• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, September 27, 2023

Granted that the initial intended target audience for the media buy in the print editions of Emu Today & Tomorrow, Teddy Bear Times & Friends, and Drain Trader magazines is trade journalists like me, but if you're reading this, it's now reaching its most desired audience: planners and buyers like you.

Sure, the paid-media campaign from behavioral targeting firm Bango is a PR stunt, but it makes a great point: That even print buys in tertiary print titles you've probably never heard of are still more effective at reaching an audience target than the billions planners and buyers spend on most social media buys.

And believe it or not, this is not the worst media plan Bango has ever executed to make this point. It's only the "second worst" one. The worst one was an obscure outdoor billboard Bango bought in 2021 in a remote neighborhood in the U.K., which ranked the worst for reaching audiences according to Clear Channel data.

But both that outdoor media buy (see bottom) and the print schedule (above and below) are still better at targeting people than the average social-media buy, which according to a Bango analysis of more than 5,000 paid ads on popular short-form video platforms (TikTok, Instagram and YouTube) reach only 8% of the relevant audience the campaigns were targeting.

“Over the last year, social media companies have launched a host of advanced targeting tools, including behavioral and purchase intent targeting," notes Bango CMO Anil Malhotra, adding: "These allow marketers to import data about customers’ past purchases, targeting ads directly at the people most likely to buy. Despite these advances, the overwhelming majority of marketers are still bombarding consumers with un-targeted and irrelevant ads.”

I actually don't know if the full-page ads Bango bought in these highly specialized interest magazines actually are more targeted than TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, but I do know that if you're still reading this, they managed to reach you.