Celebrity News Is Hot! Todd Gold, LA Bureau Chief, People Celebrity/entertainment magazines are at the height of popularity, and both Todd Gold of People and Steve Legrice of TV Guide Publishing Group’s new magazine, Inside TV, provided insights on the making of a successful publication, which at newsstand, boils down to cover selection.
Todd Gold had been at People, founded 31 years ago, for the last 22 years. He learned from legendary Time Inc. editor Richard Stolley that when it comes to selling at newsstand, “young is better than old, pretty is better than homely, TV is better than movies, music trumps sports, and politicians don’t sell.” He also learned that it does pay to put “a dead man on the cover,” and that consumers respond to covers about the rites of passage in the lives of celebrities. (This is otherwise known as “match, hatch and dispatch.”) Consumers are very interested in celebrity women’s body issues, which he discovered when they put the news of the death Karen Carpenter from anorexia, and that Princess Diana sold magazines. She appeared on the cover of People 54 times. However, he also found that people respond to stories about tragedies (such as Korean Airlines flight 007), and that covers on “real people” (the “Boy in the Bubble”), and that hero pets can outsell celebrity covers. Gold also spoke of the success of People’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” remarking, “Don’t be afraid of where coverlines may take you.”
Steve Legrice ticked off “10 Keys to Success,” using
TV Guide covers to illustrate his point. On the list:
“every cover should be an event”—spawning several
editions of “The 100 Most Memorable TV Moments”; “ratings
+ heat = success”—understanding that people are no
longer passive watchers but are active participants, TV Guide
offers multiple cover choices for single issues; “make
the cover aspirational”—making glamour accessible
to the consumer and showing TV shows and stars at their peak;
and “stay loyal to your core values”—in this
case for TV Guide, “warm, generous, straightforward,
honest, trustworthy, informative, fun.” Retail Growth Initiative Update Peter Kreisky, Chairman, The Kreisky Media Consultancy,
Inc.
Peter Kreisky cited four examples of retailers who are successful at selling magazines. Bookstores, lead by Barnes & Noble, have doubled their share of retail magazine sales in just a decade from 5.6% to 11.4%. “Magazines at Barnes and Noble have outpaced overall growth. Out-of-stocks are extraordinarily low. Sell-through levels are way in excess of industry averages,” he said. “Barnes & Noble is truly a leader in this industry.” Home Depot, according to Kreisky, leverages the information value of books and magazines to drive incremental sales across the store. While convenience stores share of the retail magazine market
has declined over the past decade, 7-Eleven remains bullish about
magazines, said Kreisky. The company’s research shows that
magazines are a destination in 7-Eleven stores and that they drive
traffic.
John Loughlin followed Kreisky by outlining several initiatives in support of the industry’s retail goals. The goals included convincing retailers of the importance of magazines to their customers and their stores, giving magazines the positions they deserve, and communicating the industry’s position on how magazines contribute to store profitability. He also described several misperceptions that retailers had about magazines. For example, he said, “Retailers perception is often that magazines are only moderately profitable. The reality, putting above-average gross margin and below-average labor costs together, is a contribution margin for magazines of 25% versus 17% for the total store.” Consumer Spending: It’s All About the Home Moderator: Michael Clinton, Hearst Magazines Panelists:
Michael Clinton asked three shelter magazine publishers for their thoughts on the recent increase in the shelter category, how they get their brands out, and challenges they face at retail. Michela O'Connor Abrams suggested that a challenge of the past year has been that readership has not grown, while the number of shelter magazines has, causing a splintering of the market. Jill Seelig reported that O at Home is doing well since its release because it represents something new and different in this market. In response to the question, “Are you losing people to the new shelter shows?”, Seelig said, “Yes, I think we are. [The shows feature] real people.” Michael Brownstein disagreed, saying that TV is not taking away readers—it has a different appeal. People tear out pages from magazines and refer to them when renovating. Abrams agreed with Brownstein, adding, “Dwell features real people and real homes.” All three publishers actively seek to promote their brands. Dwell’s
approach is to bring design to like-minded people. Dwell
is extending its reach through television and its website as well
as through cross-promotion and showroom tours throughout the nation.
Country Home, one of Brownstein’s titles, focuses
on event marketing, inviting readers to bring the magazine to
life. “The home has always been important to Oprah,”
reported Seelig, so if stories from the magazine fit with Oprah’s
show’s topic, they will be featured on Oprah. Clinton asked Brownstein regarding Country Home, “How to you broaden the appeal of a magazine with a narrow focus?” Brownstein replied by saying that Country Home has become more modern; it has moved beyond early Americana and since then circulation has grown. There has been a shift: “Traditional now means classic.” The three publishers had concrete ideas on how magazines at retail could be improved. Abrams asked retailers to “make it appealing.” Retailers need to treat magazines not as just a sideline if there is to be a renaissance in newsstand sales. Brownstein suggested removing all barriers to magazines by positioning them differently. Seelig urged retailers not to think of magazines as an afterthought and to make the magazine experience inviting and organized. Cracking the Code: The Dan Brown Phenomenon Stephen Rubin, President and Publisher, The Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, Random House, Inc.
Describing the Dan Brown novel “The Da Vinci Code”
as “the most talked about novel of our time,” Stephen
Rubin outlined the chronology of the book’s incredible success.
