Mag Bag: Big Publishers Push Marketing

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Hoping to parlay a rumored economic turnaround into a rebound for magazines, a group of leading publishers including Time Inc., Conde Nast, Meredith, Hearst and Wenner Media are joining forces for a new marketing campaign that highlights the continuing reach and impact of consumer magazines. The effort is led by Jann Wenner, boss of Wenner Media, the publisher of Rolling Stone and Men's Journal, according to Mediaweek.

  The new campaign calls for publishers to turn over ad pages in leading titles to carry messages touting magazines' desirable qualities, scheduled for a spring launch. It's worth noting that planning for the campaign appears to be taking place outside the Magazine Publishers of America, which has often coordinated these kinds of promotions boosting the medium in the past.

  This is the second major cooperative initiative from big magazine publishers in less than a year. The same group, minus Wenner, has also been collaborating on the development of an online and mobile platform for digital magazine sales and distribution since October 2009. The project (which is separate from Hearst's new Skiff electronic device and e-reading software, and Conde Nast's development of its own e-reading software) is led by Time executive vice president John Squires, Hearst executive vice president and GM John Loughlin, and Conde Nast President of Consumer Marketing Robert Sauerberg.

Magazines could certainly use a boost after one of the worst years on record. According to the Publishers Information Bureau, total consumer magazine ad pages sank 25% in 2009 compared to 2008. Monthly magazines registered another drop moving into the new year, with Media Industry Newsletter tallying a 7% decline in total ad pages in January.

RBI Tries Personally Tailored Covers

Graphics Arts Monthly, a trade publication owned by Reed Business Information, is experimenting with covers tailored to the interests of its subscribers. Together with InfoPrint Solutions, Graphic Arts Monthly has created five different covers for magazines that will be delivered to 4,000 out of a total 70,000 subscribers -- the group which responded to a survey to gauge their interest in various upcoming stories. The remaining subscribers are also getting one of two covers, based on personal information they have provided to the magazine, including job title and place of employment. Some of the personalized covers carry targeted advertisements, and all include a personalized URL with the subscriber's name, which invites them to visit a personal microsite hosted by Graphic Arts Monthly.

Canadian History Title Drops Name

Don't laugh: it didn't mean the same thing in the early 20th century. Nonetheless, The Beaver -- a magazine devoted to Canadian history -- is changing with the times. It's dropping its old name in favor of a somewhat blander but more accessible title, Canada's History. Founded in 1920, it is Canada's second-oldest magazine, but its original title has recently fallen prey to the tawdry turn of the English language, including raunchy slang from Canada's uncouth neighbor. Explaining the change, Editor in Chief Mark Reid was blunt without being indelicate: "Market research showed us that younger Canadians and women were very unlikely to ever buy a magazine called The Beaver, no matter what it's about. For whatever reasons, they are turned off by the name."

Meredith Lays Off 45 from Special Interest Pubs

Still cutting costs, Meredith Corp. revealed plans on Thursday to trim its roster of special-interest publications, which will affect 45 positions in that part of the company. Overall, it still plans to publish about 90 special interest publications in the coming year (fiscal year 2011 for the company), down from about 150 last year. The next batch of special interest publications will center on Better Homes and Gardens.

 

1 comment about "Mag Bag: Big Publishers Push Marketing".
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  1. James Bishop from B-to-B Digital Media LLC, January 16, 2010 at 8:04 a.m.

    Digest this for a moment.... Publishers can profit tremendously if they were to focus on the future rather than continually invest in the failing business model of printing the magazines and shipping them out.

    Push people to the E-Readers and get them to subscribe annually to an electronic publication. Sell ad space in the E-Publication (Which can now be far cooler and INTERACTIVE cuz they're electronic and on a wireless device). We, as readers, are already comfortable being advertised to while we are reading so the environment wouldn't be so different. If there is still a compelling urge to PRINT a publication... make it a Special Issue or a Collectors Edition to spike sales and profits. Or, for the nostalgic reader, charge like $20.00 (USD) per issue to publish a smaller run for the dedicated subscriber.

    At the end of the day the results of advetising why magazines are great inside of magazines seems Sisyphus-ian (Google that)

    Smart publishers will be focusing on electronic publications...

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