Advocate expands with surge of support across City of Kawartha Lakes
The Lindsay Advocate is expanding as the independent magazine rides a wave of community support from across Kawartha Lakes. The Advocate expands as our sixth print issue is in progress, offering even more unique, local content with more pages and more distribution areas, thanks to the growing support of our advertisers.
More businesses and social service organizations have been stepping forward, including many that don’t typically advertise, buoyed by our focus on the social and economic wellness of Kawartha Lakes. The Advocate began as a professional news site and then later added a glossy print magazine. It also has active social media platforms via Facebook and Twitter.
The Advocate was born online in late August last year and within eight months was able to release its first print edition in April. It is the only glossy news magazine based in Kawartha Lakes, and is also available in North Durham and now lower Haliburton County. Recently Norland, Kirkfield, and Woodville were added to distribution points.
Later it was uncovered in a local history book that the very first media in Lindsay was also called The Lindsay Advocate, focused on the “well-being and improvement” of area citizens — a powerful connection between the modern Advocate and its 163-year-old counterpart.
Magazine effectiveness
Findings from Statista show that after seeing an advertisement in a magazine, 44 per cent of Canadian magazine readers and buyers visited the advertiser’s website, and 46 per cent used or planned to take action from the advertisement.
According to the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the data shows that seven out of 10 Canadians read a magazine (print or digital), which is still comparable to magazine readership figures from five years ago. As well, a full 57 per cent of Canadians surveyed are consuming magazine media in print formats, followed by a combination of digital and print (35 per cent), and digital exclusively (8 per cent).
From a demographic standpoint, even the comparatively younger millennial generation likes magazines, with 60 per cent of them self-describing as magazine readers. About 16 per cent exclusively consume a digital version, while 37 per cent chose exclusively print. Nearly half of all millennials read from both mediums.
The Ontario Media Development Corporation reports that 88 per cent of Canadians feel it is important that magazines have Canadian content for Canadian readers, and 90 per cent believe U.S. titles don’t effectively cover issues of importance in Canada.
Evidence from Advocate reader feedback across Kawartha Lakes echoes these findings. Readers appreciate the fresh local content, the counter-narrative reporting on key issues from our writers, and the community features like the ‘Friends & Neighbours’ column and the local history offering ‘Just in Time.’
