• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 8, 2008

A new study and analysis by Royal Mail, with the APA and Millward Brown, reveals a range of benefits by making some format adjustments to Customer Magazines. Though currently the average number of pages for a customer magazine is 36 and the most popular frequency is quarterly, says the study, more pages inspires more thorough readership and greater frequency yields an uplift of over 10%.

Frequency, pagination and distribution each effect readership as shown in these key summation points:

1.  Frequency and pagination influence number of pick ups and percentage of magazine read:

• When pagination is higher than average, 63 percent of recipients read half or more of the magazine in comparison to 47 percent when the number of pages is lower.
• Sixty two percent of those surveyed read half or more of the magazine if the frequency was more regular than quarterly, and nearly double the number of recipients picked up the magazine more than five times.

2.  Pagination has a significant effect on active response:

• 54 percent of individuals surveyed respond to calls to action when there are more than 50 pages - a 23 percent increase on titles with fewer pages.

3.  Perceived relevance and rating of magazine increases with frequency and

pagination:

• Customers respond more favorably to customer magazines, claiming they think it is "excellent and like it a lot", when a title has more than 50 pages and a frequency higher then biannual (28 percent and 27 percent respectively).

4.  Posted (mailed) titles increase reading time:

• The research shows that posted titles command an average of eight minutes more attention than their picked up counterparts.

5.  Magazines through the mail having more staying power:

• Posted titles are kept for longer than picked up titles. A quarter of readers keep a posted title for over a month, while just 16 percent keep a picked up title for the same length of time.

6.  Greater pagination and frequency of titles generate longer reading

times:

• The average time spent with a customer magazine is 25 minutes.
• A quarter of recipients will read a magazine with more pages for longer than 30 minutes.

Emily Fovargue, Head of Publishing at Royal Mail said: "... By focusing on key elements... brands can significantly raise response rates, engagement levels and rating of the title, often resulting in increased loyalty and a boost in ROI."

Julia Hutchison, COO of APA, said: "... this research demonstrates how marketers can squeeze even more value out of their titles... "

A customer magazine is a magazine produced by a business as a means of communicating to its customers. It is a product that broadly shares the look and feel of a newsstand or consumer magazine but is paid for in part or whole by a business.

            -- From Wikipedia           

For more about the study, please visit here.