A new era of publishing
James Mallinson, publishing director at Reader’s Digest UK, says savvy publishers will place innovation at the heart of their business models in order to thrive…
Despite an extremely challenging economic climate, the recent ABC CCR showed that the magazine market rose 6% period on period. This reinforces the historic maxim that magazines are recession proof.
Publishing has always been a dynamic medium, evolving and reinventing itself. Take a closer look behind the figures and it is possible to see that this spirit of dynamism remains strong within the industry, and confirms that publishing is still a market driven by innovation.
A lot of focus has naturally been given to digital as a key means of industry innovation, and this is being embraced with new iPad and iPhone apps, web-enabled editions and mobile optimised websites being launched every day. However, the emphasis on digital should not overwhelm the important innovations the industry is embracing.
One such example is the launch of compact editions of full titles, the launch of ‘i‘ being a recent example. i offers a new route for time poor consumers who love the Independent to enjoy an abridged version of the title.
A second trend is free as a route to market. There are many successful examples in both the newspaper and magazine industries, including Metro, Evening Standard through to the success of Shortlist and Stylist. However, there is a middle ground between free and fully paid for, a business model that Reader’s Digest adopted in October last year.
The hybrid model which includes extensive distribution of the full edition alongside paid-for subscriptions and newsstand revenue is among the many contributing factors to the magazine’s recent 7% increase in circulation. This was the first increase in circulation since 1994 and demonstrates that innovation works.
Finally, the newsstand is far from dead, publishers are actively looking beyond newsstand for routes to take their brands to market. Reader’s Digest has found that sampling outside major transport hubs is a beneficial way to allow people to experience the product. Once people got an issue, they were positively surprised and as a result of a very strong call to action we have successfully converted trials into subscriptions.
This is but one of many techniques we are exploring. Instead of relying solely on the historic techniques and digital to drive sales, we are able to attract new readers through a host of techniques used by many companies not in the publishing space. The critical choice is of course, making the decision of which to use!
Elsewhere other savvy publishers are turning to new revenue streams to generate income beyond circulation and advertising. For example, Condé Nast is launching branded restaurants overseas and Empire is hosting a three day movie event.
Building a brand that instantly resonates with people allows publishers to think beyond the magazine product and more like a media brand. At Reader’s Digest we have been doing that for over 70 years and we will sell over 3.2 million books, CD’s & DVD’s this year alone. In the last few weeks, over 13,000 people have brought items from our branded Royal Wedding catalogue.
By placing innovation at the heart of the business model as well as continuing to deliver high-quality entertaining and informative content will ensure that publishing continues to thrive.