The Power of Magazine Brands in a Multimedia Environment Monday Opening Keynote Don Logan
Bullish about the future of magazines, Don Logan outlined several ways the magazine industry can maximize its strength to meet the challenges of the multimedia world. “Just as radio did not disappear with the emergence of televisions, and VCRs and DVDs have not killed off TV and the movies, magazines will not only survive the growing influence of the Internet and cable, but continue to survive,” he told the packed ballroom at the Waldorf=Astoria. Among the ways he said magazines will
ensure their survival is by keeping trusted brands fresh and
relevant. “That means offering the kind of cutting-edge
content that can be found no where else,” Logan stated,
citing People as an example of a publication having
its finger on the pulse of popular culture. Keeping It Relevant in a 24/7 World…Perspectives on Global Journalism
In response to headline-grabbing events throughout May, moderator Norm Pearlstine shifted the focus of the panel to a broader examination of pressure on the press. “We elected to change the topic a bit to try to make it more relevant to what many of us have been living through over the last few weeks and months,” he said at the outset of the panel. Pearlstine kicked off the discussion by commenting on his interest in the subject of confidential sources. “It’s a subject that I’ve been quite obsessed with over the last several months with regard to a special prosecutor and the grand jury’s efforts to get one of our reporters, Matt Cooper, to name the White House source that was responsible for the Robert Novak story and our own story on Valerie Plame and the CIA.” All editors on the panel expressed support for Newsweek’s Mark Whitaker, who has been under intense pressure for using a confidential source in a story about alleged abuse of the Qur’an at Guantanamo Bay. “I know that Newsweek is an exemplary news organization by its professional rigor,” said Alain Genestar of Paris Match. “I wanted to give Mark Whitaker our support and our solidarity.” Andreas Petzold of Stern was critical of White House spokesman Scott McClellan who he said wanted Newsweek to repair “lasting damage.” “In Germany, a quote like this would have led to the downfall of the government spokesperson,” he said. “It’s an embarrassing attempt to muzzle the press.” Editors also expressed the need to for their reporters and publications to take the pledge of confidentiality seriously. “Even if you’re in a crisis and people are coming after you and attacking you, it doesn’t means that …[it] gives you license to then expose the identity of your source,” said Whitaker. How Magazines Can Leverage Their Unique Position with the Consumer Monday Keynote Renetta McCann
Starcom’s Renetta McCann advised the media industry to step out of their professional roles and “start thinking like consumers.” Today’s consumers—adults and youth alike—are increasingly online, on wireless devices, DVRs, on-demand. In other words, consumers are accessing content via “screens, screens and screens,” and they are in control of what, when, where and how they’re taking in that content. In order for magazines to stay connected with their readers in a digital world, McCann urged the industry to focus on three deliverables: engagement, connectivity and accountability. McCann believed that magazines are arguably already doing a good job in terms of content and engagement, citing Starcom’s latest A.C.E. study and fall MRA study that showed that consumers crave magazine content, including the advertising. McCann defined connectivity as “understanding who the audience is and when they will be most receptive to your message.” She recommended opportunities like custom content pieces (otherwise known as advertorials) and similar programs, like signature events, that could connect clients’ brands with readers on a personal level. She clarified, “I’m not interested in making ads that blur the lines of editorial. Instead we seek a voice and tone that will resonate and be consistent to the reader. … We can’t alienate them when we are trying to engage them on behalf of our clients.” But ultimately, to improve connectivity,
McCann insisted that magazines embrace the digital platform
in creative ways—not just as digital mirrors of the print
product, but as robust and interactive extensions of a magazine
brand. Some of her ideas included content from magazine fashion
and beauty editors on video-on-demand, celebrity news podcasts
from entertainment titles, and customized digital editions of
magazines on PDAs. Making Cross-Media Partnerships Work
