My formative years were spent in print and as a result I’m passionate about the print industry. With over 500 titles a month crossing my desk, I’ve learnt to identify a winner and believe the print industry tends to be its own worst enemy, increasingly run by printers and financial people, rather than entrepreneurs and marketers.
It’s become more about advertising revenue than about the readers. There seems to be a general fear of talking to readers and a shift toward the silo business model – income generating and product separated. This is why we are seeing so much impulse publishing without solid, thought-through business plans. There is a wait-and-see response and a growing lack of confidence as failures increase.
Fragmentation is just one contributing factor, with over 1,000 titles vying for readership. What we need are more editors that truly understand what their readers want, and who deliver accordingly. This does not mean he or she should embody the reader; but rather roll with the times, give readers what they’re after and remain focused. While publications have the potential to be good, they are often bad simply due to their lack of differentiation. Sure, there’s room for more, but not more of the same.
The monotony is aggravated by the growing trend to use freelancers. The writing is becoming too generic. If one were to use the “tongue tip test” (identifying the title without the cover) few titles would pass. The winners have set themselves apart by providing consistent, comprehensive offerings, for example the Daily Sun, FHM, Men’s Health, Heat and Glamour.
Another issue to consider is that people’s lifestyles are changing. Technology has provided consumers with even more options, so they are exercising choice in what they consume. Also, the days of magazine monopolies are over, and with so many titles to choose from, publications actually have to compete for the limited number of readers available and justify the demands they are making on their time.
Measured adspend in the industry seems to be up, but in reality it’s down. While rates may increase, this is offset by massive discounts, meaning that profits don’t increase. Print’s 40% share of total adspend is stable, yet more titles are competing for this revenue.
For those interested, my advice to publishers is: know your readers and want what you’ve got. To the newbies: understand where your title will fit in and why readers should buy it; publishing doesn’t guarantee advertising. If you deliver what your readers want, the advertising will follow.
And I have some back-page thoughts on this matter. Circulation is democracy in print, ad revenue is the bi-product of a successful title, and an ABC certificate is like a birth certificate – without one you’ll battle to prove you exist.
Gordon Patterson, managing director of Starcom and member of the Advertising Media Forum and Audit Bureau of Circulation boards, is filling in for Harry Herber, who will return next month.