The Cost of This Ad Includes The Phone Call
Most of our daily routines include some form of interaction with people. It may be co-workers, people on the bus or someone at the local mart. It doesn't really matter who they are or where they're from. The fact is, most people we meet and know we would classify as "normal." But every now and then someone comes along who clearly doesn't play by the same rules. It's not even that they're weird or so different from the rest of us. Rather, it simply seems that they're wired differently. They think, respond and sometimes see things differently than the rest of us. These people are what I classify as "characters" and I heard a funny story about one today.
Most people who follow the daily news in the print media and advertising industries have probably at some point heard of Richard Desmond, the flamboyant owner of the UK's Express Newspapers. He's a character, known well for his strange tirades and often bizarre behavior. Well, it was announced this week that Mr. Desmond has come up with a brilliant new financing scheme for his media empire. Starting immediately, callers to his editorial and advertising sales departments will be paying to make their calls. This is because Mr Desmond has decided that if banks, software firms, attorneys and other such professions can charge for incoming calls, then newspaper publishers should be able to do the same. Never mind the fact that he operates a tabloid newspaper whose content, both news and advertising, are commodities that can be just as easily picked up and handled by competitors. Never mind the fact that when most people want to encourage a certain action, in this case getting stories from sources or phone calls from advertisers, they typically try to make that action as painless as possible. All that aside, perhaps Mr Desmond is on to something. Maybe he's just savvy enough to realize that in today's busy world most people will never give their phone bills that close of a look. Or, maybe he's being great and noble by taking a stand for newspaper publishers all over the world paying too much in telephone bills. Or finally, maybe he's just slipped off his rocker. Whatever his reasons and whatever people may say about him it won't be said that he didn't try. Will it work? Who knows for sure. Media buyers have already threatened to reverse the charges or worse yet, stop calling. Will they? Probably for a while. The question will be who can hold out longer and who needs who worse. This should provide a interesting lab experiment for all you print media junkies interested in following the story. Mr. Desmond, we tip our hats to you. That's not to say we agree with or suggest others emulate you. We'll let some times pass before settling any conclusions. But in the mean time, thanks for a little more interesting news and should you wish to call, for the time being our lines will be free and open.
Magalogs and Print Advertising Sales
What's a Magalog did I hear you say?
A magalog is what you get when you marry a magazine's editorial content to a catalog's product content, and it's the newest buzz among retailers. According to the NY Times, companies like Bloomingdales, Bergdorfs, Saks, Hermès and Holt Renfrew are now producing their own magalogs. The reason is simple. Retailers are looking for additional ways to get through to their customers. With magalogs they have the freedom to control editorial content and the flexibility to feature various store products in the place of advertisements. In some cases, retailers have even been successful at pitching advertising space directly to their vendors. In addition, since magalogs are distributed primarily to current store customers, they provide an added means of initiating customer contact while simultaneously building a marketing list. From a store's vantage point, magalogs are a good deal. But what will they do to traditional print advertising?
Our opinion in short is... very little.
Magalogs, are an inventive means of promoting in-store products. They inherently identify with the salesman's mantra that it's easier and more cost effective to sell to repeat customers than to new. Therefore a magalog's core strength will be in upselling -- getting more out of an existing base. But they will do little toward drawing in new customers, and they have slim chance of replacing leading magazines in terms of shelf-life and a reader's commitment level.
Magalogs that are successful enough to sell advertising space to vendors may in fact draw some marketing dollars away from traditional print venues. However, in order for this to have any significant impact two things will have to increase:
1. The number of magalogs being produced -- a strong possibility.
2. The volume of ads dollars being sold therein -- an iffy proposition.
Magalogs provide a richer, more sophisticated level of customer interaction. In contrast to a traditional catalog, they are made to appeal to readers both visually and contextually. If successful, it only stands to reason that more retailers will look to duplicate such efforts. However, selling advertising is another matter. It requires a dedicated staff, some level of circulation verification, some means of proving readership and often some method of analyzing ROI. These are difficult matters for full-time publishers to handle and will certainly be a weighty burden for stores. Consequently, it is far more likely that "advertising space" will be filled with a simpler proposition, free in-store product placements.
All-in-all, while we believe magalogs are and will become an increasingly important marketing mechanism, their overall benefit will be in growing the ROI levels of current customers. Meanwhile, their impact on traditional print advertising platforms should remain immaterial.
Study Says "Young Metropolitans" Love Free Papers
Brand Republic reported that a new TNS Gallup study has found an interesting trend among "Young Metropolitans" (ages 18-34 living in major cities) and Free Newspapers. It seems they love them. The study reported that 49% of the Young Metros claimed to read a free newspapers once a week and 26% said they read a free newspaper everyday. In addition, 28% of the group polled said they only read free newspapers and preferred them over paid-for alternatives. According to TNS, freebie popularity seems to be a growing trend particularly in continental Europe. The study went on to show that 72% said they read a paid-for newspaper, and 49% read only a paid-for daily newspaper every week. The study was commissioned by Metro International. According to Metro's web site, it is the largest and fastest growing international newspaper in the world. 37 daily Metro editions are published in 54 major cities in 16 countries in 15 languages across Europe, North & South America and Asia. . To see the article click here.
