Metrics That Matter

A 10-year study from Readex Research suggests that where an ad is placed, aside from sought-after cover-position ads, bears little on its effectiveness. Right-page ad placement was just three percentage points higher in total readership scores vs. left page. Similarly, just a two percent differential exists between ads placed in the first third and the last third of a publication. And the study shows a mere three-point drop in reader traffic numbers from the front to the back of a publication. Many of the findings confirm accepted dogma: Spread ads work better than single pages and four-color works better than black and white for awareness and readership.
-- Folio, January 2005