Advertising in 4wd magazines.

Submitted: Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 20:13
ThreadID: 50680 Views:3322 Replies:18 FollowUps:13
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Good-day all.Recently bought the current issue of"4wd Action"
On the front cover it says 260 pages.Yes,there are 260 pages but there are 116 full page adverts.plus a 4 page advt.for "Supercheap" plus all the usual 1/4 & 1/2 page & smaller ads.Also I feel some of the articles were very poor in the information given & were not much better than you would get out of a tourist brochure.Am I becoming a cranky old bugger or do others feel the same.
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Reply By: On Patrol (Aust.) - Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 20:18

Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 20:18
Therifleman
Yes, you are a cranky old bugger
No, you are not alone
Colin
AnswerID: 267241

Reply By: Jimbo Vic - Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 20:36

Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 20:36
I suppose someone has to pay for the printing and distribution of the mag.

If they didn't sell advertising the cost of only the articles would over $30.
AnswerID: 267244

Reply By: Member - extfilm (NSW) - Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 21:21

Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 21:21
We were discussing this tonight and that is the reason I do not purchase or subscribe to said mag
Peter
AnswerID: 267257

Reply By: PradOz - Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 21:47

Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 21:47
spot on!!

and half the information is advertorials - whatever they are.

can't believe anything you read anymore hey

cheers
AnswerID: 267266

Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 22:07

Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 22:07
If its the Oct edition, theres a great photo of a white 79series on the Madigan Line :-))))))
AnswerID: 267268

Follow Up By: QLD Kev - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 06:58

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 06:58
I thought I had seen it somewhere before

Cheers Kev
Russell Coight:
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Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 13:26

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 13:26
Gday kev,
It wasn't really that clean either - they'd touched up the photo - made the tyres blacker and the body whiter. And I gather the text gets chopped a bit so they can fit in more ads :-))
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Follow Up By: QLD Kev - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 15:16

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 15:16
I think that is part of the issue with them they love touching up the photos.
Some of the stuff they dribble about is useful if you have a need for it, but if I want a tutorial on how to do something then that's what this forum is for ;))

I think their www is going to take over the mag if it hasn't already as they are now about to get rid of the free classifieds and go to a user pays scheme from what I can gather.

Cheers Kev
Russell Coight:
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Follow Up By: Peter 2 - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 21:24

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 21:24
And the Humvee was in the Hummer article on Stockton!
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Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 21:35

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 21:35
Peter,
I wondered about that.
Reckon your Humvee would look more at home on the Madigan line:


Cheers
Phil
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Reply By: Kev - Wynnum - Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 22:27

Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 22:27
Hi Rifleman,
I wrote to the editor months ago about the prolific advertising in the then '4WD Monthly'. Unfortunately he did not deem me important enough to answer my criticism and has proceeded to increase the advertising in the mag. I still have several issues left on my subscription and will not be renewing it.

Kev
AnswerID: 267272

Reply By: Trekkie (Member - WA) - Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 22:56

Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 22:56
Thats the reason I stopped subscribing - I did the same thing many years ago and only a very small percentage of the mags are editorial when you take out the ads and preety pics
Far more value in surfing the net and reading forums such as this
AnswerID: 267279

Follow Up By: Member - extfilm (NSW) - Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 23:36

Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 23:36
Ssssshhhhh
About the preeeetttyyyyyy pictures. Some people need to make a living :) I say more pics are needed
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Follow Up By: QLD Kev - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 15:19

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 15:19
Peter,

I misread your rig pic and thought you had changed your mind. I thought it said "the love of my life" and not "I love my life", I was trying to determine which one you loved as it couldn't be the Nissan ha ha

Cheers Kev
Russell Coight:
He was presented with a difficult decision: push on into the stretching deserts, or return home to his wife.

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Follow Up By: On Patrol (Aust.) - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 18:48

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 18:48
Ah Pete
I thought you liked Jim Beam for the drink, now I understand. Love your work mate!!!
Colin
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Reply By: Member - Jiarna (NT) - Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 23:14

Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 23:14
Advertising pays the bills. Without it, you would just get a few pages of black & white text on newsprint for the price. The beauty of advertising in the print media is that you don't have to read it - you can just flip the page. And since you're not paying extra for the pages of advertising, no problem.

I like the mag because it's a great backup when Telstra stuffs up my access to the net - again!! And my kids love the DVDs which are included in the subscription price (you can flick past the advertising on the DVD, ask the kids for advice if needed LOL).

John
AnswerID: 267283

Reply By: Member - Jiarna (NT) - Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 23:15

Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 23:15
Advertising pays the bills. Without it, you would just get a few pages of black & white text on newsprint for the price. The beauty of advertising in the print media is that you don't have to read it - you can just flip the page. And since you're not paying extra for the pages of advertising, no problem.

I like the mag because it's a great backup when Telstra stuffs up my access to the net - again!! And my kids love the DVDs which are included in the subscription price (you can flick past the advertising on the DVD, ask the kids for advice if needed LOL).

John
AnswerID: 267284

Follow Up By: Member - Jiarna (NT) - Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 23:17

Thursday, Oct 18, 2007 at 23:17
Sorry for the seeing double, it's not the Brandy and Coke, it's the slow connection speed. That's my excuse anyway.
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Follow Up By: whyallacookie - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 20:59

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 20:59
Actually it is on every copy, not just subscription
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FollowupID: 529824

Reply By: Ozboc - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 06:51

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 06:51
The exact reason i will not buy one of those magazines - after all , if they want to put SO much advertising in there ads , then they should give the magazine away - after all - we don't have to buy the yellow pages each year do we ???


