Independent research · adViewPRO™

Don't take our wordfor any of this.

Baxter Research Group independently surveys Athletic Business readers about what they noticed and what they did after reading. This page is their findings — measured behavior, reported with its base and nothing blended in.

Baxter Research Group, adViewPRO™ Print Ad Analytics, Athletic Business, May 2026 (n = 296).
Figures describe survey respondents, not Athletic Business's circulation.

01 / What readers did

Ads here turn into actions

88%
Took one or more purchasing actions in the past year
From ads and/or editorial · of the readers Baxter surveyed
86%
Influenced by ads in one or more ways
Ad influence · of the readers Baxter surveyed
56%
Took or are likely to take one or more buying actions
Preliminary buying actions 50% · active buying actions 35%

Inside the 86% — how ads influenced them

Liked one or more ads76%
Became newly aware of a product or service70%
Associated ads with brands68%
Improved their opinion of an advertiser65%

Inside the 88% — the actions they took

Visited an advertiser's website60%
Recommended a product or service seen in ads or articles45%
Tried, used, purchased or sought a product31%
Other actions7%
Took none12%

Baxter Research Group, adViewPRO™ Print Ad Analytics, Athletic Business, May 2026 (n = 296). Figures describe survey respondents, not Athletic Business's circulation.

02 / How they read

Read soon, read closely, rated essential

94%
Rate Athletic Business a personal favorite or important
Of the readers Baxter surveyed
91%
Read their issue within a week of receipt
Of the readers Baxter surveyed
85%
Read the print edition
40% read the digital edition · of the readers Baxter surveyed

Baxter Research Group, adViewPRO™ Print Ad Analytics, Athletic Business, May 2026 (n = 296). Figures describe survey respondents, not Athletic Business's circulation.

03 / Purchasing involvement

What the surveyed readers do in the buying process

These are the survey respondents describing their own purchasing role — reader behavior from the panel, not a claim about our circulation.

61%
Approve or authorize purchases
Self-reported · of the readers Baxter surveyed
56%
Recommend or specify brands or suppliers
Self-reported · of the readers Baxter surveyed
12%
Not involved in purchasing
Stated because it's true — the other 88% are

Baxter Research Group, adViewPRO™ Print Ad Analytics, Athletic Business, May 2026 (n = 296). Figures describe survey respondents, not Athletic Business's circulation.

04 / Ad recall

7 in 10 surveyed readers recall the average ad

70%
Recalled seeing the average ad
Issue average, all studied ads · of the readers Baxter surveyed
41%
Read some of the average ad
Issue average, all studied ads
30%
Read most of the average ad
Issue average, all studied ads

Recall by ad size

Ad sizeAds in issueRecalled seeing
Two pages277%
One page2670%
One-half page1267%

Honest caveat: only two two-page ads ran in the studied issue, and both were sponsored articles — the two-page cell is real but thin. The number that holds sitewide is the issue average above.

Baxter Research Group, adViewPRO™ Print Ad Analytics, Athletic Business, May 2026 (n = 296). Figures describe survey respondents, not Athletic Business's circulation.

05 / Methodology

How the study works

Drawn from our circulation

Panel drawn from Athletic Business's qualified circulation using structured random-interval selection.

Independent

Independent third-party research. Baxter's findings are theirs, reported here with the base for every figure.

Not a one-off

Athletic Business print advertising has been independently measured by Baxter's adViewPRO program in four consecutive annual studies, 2023–2026. Figures on this page are from the May 2026 study; studies are not blended or trended.

Baxter Research Group, adViewPRO™ Print Ad Analytics, Athletic Business, May 2026 (n = 296). Figures describe survey respondents, not Athletic Business's circulation.

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