I have a 1/4 page ad in our local (state-wide) green building magazine which comes out twice a year. I do it mostly to support their mission; I don't think it has generated any work in the 5 years or so that I've been doing it. We have various other shelter magazines that I don't advertise in; only the larger, higher-end firms advertise in those as the rates are pretty steep. But getting one project would justify the ads, if you're into that kind of work.
At the residential design/build firm where I used to work as director of design and business development, we advertised in local magazines but we could never solidly justify it. Social media was less of a thing back then. I've talked with multiple advertising agencies and they all say that targeted ads on social media are the best value.
All repeat I maybe only take on one maybe two new clients a year. New clients are a liability ( don't know their builder, process, personalities etc.) Most repeat clients
we do at least 3-4 projects and some are close to 7-8 projects together.
A lot of local business magazines are so understaffed and starved for content that they will often publish articles that are 95% recycled from the press releases and photography you send to them.
Local residential design magazines are more of a pay-to-play. If a designer or firm buys enough ads, they will start to write articles about them.
On the flip side, when your builder gets your project into a design magazine but you decline to pay for an ad, it's interesting just how far they'll go to cut your name out of the piece! On one project, they attributed the whole-house renovation I had worked on for years to the kitchen designer the builder brought in at the last minute. (I made a stink about it.)
May 9, 23 9:34 am ·
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whistler
We have couple "builder magazines" that are literally called Builder and focus on a few GCs and Interior Designer, Specialty Trades. They appear to get quite a few ads paid for by these folks, I don't get any of my work from those forms of media so don't spend money on it. But they look pretty good on a coffee table in a dental office. I just can't rationalize spending the money as it has zero value in getting me another project.
i have another one for you and the names are withheld: in an industry-leading design magazine article, the client said, " **** did everything I wanted to do but didn't have time for." It was in House and Garden magazine. I did do some drafting for this designer after school and knew it was his talent that made the project good. The work was a restoration/design for a 20's Beaux-arts building on an iconic blvd. in L.A., a quarter-size palace size and done by someone who knew what he was doing back then. There is no way she could do this project. What a smug narrative that was! The writer of the article and the magazine board were schmoozing the owner, a well-known billionaire, patron of the arts. For me, it was the final years of design writing which was brewing for some time and the magazine-world conglomerates have taken over the content.
Advertising
Does anyone do any local magazine advertising? If so, is it worth the expense?
I have a 1/4 page ad in our local (state-wide) green building magazine which comes out twice a year. I do it mostly to support their mission; I don't think it has generated any work in the 5 years or so that I've been doing it. We have various other shelter magazines that I don't advertise in; only the larger, higher-end firms advertise in those as the rates are pretty steep. But getting one project would justify the ads, if you're into that kind of work.
At the residential design/build firm where I used to work as director of design and business development, we advertised in local magazines but we could never solidly justify it. Social media was less of a thing back then. I've talked with multiple advertising agencies and they all say that targeted ads on social media are the best value.
Never paid for marketing and don't have a website, no social media, don't even have photos on the walls of my office ... luddite! Busy as F__k!
repeat clients or…
All repeat I maybe only take on one maybe two new clients a year. New clients are a liability ( don't know their builder, process, personalities etc.) Most repeat clients we do at least 3-4 projects and some are close to 7-8 projects together.
A lot of local business magazines are so understaffed and starved for content that they will often publish articles that are 95% recycled from the press releases and photography you send to them.
Local residential design magazines are more of a pay-to-play. If a designer or firm buys enough ads, they will start to write articles about them.
On the flip side, when your builder gets your project into a design magazine but you decline to pay for an ad, it's interesting just how far they'll go to cut your name out of the piece! On one project, they attributed the whole-house renovation I had worked on for years to the kitchen designer the builder brought in at the last minute. (I made a stink about it.)
We have couple "builder magazines" that are literally called Builder and focus on a few GCs and Interior Designer, Specialty Trades. They appear to get quite a few ads paid for by these folks, I don't get any of my work from those forms of media so don't spend money on it. But they look pretty good on a coffee table in a dental office. I just can't rationalize spending the money as it has zero value in getting me another project.
or something like this, where the client gives the impression he designed everything and just had an (unnamed) architect helping with the plans. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-08/an-11-million-connecticut-mansion-has-fibonacci-sequence-design-private-beach?sref=H6ddn91U
midlander, it shows.
i have another one for you and the names are withheld:
in an industry-leading design magazine article, the client said,
" **** did everything I wanted to do but didn't have time for."
It was in House and Garden magazine.
I did do some drafting for this designer after school and knew it was his talent that made the project good. The work was a restoration/design for a 20's Beaux-arts building on an iconic blvd. in L.A., a quarter-size palace size and done by someone who knew what he was doing back then.
There is no way she could do this project. What a smug narrative that was!
The writer of the article and the magazine board were schmoozing the owner, a well-known billionaire, patron of the arts. For me, it was the final years of design writing which was brewing for some time and the magazine-world conglomerates have taken over the content.
I don't look at pictorial magazines except for the occasional thumb-throughs, it is hard to distinguish the ads from the articles.
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