The syndicated “Martha Stewart Living” show will be filmed before a live audience, with interactivity in the how-to segments. The product placements will be seamlessly integrated. All products will be required to advertise in the print publications. However, Lyne warned that to cross the line between editorial and advertising with product placement in magazines is dangerous. Trust is key with readers. Readers must believe that an editor actually believes a product is the best if she recommends it. Eduardo Michelsen suggested that there were several ways to make cross-media partnerships work. One crucial way that must happen is to bring digital to the forefront. A second way would be to tap into other budgets such as promotion. Another way is sponsorships. To use cross-media partnerships successfully, Michelsen says that media must use specific shows. They should target a niche, also using radio and cable. Avoid spreading out the dollars because it lowers profitability. Televisa does product placements for their own products—TV and print. However, Michelsen agreed with Susan Lyne that to cross the line with product placements in magazines is dangerous. However, if an editor in chief likes and endorses a brand, salespeople can use that in their sales approach. When moderator Michael Clinton asked, “How do you go out in the marketplace to successfully sell across a multiplatform when Internet, print and TV are sold separately?” Stephen Lacy responded, “Everyone has to check their egos at the door.” He shared how Better Homes and Garden had a longstanding editorial relationship with Home Depot, which led to a successful home improvement contest. He predicts that cross-media partnerships will grow incrementally, not in a sudden surge. Lacy reported that branded content product
placement is absolutely real in the magazine world. For Meredith,
the best solution has been to make product available in a retail
environment. American Baby has held baby fairs, where
lots of product is available. However, Meredith promotes the
activity—the event—rather than the product. Magazines Make Things Happen Monday Luncheon Keynote Roberto Civita
When George Green, President Hearst Magazines International, met Roberto Civita 20 years ago, he was moved by Civita’s character and conscience. That was the tone of his introduction of Civita, of Brazil-based Editora Abril SA. Civita spoke about the central role of the editor in a time of unparalleled market pressures. He cautioned against the “body count of product placement.” Rather he suggested another metaphor, “the virtual circle.” That is, the magazine begins with a robust and unfettered editorial that engages the reader in defined ways, and this measured engagement delivers value to the advertisers. After a morning of rich presentations about the dynamic role of editorial, Civita’s brief but elegant presentation reminded FIPP delegates that magazines indeed make a difference, and the difference is the editorial. Global Expansion of Print…Realizing Growth Potential—Asia
Reader’s Digest’s Michael Brennan, international publishing veteran, chaired the panel and questioned participants about circulation and distribution, as these are often the impediments to overseas expansion. Citing demographics, psychographic and a boost in GDP, Dev Sarkar of Worldwide Media, Ltd., a joint venture with BBC Worldwide and the Times of India, was very bullish in India. He was particularly emphatic about India’s low-debt status and the pent up consumer demands for goods. India seems to have all the stars crossed just right, and he was somewhat surprised that more international magazines companies are not investing in India. Clearly there is a fascination with China which casts as shadow, sometimes as far as India. And no wonder. China has developed a very attractive climate for foreign publishers, even though the licensing procedure is not for the faint of heart. International data Group (IDG) with Chairman Patrick McGovern leading the charge, has almost singularly opened the China magazine market for Western imports. Hugo Shong, President Asia-China IDG offered a fascinating history of IDG’s development and its relationship with Hearst, Rodale, Primedia, National Geographic Traveler, Nikkei Business and others. IDG publishes 24 trade magazines and 16 consumer titles. Shong warmly invited others companies to publish in China. Thailand and Indonesia are also showing strong economic growth and an increase in magazines launches and advertising. Interestingly, in all four countries, newsstand sell through for established titles averaged 80-90%. As the panelists suggested, these markets have many distribution, audit and editorial issues to resolve. And there is a danger, given the increase in wireless technologies, that print could be hurt before it is fully established. But the message from the panel was clear. Magazines in Asia are still largely underleveraged. Now is a good time to enter these markets. The Building of a Brand Tuesday Opening Keynote William J. Lauder
