Vidal-Sanz 138).
The general roles and responsibilities of an advertising manager in magazine publishing houses
The advertising manager in a publishing house has to liaise with the heads of various departments in order to formulate an appropriate and conclusive advertising strategy. The advertising manager consults with the editorial department in order to ensure that the advertisement-to-editorial content ratio maximizes on revenue without necessarily impeding on the substance and consumer contents of the magazine (Wirtz, Pelz, and Ullrich 24).
The advertising manager is also responsible for consulting with the Information Technology (IT) department to create specified advertisements suitable for the company website (if any). The advertising manager also has to consult with the marketing manager of the publishing house in order to formulate proper advertising strategies that factor in the concerns of the marketing department.
The specified roles and responsibilities of an advertising manager
Budget role
The advertising manager has to create an advertising budget that factors in the cost of all advertising campaigns intended for a particular financial year.
Identifying the Target Audience
Advertising campaigns are successful when they are targeted at a given group that is most likely to respond to the advertisement. The advertising manager is, thus, also responsible for identifying specified target groups that the publishing house will focus on in its advertisement campaigns.
Identifying the Best Medium for advertisement
The advertising manager also has to decide the best media to use for advertising the different magazines. The advertising manager may decide to use multiple media or just a single medium for all advertisements.
Boundaries/Limits of the Position of Advertising Manager
The crucial role of advertising manager is more effective when the advertising manager works in tandem with, and consults, with colleagues in other line departments. For instance, although the advertising manager is responsible for advertising the magazine, he or she will have to rely on market research data collected by other departments such as the marketing department.
Similarly, even though the advertising department comes up with its own budget, the release of requested funds depends upon the publishing house’s overall executive manager and the head of the finance department. Furthermore, on most occasions the advertising manager has to rely on the expertise of the personnel working under him/her, and outsourced experts, in order to carry out his/her role as the overall head of formulating and implementing advertising campaigns effectively.
Conclusion
The advertising manager of a magazine publishing house, as analysed in the foregoing paragraphs, plays two roles. The advertising manger has to ensure that the magazine is successfully advertised to consumers, and attract various corporations to place their advertisements on the magazine (Orchard 93).
The role of an advertisement manager is thus vital, and through the creation of appropriate advertisement budgets, identifying target audiences, and choosing appropriate media for advertising through market research, the advertising manager ensures that the publishing house remains commercially viable.
Works Cited
Esteban-Bravo, Mercedes, José Múgica, and Jose Vidal-Sanz. “Magazine sales promotion.” Journal of Advertising 38.1 (2009): 137-146.
Nyilsy, Gergely, Karen King, and Leonard Reid. “Checking the Pulse of Print Media.” Journal of Advertising Research 51.6 (2011): 167-175.
Orchard, Lou. “An Internal Control Evaluation Tool for Advertising Revenue in the Newspaper and Magazine Publishing Industry.” Journal of Business & Economics Research 8.9 (2010): 93-97.
Wirtz, Bernd, Richard Pelz, and Sebastian Ullrich. “Marketing competencies of publishers and ad sales success: an empirical analysis.” Journal of Media Business Studies 8.1 (2011): 23-46.