My advice would be to make the most of these opportunities when invited to take part, but make every effort to find out more about the test to ensure that the product selected suits the tester and their baby. For child seats for example, it is always best to check first the age of the tester’s child and secondly which make and model of car it is to be used in. Recently one of my clients quite rightly declined a long term test of one of its seats in a leading weekly motoring title once we found out that the seat they particularly wanted was not suitable for the age of the journalists’ baby.

This proved to be a good move as once we explained the age group guidelines, the magazine was so impressed that we asked them to delay the test. The long term result is that we will achieve regular coverage in the future from a journalist who is happy that his baby is being transported in a seat that suits his age and that also fits well into his car.

When sending products for testing it is always best to check the product first, ensure that everything is included and that the instructions are in the package. If possible, and dependent on the product, try to have it delivered by a member of your team or perhaps a retailer who can, if necessary, assemble the product and demonstrate it. This kind of attention to detail will go a long way to achieving a good report from the tester.

As awareness of the growing range of nursery products grows, many other magazines are showing an interest in our market. One of the longest established women’s monthly magazines is carrying a travel system feature in the near future and many motoring magazines are covering child safety seats and accessories on a regular basis.

As a general rule, you should not expect to see what is going to be published, so we all wait with baited breath for the outcome. If your product has done well and has earned you a coveted award then use it, use it, use it! Get a high resolution version from the magazine and ensure that it is added to your website, consumer and trade advertisements, brochure and if possible the packaging and make sure you let your stockists know*. These awards do carry a lot of clout with the consumer.

And should your product not get a good write up then shrug it off and take note of the comments. There is nothing you can do and in a market where readers of the consumer magazines are constantly changing, it will not cause any long-term damage.

*And let us know here at NI

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---