As President and CEO of Estee Lauder Companies, Tuesday opening keynote William Lauder is responsible for 23 prestigious beauty brands, including Estee Lauder, Clinique, MAC and now, Missoni. According to Lauder, the company has enjoyed 52 years of uninterrupted growth, thanks in part to magazine publishers and editors, “who have been incredibly supportive and essential” to Estee Lauder’s success. Lauder stated that both magazines and his company do more than just sell products—magazines “forge emotional bonds” with readers, while his company creates “beauty and self esteem for consumers.” “Together, we form a virtuous cycle. Our advertisements enhance your magazines, and your magazines are the authority that drives the consumer,” he added. In considering magazines for advertising plans, Estee Lauder takes into account both a publication’s demographics (median age, household income, gender, along with a magazine’s newsstand vitality and circulation stability), as well as its “psychographic profile”—the publication’s “voice.” Understanding how to effectively integrate the qualities of both a magazine and the Estee Lauder brand is what leads to a successful print plan. He then showed specific examples of successful brand-building collaborations between different products and magazines categories, including beauty/fashion, the company’s “bread and butter,” and lifestyle/special interest, which had connected Estee Lauder with a previously untapped market of women 30 years and older, who were not necessarily readers of the beauty/fashion category. Ultimately, Lauder is “bullish on magazines,” despite the current media environment of skepticism towards “traditional” media. “Sure we try new things—to be competitive we must. But these non-traditional media will never replace the power of magazines. So long as the consumers rely on magazines for their authority, so will we!” Magazine Marketing Coalition: Creating a Movement Jack Kliger
The Magazine Marketing Coalition (MMC) was formed last year by MPA, its magazine members and publishing-related industries with the goal of boosting awareness in the advertising community about the effectiveness of consumer magazines. “Magazines engage where other media interrupt,” said Hachette Filipacchi’s Jack Kliger, who leads the three-year multi-million marketing effort undertaken by MMC to capture a greater share of advertising dollars. Furthermore, magazines, which studies have proven to be the least multi-tasked of all media, have always offered consumers the welcome quality of control over their consumption of the medium. Consumers, as a result, are engaged with magazine content—both editorial and advertising—in a very personal way. And in today’s frenetic media landscape, he asserted, “magazines have a timeless ability to connect with readers.” MMC hired Fallon New York to create “an advertising campaign that communicates the core messages with an element of fun and surprise,” said Kliger. The creative in the ads that ran in national and trade publications and online, featured consumers in various scenes from the future, still engaged by magazines. The campaign also involved “fantasy covers set in the future,” which were wrapped around copies of magazines sent to advertisers. In addition, MPA staged a guerilla stunt during the television upfront week, in which dozens of men and women were sent to tout magazine engagement at the NBC and ABC presentations, attended by thousands of media buyers. The magazine industry ambassadors wore t-shirts that riffed on the networks’ most popular shows (“Magazines Offer ER—Engaged Reach” and “We’re DESPERATE for our magazines,” for “Desperate Housewives”), read magazines amidst the chaos and distributed flyers with research facts on magazine engagement. Global Youth Lifestyle: What’s the Next Big Thing
Summit Media, which publishes the Philippine editions of Seventeen and Cosmopolitan, among other magazines, targets female Filipino teens, who, according to Aurora Mangubat, remain “very sweet,” but now have a stronger voice. Their magazines give them a forum for participation, and provide a place where the Philippine youth can find answers to their problems. Mangubat also said that simultaneously launching print and web editions of their magazines was an exciting strategy because they received immediate feedback from their readers. Craig Marks asserted that to get the attention of teen boys, journalists and marketers need to be fast. One would need to predict what will be two to three months in advance. Today’s youth can be classified as “Generation Shuffle,” and they drive music trends. Marks also warned that celebrities are everywhere, and having celebrities in a magazine isn’t good enough. The celebrity must do something through a magazine so that it is unique. Seventeen, which according to Atoosa Rubenstein is a “customized guidebook” to help a teen girl “find herself,” allows teens to hear from each other. She confessed that the most successful articles were those that were cheapest to put together, as they aggregated and presented reader feedback, such as “50 Hair Tips from Readers.” Rubenstein dubbed today’s teens as “Generation Speed”—they want to know about something immediately. Consequently, magazines need to be thought leaders, providing information that their readers can’t get anywhere else. Lisa Smosarski revealed that in the U.K., teens have a reputation of being “bad,” and Bliss tries to counter than by presenting itself as a voice of empowerment for its readers. She also said that a youth magazine has to stay true to its core values, but have multiple media platforms. In extending a magazine brand, Smosarski cautioned that the website must be different from the magazine. The web is about community. In addition, these days, if a teen-targeting magazine doesn’t have a website, it’s considered out of touch. Branding Is Not Enough Tuesday Luncheon Keynote Jonathan Newhouse
