• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, July 10, 2006

They say they like to do things big in Texas. So when the Publishing Group of America (PGA) launches Texas Profile, a new regional title, in the market in September, the magazine will have a roughly twice the circulation of the Lone Star's star publication, Texas Monthly. How has PGA managed to round up so many Texans? By using a distribution model mastered by some of the biggest circulation titles in America: inserting the magazine as a supplement in local newspapers.

In fact, Texas Profile will be distributed alongside PGA's national American Profile magazine in Texas newspapers with subscribers of 625,000 or more. While some in the industry bemoan the fate of consumer magazines in the face of Internet competition, Texas Profile aims to reach a market that is underserved by media across the board, says Tracey Altman, senior vice-president, and group publisher at PGA. "Texas is a big market without big media presence. Selling subscriptions there is a hard proposition, and major newsstand venues are long drives away," notes Altman, adding, "We're helping advertisers use the tremendous power of community newspapers, which are extraordinarily influential in these areas."

While the Texas Profile's distribution strategy may be a pragmatic, quick circulation builder, it comes weeks after rival Emmis Communications, publisher of Texas Monthly released findings of a Monroe Mendelsohn Research study, which found that free city and regional magazines are either not read, or not regarded as highly by readers as magazines they pay to subscribe to (MediaDailyNews June 27).

In Dallas, for example, where Emmis publishes paid circulation Texas Monthly, only 4.5 percent of people in that market said they had "never heard of" that magazine. That compares with as much as 80 percent who were unfamiliar with free circulation rival Brilliant.

That finding does not appear to have dissuaded charter advertisers for Texas Profile, which has already signed up Ford, Texas Oncology, and the Scott & White Health Plan. While major metropolitan newspapers may be facing stiff competition from the Internet, those advertisers still seem impressed by the ability of small-town dailies, says newspaper analyst Ken Doctor of Outsell Inc., a consultancy advising the information media industry.

According to Doctor, local newspapers enjoy "greater local identification, since there's really only place to get your local news from."

"There's less media competition over all in small markets," he continues. "In a metro area you have a lot of television competition, and you'll have three or four radio stations that do local news. These smaller community dailies probably don't have television competition, and they may not even have radio competition that covers local stuff."

What's more, said Doctor, "If you look at broadband usage, it's lower in less populated areas. You don't have as many inroads by DSL or cable, so people are spending less time on line in general - and if they're spending less time on line, then print has less competition from the Internet."