At the start of the last century, American advertising pioneer John Wanamaker famously remarked, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” Even today, it remains challenging to determine precisely whether an advertisement is effective. There is no reliable metric for gauging the success of a print ad, and many marketing departments are overly focused on the number of clicks their online banners receive.

To explore this topic, last week I asked some of my friends if their purchasing decisions were influenced by magazine advertisements and whether they had ever clicked on an online ad. Initially, I did not get the answers I was looking for, as my questions opened the floodgates to a wave of hi-fi reminiscences.

Most of them were eager to describe their weekly Saturday morning visits to Argos, where they would browse the catalogue for the latest offerings from Japanese manufacturers. It appears that a twin cassette player from Matsui was a pretty common entry point into the world of sound.

They told me that they then graduated from the Argos catalogue to visiting Dixons and Currys to check out their products. After this, if they were in London, they would spend a happy day wandering up and down Tottenham Court Road, exploring the hi-fi and electronics stores there. This journey appears to be universal, with the penultimate step being regular visits to Richer Sounds (more about them soon), and their audio odyssey ending with them becoming patrons of their local specialist hi-fi store.

I asked each of my friends what impact advertising had on their selection of a store to visit. The common answer was that they knew where the shop was anyway and did not need advertising to guide them. A couple mentioned that when they moved into a new area in years gone by, they used the Yellow Pages phone books (remember them?), and currently they would use Google to search for a local store.

When asked which hi-fi magazines they read, they all said they used to regularly purchase a hi-fi magazine but rarely do so now, as everything they need can be found online. I asked if they could remember any particular advertisement that influenced them when they were younger, and they all said that as skint students, the Richer Sounds advertisement in Viz made them want to move on up from Matsui. It still amuses me that Viz was the driving force behind the chain’s growth.

Now that my friends have relationships with proper hi-fi stores and buy decent products, I wondered what mainly influences their product purchases. Each of them said that the most important factor is a product recommendation from the staff in the store. Once they have the recommendation, they then check online reviews to justify their purchase. 

Sweetly, one friend said that when his wife is away, he treats himself to a hi-fi magazine to read alone – which made me laugh out loud! The rest of them said it was all about online for them.

As part of my job, I buy both digital and print advertising space, so these conversations with my friends are valuable. Clearly, from what they say, I need to keep my focus on the online world. However, the last question I asked each of them was: “Have you ever clicked on an advertisement on a hi-fi site?” The answer was a unanimous “NO!”

Yet, when asked if they were aware of any specific advertisers on those sites, they could all recall the names of at least two brands. This suggests that digital advertising works well for brand recall, even if it does not always lead to clicks.

The world of digital advertising is constantly evolving, and AI will play an increasing role in determining which ads we see. I believe that a few major players might dominate the advertising landscape, potentially impacting the sites we currently enjoy for free. This is one of the reasons why I recommend my clients advertise with online hi-fi sites; not only does it build brand awareness, but it also helps support our industry and give us places where we can all research products for free.

I am sure that good old John Wanamaker would appreciate Facebook’s advertising tools and Google’s analytics, as they would give him a much clearer understanding of the effectiveness of his ad spend. However, he shouldn’t solely focus on the number of clicks his ads receive.

Lastly, I would like to pose the same question to you: “Have you ever clicked on an advertisement on a hi-fi site?” I’d love to hear from you: matt@ammonitemedia.com

Matt Tasker (Ammonite Media), July 2024