Blade vs. Tactical Knives

jdm61

jdm61

itinerant metal pounder
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Messages
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I am trying to come up with an advertsing strategy and I noticed that a comparable 1/6 page black and white ad in Tactical Knives costs $55 more than the same ad in Blade. Blade is published 12 times a year and TK is only published 6 times. I have no idea what KI costs because their web site is "under construction" What am I missing? I have been told that Blade is the preferred print advertising vehicle for custom makers. I am owndering if TK has a larger circulation that would explain their higher per insertion cost. Also, TK apparently only gives the "agency" discount to actual ad agencies, whereas Blade, like most other publications, offers this discount to anyone who provides a camera ready ad unless you buy in the already discounted "Blade Shoppe" section. Assuming that a poor schlub like me can provide camera ready artwork (which I can) the price for the ad in Blade drops from $375 on a 12 month contract basis to less than $320 per insertion, as compared to the regular 6x rate of $430 for TK. What has anyone's experince been advertising in these publications? I know that Blade will cost more per year because it is published more frequently, but my long experience in the advertising and publishing business tells me that publications that publish on a more regular basis such as monthly instead of bi-monthly, tend to do so because they have enough content regular readers and advertisers, and as a result, enough cash flow to publish more frequently. I am pretty much decided on placing a monthly ad of some type in Blade, but I am wondering if it is worth the time and money to think about the occasional ad in one or more of the other publications and if so, which one?
 
If I ever advertise it will be with Blade. They have a great staff and put their mag out every month. Its the only mag I subscribe to now.
 
I quit getting Tactical Knives years ago. The magazine just doesn't appeal to me personally. It's a good magazine, it's just that the tactical knife style doesn't appeal to me.

I think Blade is a wonderful magazine. Every month I'm eagerly looking for it in the mail. When I'm on the road, I used to ask my wife if it had arrived yet. Now, she answers her cell phone, "It isn't here yet", or "Yes, it's here". She just gets it out of the way before I can even ask.

I also like Knives Illustrated. It is only published 6 times per year, but I enjoy it.

If and when I begin to advertise, it would probably be in Blade Magazine, if the magazines are still in similar circumstances as now. I might consider advertising in Knives Illustrated. I think the exposure of Blade would be greater. But, I also don't make "Tactical" knives. If I were a tactical maker, such as, a Rick Hinderer type, then the Tactical Knives magazine would make more sense.

I feel your thinking is right on.

Ickie
 
When picking a place to advertise you need to first know your market area. Which type of knife buyer you want to sell to. Blade seems to hit most types of knife buyers. I prefer Tactical Knives mag. It's always been my favorite magazine since it's introduction.
Scott
 
Business and advertising is certainly not my area of expertise, but I have some gut feelings on this one. You did ask which one may give you the most bang for your buck in advertising, and this is entirely different from which one has the better format, staff or interesting content. While I find many issues with the information in "Blade", it is of much more interest to those of us on the making end of things, so it is currently the only magazine that I subscribe to myself. I let my subscription lapse but then realized that it was the articles littered with BS that helped me the most in advancing my knowledge of knifemaking metallurgy. Every time I read an article that left me asking what the heck they could possibly be talking about (or smoking), I would do another round of my own studies to help debunk the junk. This invariably leads to many more new questions that I will need to answer for myself and so on... I have likened this to keeping the mind fertile by spreading bull$#&% on it and causing really useful fruit to be produced.

"Tactical Knives" has very little to keep my interest, the idea of a person using a knife for self defense in our times is positively ludicrous to me, and I hate this "when your life depends upon a knife!" marketing hype. If you get into a situation where your life depends on a knife, your true most important survival tool, YOUR BRAIN, has obviously failed you! Because of this I would say that "Blade" is the more interesting of the two but, once again you asked which would yield the most for advertising...

So if we totally ignore my first paragraphs and focus solely on my experience and observations in the advertising value, I have had plenty of photos and mentions in "Blade", but with very few calls about it. I have had just a few photos in "Tactical Knives" and every time it has yielded inquiries. I wondered about this and then noticed that I had to go to a better book store just to find a copy of "Blade", but many of the local convenience stores has a copy of "Tactical Knives" on the shelf next to the bow hunting, hot rod, and ninja magazines, hmmm... Yes knifemakers would enjoy "Blade" magazine more, but knifemakers usually don't buy many knives, how can they afford them? Remember they make knives for a living :(. On the other hand there just may be some wanna-be Ninjas with too much money in their pockets. A custom knifemaker's ad will be a little more unique in "Tactical Knives", while it will be one of many scores just like it in "Blade".

If I were going for name recognition and political maneuvering within the knifemaking business, I would throw a butt-load of money at "Blade" and then hit the shows with my hand permanently extended and supply of Chap Stick. If I were looking just to make money off orders and many inquiries from folks not necessarily on the inside of the business, I would spend enough for a couple of well placed ads in "Tactical Knives".

I should also mention that I am one of the least publicized smiths that has been playing this game this long so obviously this entire post could be taken with a grain of salt in light of that.;)
 
Gee. Kevin.......tell us what you REALLY think...:D The one thing that interests me about TK is that I might reach a substantial user population that is willing to spend a few extra shekels on a custom knife, regardless of what their intentions are for using it, be they rational or ninja-esque:p
 
You could get by with just using the internet and forums for exposure but remember not everyone has a computer. I've been advertising with TK over a year and it has been well worth the money. Harris Publications are great to work with and they take good care of you. Just like any business, advertising is a necessary expense. It has definately worked for me.
Scott
 
Both publications should be able to give you a demographic breakdown of their subscribers to some degree as well as their audited (ABC) subscription numbers. Typically ad rates are based on subscribers - the more eyes, the more dollars.

Other posts are correct in describing different "goals" for different readers so you have to determine where you want to place your product in the market then advertise wherever that segment reads. I tend to agree that "tactical knife" probably carries more wannabe cachet than I'd care for but, if your product is aimed at the psyche then it might well be the better place to market.
 
iamsmiling said:
Both publications should be able to give you a demographic breakdown of their subscribers to some degree as well as their audited (ABC) subscription numbers. Typically ad rates are based on subscribers - the more eyes, the more dollars.

Other posts are correct in describing different "goals" for different readers so you have to determine where you want to place your product in the market then advertise wherever that segment reads. I tend to agree that "tactical knife" probably carries more wannabe cachet than I'd care for but, if your product is aimed at the psyche then it might well be the better place to market.
Click to expand...
My product tends to be much more tradtional looking than the typical "tactical" knives, but then again, Scott's stuff is too. The custom section of TK has been giving a fair amount of ink to guys like Burt Foster of late, so that is encouraging. I wonder if there is a bit of a shift toward more traditional looking field knives as kind of a backlash to how outrageous looking some of the tactical knives have gotten recently.
Although i didn't like the vagueness of TK's agency discount p[olicy, what i did like is that you can buy position next to the "tactical customs" double truck.
 
iamsmiling, I have to disagree with you on the wannabe part. ;) I personally know some of the writers who write in TK. I've talked to countless readers who have inquired and some are the real deal when it comes to the outdoorsman who depend on their knives for tools. There are wannabes who read all the publications. TK is focusing more on the outdoor/woods use knives which is the catagory I fall in. TK covers alot of different areas of knife use, outdoor, self defense and collectables plus other areas. To each their own but for me TK is #1.
Scott
 
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