Change promotes change. Consumers have an increasing array of media options and new technology to control how they use media. In this brave new world, consumers can reject unwanted advertising, and they are doing so. As a result, advertisers are seeking additional information about consumers’ media behavior and how their changing media habits affect their buying decisions. For magazines, this new level of scrutiny extends beyond audience to how consumers buy magazines— what they pay and how they acquire their copies.

A growing body of research suggests that many assumptions may not be accurate about the connection between consumers’ reaction to magazine advertising and the price paid and circulation source for the magazines that they read.