Nina Link, 2011 American Magazine Conference

October 11, 2011

Nina Link
President & CEO
MPA

American Magazine Conference
Oct. 4, 2011
New York, NY

Thank you.

Welcome to AMC 2011 – The Magazine Media Conference. It’s been a long time since we’ve held AMC in New York, the home of the magazine industry. The last time was exactly 10 years ago, a month after the tragedy of 9/11. AMC was supposed to be held in Phoenix, but we decided to support our hometown instead, so we moved the conference to Manhattan.

In four weeks. That’s a mere 28 days. Never tell magazine publishers and editors they can’t do something!

What a difference 10 years makes! In 2001, we were a print-centric medium catering to millions of readers. Today we are Magazine Media – and our content gets read, watched, listened to, commented on, repurposed, and disaggregated. But it is always loved and cherished, probably more than ever. We connect with our audiences 24/7 – and, through the magic of digital platforms, even the smallest of our brands have a footprint that circles the world.

Today, like 2001, we are all operating in a tough business climate. BUT our industry has always been resilient and resourceful. Working together we can overcome the challenges and accelerate growth.

It’s not by chance that when we came back to New York it was smack dab in the middle of Advertising Week in New York. What a wonderful opportunity to showcase the power of the magazine industry. And what a wonderful opportunity to make some noise. In case you didn’t know…

• AMC is the Official Magazine Media Conference of Advertising Week in New York.
  
• Today and tomorrow have been declared “New York Magazine Days” in an official proclamation signed by Mayor Bloomberg.
  
• And Duane Reade has posters in more than 40 midtown stores with the headline: “Welcome to the Magazine Capital of the World.” The poster you see on the screen will be up all week in stores. You’ll find a $10 gift card for Duane Reade in your conference bags. So, please, take your card, visit a store, and buy a magazine.

In the next few minutes, I’m going to update you on MPA initiatives in three areas of critical importance to the magazine media industry: Distribution, Advertising, and Digital Expansion.

Let me start with Distribution –what could be more important than getting our product into the hands of the consumer either through the mail, at retail or on digital platforms.

• Of course, first the 800 pound gorilla in the room – postal. MPA advocates postal reform to ensure a viable, affordable and efficient post office for delivery of our magazines. The Postal Service needs to do what most of you have already done: re-engineer to better align costs and revenues; and, quite frankly, do more with less. Further, we need the Postal Service to achieve this without significantly cutting back on service. MPA supports the Postal Service’s efforts to survive. But, no matter what, we will find a way to get our magazines into the hands of consumers, even if that means looking at alternative delivery.
  
  Because this issue is so important, MPA is scheduling our first-ever Postal Summit on January 26th at the Hearst Tower, and we’re launching a new section on our website today called “MPA Postal Watch”… dedicated to covering the unfolding postal developments.
  
• Retail distribution has been hard hit by the financial downturn, resulting in fewer shopping trips and reduced impulse spending. MPA’s partnership with Duane Reade is just one example, but I think it illustrates the upside of promoting the value of magazines at retail to drive traffic and sell more magazines. Every publisher at retail has products in their magazines that also sit on the shelves of the retailer - a natural partnership.
  
• As Digital Platforms transport us into previously unimagined ways of distributing magazines, MPA is advocating for the preservation of the direct relationship between publisher and consumer. That relationship, so essential to our print business, needs to be just as personal and enduring when our content is delivered digitally especially in the mobile channel.

The second of area of focus is Advertising.

• During this time of many choices for advertisers, we’re promoting ROI and accountability to reinforce the value and vitality of magazine media, both in print and digital platforms. This spring we published the 2011 edition of our Magazine Media Factbook. We are offering this expanded compendium of facts and research to our members via three digital platforms, including our first-ever magazine app, which has more than 800downloads.
  
• MPA is championing the effectiveness of magazine media directly to advertisers. Our presentations highlighting the power of our medium have reached more than 3,000 advertising professionals in the past year.
  
• We’re laser-focused on measurement. Actually, I’d say we’re obsessed. The Holy Grail will be a total audience metric that measures both print and digital… providing a total footprint of Magazine Media. We are coordinating our measurement efforts with other marketing coalitions and organizations… groups like ANA… to make sure that our work fits with what is being done by others who are addressing measurement.
  
• As our brands establish better ways of measuring impact, it is essential that we also achieve fair value. We absolutely do not want to default to the low C-P-M’s of the Internet. We know that magazine content and advertising is relevant and engaging – and valued by the consumer. Magazines move people to action. Magazines create buzz. Magazines have impact at the most critical stages of the purchase funnel. We know this to be true in print, and we’re beginning to see research that supports it in tablets as well. So, as our footprint expands, MPA will be advocating to help the industry establish and preserve value.

Third and final, Digital Expansion.

One of our goals for this AMC is to provide insights that help you to harness the potential of emerging digital platforms. We’re facilitating the exchange of best practices and case histories so that we, as an industry, can share, share, share.

Here are some of the key MPA digital initiatives underway that deliver on that goal:

• More Digital Conferences. We’ve tripled the number of digital conferences we host each year. Our next major digital event, focusing on social media, will be held December 7th in New York.
  
• MPA’s Magazine Media Lab. It’s located at MPA’s headquarters and the Lab showcases the latest tablets and e-readers, providing our members with an opportunity to experience content on the leading personal mobile devices in a specially designed space.
  
• Digital dinner series. MPA and ASME are jointly hosting a monthly “digital dinner” series called “table@45rock” at a restaurant in Rockefeller Center.These dinners examine producing magazine content on all digital platforms. Later this morning, a panel of publishers will share highlights and insights from our digital dinners.
  
• The Magazine App Boot Camp. We created this three-day certificate course for publishers around the country so they could have an immersive hands-on experience to learn everything about apps.
  
• The MPA Digital Guide and MPA Glossary. Finally, today we’re publishing “The MPA Guide to Personal Mobile Devices: Tablet, Smartphones and E-Readers.” It’s simply the most comprehensive guide for publishers and advertisers ever produced about mobile digital platforms and you won't want to leave home without it. We’re also publishing MPA’s first digital glossary today with more than 300 words, phrases and acronyms. Both documents are at your seats today at this conference and online.

Ten year ago was a challenging time for the magazine industry. Internet bubble burst, leaving confusion and uncertainty about the consumers' media choices. Now, a decade later, magazine readership and reach remains incredibly strong, especially among younger readers, and our industry has been electrified by the potential we see in a host of new digital platforms.

Yes, we are grappling with major challenges, like the postal crisis, and we still need to figure out how to best take advantage of the opportunities posed by digital. But we’ll do all this, and more, because we have collective ingenuity, and we have strength in numbers.

We’ll work together to ensure that postal reform is favorable to our industry – or we’ll find viable alternatives. We’ll work together to foster the all-important direct relationship between publisher and consumer, and preserve it well into the future. We’ll work together to ensure value for our digital content, to the benefit of each individual brand. And we’ll work together to reach the Holy Grail of full-footprint measurement.

Nobody else has our content, advertisers, and relationship with consumers.

We will deliver. We will measure. And we will win…because we engage like nobody else.

Thank you.

I now will yield the floor to Michael Clinton, who has served as Chairman of MPA since April, so this is his first AMC as Chairman. Michael is the ultimate cheerleader for magazines, our industry’s happy warrior. He’s also the ultimate public speaker as you’ll see in a second. I’m only glad that he’s following me, and I’m not following him.

Please welcome our Chairman, Michael Clinton.