The steady growth in circulation that marked the 1980s and early 1990s has been replaced by flat and even declining readership figures, thanks to shifting economic conditions and the increasing ineffectiveness of traditional marketing techniques. What's more, the Internet has emerged as both a powerful and pervasive information-delivery system and advertising platform, threatening to rob magazine publishers of circulation and advertising revenue.

There can be little doubt as to whether or not magazine publishers should strongly consider database marketing, particularly considering the increases expected in Web-based advertising expenditures. Publishers are fighting for share of customer not only in terms of readers, but at the advertising level as well. The simple fact that some publishers are already leveraging their data in such innovative ways means that database marketing could soon become a strategic necessity.

Learn more about the principles of database marketing and its implementation. Examine the changes in the magazine publishing landscape that make the utilization of database marketing so critical.