Few publishing executives would quote, as substance of a speech, John Keats’s “Ode to Beauty.” But Jonathan Newhouse did just that. This was no casual dropping of a poetic refrain “Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty,” but a coda to his presentation. This was after he, playfully, pointed out the many international publishing failures experienced in the last three decades by Condé Nast, Hachette Filipacchi, Hearst, Forbes, Fortune, Dennis Publishing, and others. Newhouse, dry wit and all, took no prisoners. He also rewarded every publishing failure a tombstone readily understandable in any language. For instance, for the Singapore version of Vogue, which died in 1997 after three years, Newhouse said that the market was too small to support the publication. He cautioned the audience that they have to be careful about branding because it can become jargon and control them like a recreational drug. He warned that though branding has become the sine qua non of publishing, it can’t save a magazine that is poorly executed. Newhouse admitted he was overstating the negative for effect. Of course brands matter but branding is not enough. A magazine needs the intelligence, the cognition, the magic of an editor as poet to bring a title to life. Creativity, more than branding, is what underlies success. He also underscored the advantages of a strong magazine brand. Among them: it helps in hiring staff, it instills confidence in advertisers, and it gives the magazine a powerful promotional edge. Making Things Happen in a Digital World
Hans Hamer noted that his company’s websites reach 50% of all men in Germany. “Content is king,” he said. “E-commerce is queen. Together they form the royal family.” Kerry Mitchell, publisher of the Canadian publication Chatelaine, was also bullish on the potential of the digital world for magazine publishers. “Our web business is not a brand extension,” she maintained. “It is a fundamental part of our business.” Wolfgang Stock told the audience that last year his company generated 30,000 paid subscriptions from the Internet. “The main advantage of the Internet is interactivity,” he said. “You can be in discussion with your consumers. And better yet, they can be in touch with you.” On the topic of digital replicas of magazines, Stock was much less enthusiastic. “It is no way to leap to the future,” he said. “This can’t be a business model.” Global Expansion of Print…Realizing Growth Potential—Europe, Africa, and Latin America
All four panelists offered a candid view of magazine publishing in their respective regions. Michael von Schlippe of Russia’s Independent Media, argued both sides of the “boom or bust” equation. With a population of 145 million, and boasting 13 cities with populations of over one million, Russia is a strong magazine market. Russia has approximately 16,000 magazines and like China, perhaps over 50% are moribund and a very small percentage profitable. There are no circulation audits to speak of and local retailers set cover prices. On the other hand international publishers including Hearst, Rodale, Gruner & Jahr, Condé Nast and others report good business in Russia. Indeed, von Schlippe reported that 60 international magazines were launched in the last 18 months. That would seem cause for celebration. Neslihan Tokcan of Dogan Burda Rizzoli Magazines, Turkey, offered both a geography and publishing lesson. Turkey, as it nudges closer to the European Union, is becoming of much greater interest to international publishers. The population is young, westward-looking and accepting of international brands. Patricia Scholtemeyer of South Africa-based Media 24 Magazines, provided helpful details about magazines in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, and gave testimony to the enormous strides her country has made in the last decade. In no way did she underestimate the problems associated with poverty and HIV-AIDS, particularly in South Africa, but she chose to highlight what she terms her country’s “miracle of transformation.” Magazines seem very much a part of this transformation. For John Reuter of Grupo Editorial Expansion, Mexico is one of the leading publishing entrepreneurs in the Latin American region and a strong booster. Mexico is most appropriately compared to Spain in terms of business potential—and Spain is a very strong magazine market. The externals are in Mexico’s favor. Mexico is the tenth largest economy is the world. Inflation is under control and has strong dollar reserves. These countries might not offer the immediate prospects of China and India but they all hold promise. |
