• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, August 15, 2006

You might find it annoying, but enforced leisure in waiting rooms is good news for magazine advertisers, according to a new study released Monday by Time Inc. and Mediaedge:cia. According to their study, over 80 percent of waiting room readers act on ad or editorial content they see--a finding that fits with a 2004 Time Inc. study focusing on doctors' waiting rooms. The studies seem to place waiting room mags alongside other place-based media in terms of effectiveness.

"They're highly engaged, and they're in an environment where there's less multi-tasking going on and less distractions generally," explained Ian Lewis, Time Inc. vice president for research and consumer insights. "It's a captive audience, and people are picking up the titles that are appropriate in those situations."

Time's January Internet study tracked readership of six different magazines in a sample population of about 5,000 people. Focusing on Entertainment Weekly, In Style, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Parenting, and People, Lewis said "we asked them about a long list of different types of actions they had taken--including actions based on editorial content, actions based on ads, and some that weren't specific, like going to a Web site based on something in the magazine."

Not surprisingly, Lewis recounted, "Parenting is highly read in a doctor's office; InStyle shows up in a beauty parlor"--acknowledging, "of course, the companies seek to place the magazines in these environments. That's the whole point."

A 2004 study by Time Inc. and Harris Interactive said magazines, in combination with television, are one of the most popular sources of information about new drugs, especially among older Americans. After health care providers, the Internet, and friends and relatives, the Time Inc. study found that magazines and TV programs--both at home and in doctors' offices--were the most popular sources of drug information, with 29 percent of respondents citing magazines and 27 percent citing TV.

In addition to the positive findings for advertisers, the most recent study by Time and Mediaedge:cia indicated wide receptivity to magazines in this environment, with 85 percent saying they "didn't mind waiting if magazines were available" and 97 percent saying "waiting rooms should provide things to read while you wait."