Magazines’ slipping share is their own fault
Australia’s magazine industry is to be congratulated.
Over the last few years, the industry has been participating in a massive piece of global market research. And the results are in.
If you don’t invest in promoting your medium, the share goes backwards. Who’d have thought?
As Matt Stanton, the new chairman of Magazine Publishers Australia pointed out last night, the UK magazine market has an 8% share of media spend. In Australia, it’s 4%.
It turns out that in order to sell your product, you’ve got to market it.
While structural change may have played a role, the fact that magazines haven’t been selling themselves while the likes of Free TV, the Outdoor Media Association, and Commercial Radio Australia have been eating their lunch is a far bigger factor.
In the UK, magazine publishers work together to promote their medium. In Australia, they’ve been hopeless. Or “shit” as previous MPA chairman Nick Chan put it.
A big part of the blame lies with ACP, now under new management as Bauer. Then boss Ian Law decided to save a few bucks and withdrew from MPA. As a result, the united front pretty much died.
Despite that, there has been small progress driven by the smaller players.
The end of November sees Magazine Week run for the second time. This event is organised by Publishers Australia, which mainly represents the second tier players, although MPA is represented on the board and the big guys are involved on the Magazine Week panels.
Last year saw Publishers Australia’s long running magazine awards opened up to MPA members. As a result, it started to feel like a big all-industry magazine event. There’s a chance yet to turn this into the big night in the magazine industry year.
And the rest isn’t rocket science. Figure out ways of reminding marketers and media agencies of the value of the medium. And then consistently deliver the message.
It will be a long slog to increase share. But at least magazines are trying again.
Tim Burrowes
Linkedin
All the salespeople in the old dart packed their long pointy shoes and their pinstripe suits and came over here.
To sell online.
Seriously. At almost every meeting I have with digital people, there is a geezer in a pinstripe suit who gives me his business card. Always says BDM, or director of strategic customer management or something. That card never says “sales” BTW….
User ID not verified.
Anything to do with that in the UK the BBC dominates the TV landscape and is non-commercial which gives other media a free-kick?
User ID not verified.
@ AB&GRLC
I have witnessed the great sales reps wanting to work in the digital space. (Lets face it, if you could choose, why wouldn’t work in the ‘exciting’ ‘fresh’ ‘new’ medium, which is digital?)
This leaves the dregs selling print and they aint as good as the ‘geezers’ at sales.
User ID not verified.
Publishers Australia supports and is encouraged by the MPA relaunch and new campaign. While we represent the ‘second tier’ players in this sector, we have been active in the promotion of magazine media through significant initiatives like Magazine Week in recent years. Having the top end of town join in the chorus is a big boost, and will ensure the united voice has increased impact with marketers and media buyers.
There will be some solid supporting research presented at Magazine Week to support the case for magazines, and we look forward to sharing this with the media in mid-November.
User ID not verified.
if the geezers weren’t selling online ad space they’d be flogging plastic boomerangs down the Rocks
make sure you dont ask them any hard questions
User ID not verified.
@ neil schofield
They will sell whatever makes them the most money. Cream always floats to the top and whether they are ‘geezers’ or very good at sales, these gifted individuals will always ride the waves at the best beaches, so to speak.
If you are really good at selling you would be in the digital space right now over print, which is potentially another reason why print sales are struggling?
User ID not verified.