Boc

AnswerID: 267302

Follow Up By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 07:29

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 07:29
If you take advantage of the offers they keep sending out for subscription renewals, then you DO indeed (effectively) get the magazine for FREE.

I've had a set of stauns (couple of years ago) which were valued at $69.95 for renewing for 10 months (so about the same cost). More recently I've renewed on 2 other occasions (about a year apart) and each time have scored a VERY BRIGHT L.E.D. head lamp valued at $99.95 each.

Like somebody else said, if you don't like the ad's, could I suggest you don't look at them.

I used to hang out for the mag each month and once it arrived the rest of the family couldn't get any sense out of me for a few days, until I'd read it cover to cover................then I discovered Exploroz.............and now they NEVER get any sense out of me from one month to the next.

The other thing is, for me, living out here in the sticks (which I wouldn't change for quids!!!), I find the mag's and their ad's are a great way of keeping in touch with new items which I may "need" to buy to enhance my leisure time activities!!! hahaha
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FollowupID: 529683

Follow Up By: Garbutt - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 10:07

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 10:07
I'm with the Roach, I subscribe to get the "free" gifts and then look upon the magazine as an extra, the DVD's are quite good sometimes too. Of course if you buy it at the shop and don't get the freebies then the value is considerably less.
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FollowupID: 529700

Reply By: Richard W (NSW) - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 07:09

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 07:09
I finished my subscriptions to all the 4WD mags as they became so repetative.
AnswerID: 267304

Reply By: V8Diesel - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 07:27

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 07:27
It's a magazine (and increasingly multi-media). Advertising is how they make their money, not the purchase price. It is not a public service remember.

That's why the 4WD Action subscription offers are so enticing (they make the mag almost free). The bigger the circulation figures, the better the advertising revenue.

4WD Action is intentionally a 'dumbed down' mag targeted to suit the meathead majority with plenty of colour and little worthwhile print. This doesn't come about by luck, it is a product of shrewd and adept management and their circulation figures back this up. One thing I will give it is the standard of photography is excellent in many of the 'articles' which lends it an air of credibility.

Want to see what the average Aussie likes? Turn on commercial TV and watch the ratings winners. Terrifying stuff! Or you could listen to top rating commercial radio. Urggghhhhh. We are increasingly becoming a nation of lowest common denominator idiots.

I would say 4WD Action is a highly successful business - nothing else.
AnswerID: 267308

Reply By: Member - Oldplodder (QLD) - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 07:48

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 07:48
My well trained wife walked into the local library yesterday for her usual fix of crime novels and saw the Oct issue of 4wd monthly being put out for the first time. Grabbed it for me.
For free, it is not a bad mag :o)
That the oen we are talking about?
Yes, there are a lot of adds, yes, the supercheap additorial is a bit of a pain. No mention of what should be in the first aid kit for example.

Another cranky old bugger who has found a place to moan when the wife stopped listening years ago.
AnswerID: 267313

Reply By:- Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 07:57

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 07:57
Why do very few of the adverts in these type of magazines have recommended prices for the articles. I never have and never will buy one and I have stopped buying newspapers as well. I get my news from the good old ABC and SBS. Most technical stuff I get from here.
AnswerID: 267316

Follow Up By: Member - Kiwi Kia - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 08:38

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 08:38
Replied, Same with the advertisers websites - no prices
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FollowupID: 529690

Reply By: JimDi - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 09:48

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 09:48
I am not sure that the advertising pays for the magazine. For example I pay about $80 a month for "pay tv". It seems to me that the advertising content has been rising considerably. Recently while watching a documentary late at night I timed the adverts coming around every seven minutes for approximately five minutes.
My view is that advertising does not pay for the magazine or product. It is designed to increase the shareholders profits. Good luck to them all but it is annoying.
Jim
AnswerID: 267330

Reply By: Member - Mark H (VIC) - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 14:11

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 14:11
I've been a hater of the ads in that magazine too but over the last few months the ads have come in real handy as I'm looking at gear for an extended trip next year. It's good to see what's out there and compare different brands. When I've finished buying up I'll no doubt hate them again!

Mark.
AnswerID: 267367

Reply By: Member - Davoe (Nullagine) - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 19:52

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 19:52
i dont so much as hate the adds as the content. i seem to be reading less and less of these mags (yes i buy everyone) and instead of keeping them turfing them.
only one with any quality that i buy is Western 4wder
AnswerID: 267415

Reply By: Crackles - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 21:05

Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 21:05
"i dont so much as hate the adds as the content."
"half the information is advertorials - whatever they are."
"I wrote to the editor months ago about the prolific advertising in the then '4WD Monthly"
"I feel some of the articles were very poor in the information given & were not much better"
"I've been a hater of the ads in that magazine too"
And yet next month you'll all still buy the next edition or try a different mag even though you know deep down inside that they are all the same waste of money :-))
Speed read the magazine quickly in the newsagent then decide if it's worth paying money for. Trust me you wont buy them very often.
Cheers Craig.............
AnswerID: 267430

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