Advertising Strongest Ever for Time's Style & Design
On October 11th Time magazine will release its tri-annual Style & Design supplement. It has been reported that this will be Style & Designs strongest issue with over 100 pages of advertising and a global circulation of more than one million copies. The issue will feature such articles as...
Luxury Fever: Consumers are buying everything souped-up. How long will the boom last?
The Joy of Spending: The designers of Juicy Couture teach Joel Stein a few things about shopping—especially when price is no object
The New Luxury Leaders: From the Internet to the cosmetics counter and from Kuwait City to Kansas City, 15 ambitious innovators are redefining the high life
Silence on Seventh Avenue: Go ahead and wear designer labels, but when it comes to politics, don't ask designers to label themselves.
Closet Capers: Three stylish lads share the secrets of their hip haberdashery.
And just in case you didn't notice the theme is centered on spending and luxury goods, which seems to be a hot topic this year. Several featured companies include Marc Jacobs, Barneys, Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, Ralph Lauren and more. Style & Design, which was first released in 2003 and is edited by Kate Betts.
Toyota Launches New "Moving Forward" Campaign
Toyota Motor Corp. this week signaled a change in their ongoing marketing efforts. Moving away from their "Get the feeling" campaign, which has been running since 2001, Toyota is looking to "reinvent" itself under an all new "Moving Forward" campaign. The marketing plan includes print media and will involve Hispanic and Chinese elements. (press release)
Sync Magazine Offers Holiday CD - Advertising Platform
Sync Magazine this week announced plans to produce an interactive CD-ROM to be included in the December issue of the publication. The CD will include special offerings for such items as movie trailers, DVDs, television shows, music and video games. Sync's core audience is comprised of affluent males, ages 25 - 34. And while including CD's as part of a publications marketing platform is not necessarily a new idea, we applaud Sync's progressivism and ongoing efforts to offer alternatives to print advertisers.
American Express Aims To Attract Mass Affluent Investors
American Express Financial Advisors (AEFA) together with Ogilvy & Mather New York have developed a new marketing and advertising campaign that aims to "Attract Mass Affluent Investors." The campaign was decided upon after AEFA conducted research (including focus groups and surveys) of current AEFA clients. Print Ads are part of the campaign and are planned for such publications as USA Today, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Time, Newsweek, US News and World Report, Money, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Smart Money, Travel & Leisure, The Advocate, Golf Magazine, Sports Illustrated Select, Food & Wine, Oprah, Real Simple, Business Week, Fortune, Forbes and Black Enterprise. Click Here for additional information.
Predicting the Demise of Print Media
Why is it that media people (analysts and such) are so quick these days to predict the demise of print media (newspapers and magazines).
Assuming that these folks are unbiased and have no vested interest, perhaps they genuinely believe that someday everyone will be reading periodicals on a computer screen, a cell phone or some other device to be invented. Perhaps they are basing their conclusions on the news that circulations have been declining for many newspaper and magazine publishers. Perhaps they believe that broadcast media and the Internet will become such a prevailing force that print will just sort of... slip away.
Whatever the reason, it's clear that these people have somehow seen the future and now find it necessary to strap on a sandwich board proclaiming... The End Is Near!
Well, perhaps... But then again, isn't is possible that they're just plain wrong?
In today's media driven environment it's the dramatic, the stunning, the bold which makes headlines. After all who would care if someone predicted newspapers would be around for another century. But to predict that a multi-billion dollar industry will suddenly disappear -- now that's news worthy.
I think perhaps it's time we came closer to the middle. Newspapers and magazines will change, few will debate it. It's already happening today. Publishers are becoming more consumer oriented, more technology savvy and far more coordinated in their industry efforts. But lumping print media in the same class as the whip and buggy is premature.
Now, doomsdayers will quote statistics and cite studies. They'll talk about non-reading youth, adults that prefer their news on the web, declining circulations, the pervasiveness of the Internet and more. But at the end of the day newspapers and magazines still offer a tangibility and convenience that television, radio and the web have yet to match for the bulk of the world's population, including the U.S. Consequently, print media will continue to exist and continue to offer a powerful medium for advertisers.
Will print media change - absolutely! But rather than decline it's far more likely that smart publishers will improve their businesses and see them grow. For the staid and complacent it will be a dangerous time, that's what competition does. But for the creative and entrepreneurial minded it will be a time of opportunity.
-DF-