It began with the decision in early 2001 when Doubleday signed
Brown to write “The Da Vinci Code.” "Guysville"—The Surge in Men's Magazines Jeff Price, VP, Chief Marketing Officer, Sports
Illustrated
Jerry Tarde gave a background on Golf Digest’s readers: “Passionate, fixated, and in love with the game and the magazine that brings it to them….Readers spend 2.5 hours with our magazine every month….They average playing 72 rounds a year.” Golf Digest connects to its readers in a variety of ways, including bringing readers “inside the ropes” with professional tournaments, access to the top stars and featuring dream golf courses around the world. Golf Digest’s best brand extensions flow directly from its readers’ passion for the game. Starting with the credo of helping readers “how to play, what to play, where to play,” Golf Digest has entered dozens of business ventures, licensing deals and partnerships. In addition, editorial features such as “America’s 100 Greatest” and “Best New List” along with pegboards, books, videos, DVDs and calendars extend the brand. Golf Digest runs schools, and publishes Golf for Women and the leading newsweekly, Golf World as well. For 50 years, Golf Digest never reviewed products. That changed with the “Best New List,” which has resulted in driving golfers to stores.
Jeff Price shared the steps Sport Illustrated took to increase sales for its swimsuit issue, whose 2003 sales had dropped to 1.2 million. They decided to reinvest in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit brand and created a special edition version, called the “40th Anniversary Hall of Fame,” and timed it to coincide with the Super Bowl. Television proved crucial to driving newsstand sales. Spike TV featured a marathon of various years of the “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Special” during the Super Bowl. Sports Illustrated increased its retail focus, with 30,000 floor displays and 15,000 counter displays.
David Zinczenko reported that last year’s sales for Men’s Health exceeded 650,000 at newsstand and this year looks like it may grow even higher. He said that Men’s Health’s success is due to putting the reader first and talking to men the way they speak to each other. Men’s Health keeps the brand alive and growing by operating on a global scale—when released in the UK, it became one of the fastest selling magazines. Men’s Health extends its brand through the new Best Life magazine venture, seasonal “bookazines” and special publishing projects. In addition, they publish 28 books a year. The editors are frequently called on to offer advice on television and radio, and Jay Leno regularly quotes the “back page” of the magazine. Zinczenko concluded by saying that men read magazines the way they live their lives: they hunt the newsstand, drag the magazine home, and devour it. Retailers Stay Connected: Wegmans Heather Pawlowski, VP of General Merchandise, Wegmans
Heather Pawlowski shared insight into the operations and dedicated category management of the company. “The unique, one-of-a-kind shopping experience Wegmans strives to provide is made up of individual components that customers experience,” said Pawlowski. The company’s goal to both connect and engage the customer at every shopping trip is the driving force behind their dedication to the periodicals category. “Reading provides us an opportunity to keep our customers engaged each time they come into our store,” she stated. Through cross promotional events like author signings, a bridal show sponsored by Bridal Magazine, and cooking demonstrations, Wegmans actively uses their periodical suppliers to generate in-store excitement. Pawlowski further described the enthusiasm needed to successfully manage the category. “Getting the right reading material in the right store at the right time in the right quantity” are vital to successful management. Wegmans’ demonstrated commitment to understanding the value of the periodical category continuously proves to be extremely beneficial for their business. In January, Fortune ranked Wegmans on top of its annual list of the nation’s leading companies to work for. Looking Ahead Thomas O. Ryder, Chairman and CEO, The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.; MPA Board Chairman
Ryder also voiced some concerns about the practices of some publishing colleagues. He said publishers needed to fix the supply chain or they will not meet their promises to retailers. Ryder identified newsstand overcrowding as a problem, and he called upon publishers to bring economic sense to newsstand returns. Finally Ryder scolded publishers who put their magazines in his pockets. “It destroys the planning our retailers have done and it hurts the investment I have made,” he said. “It affects other publishers the same way…It hurts sales. So stop taking what you haven’t paid for.” Best Practices Awards Luncheon
The Retail Best Practices Awards were awarded to six outstanding retailers for excellence in book and magazine merchandising. Wegmans is the inaugural recipient of the Retail Best Practices Hall of Fame, for significant and longstanding contributions to the magazine and book publishing industries, and for demonstrating extraordinary leadership, skill and understanding in support of the industries. In addition, six
retailers received Periodical Merchandising Excellence Awards.
Four awards were given to
stores in the Mass Merchandise/Grocery/Drug category. H-E-B
Grocery Company received an award for excellence in cross-merchandising.
Safeway Inc. received an award for excellence in checkout merchandising.
The Kroger Company received an award for excellence in mainline
merchandising. And, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. received an award
for excellence in promotional programs.
Conference Closing Dinner The War on Terrorism Barry R. McCaffrey, General, USA (Retired)
Addressing a packed Retail Conference closing night dinner, General Barry McCaffrey expressed optimism about how the United States is dealing with the threat of terrorism in the post-9/11 world. In a wide-ranging speech in which he predicted national ID cards in 10 years for US citizens, the General cited improvements in the FBI, the Armed Forces and Homeland Security as positive developments over the past three years in combating terrorism. General McCaffrey, who serves as national security and terrorism analyst for NBC News, foresaw the FBI becoming more of a counter-terrorism organization like Britain’s MI5. He expected that it would take Homeland Security five to 15 years before it was functioning at peak efficiency. He called for a doubling of the Coast Guard to protect the nation’s coastline. He lauded the performance of the U.S. military, but remarked that the size of the country’s armed forces was “grossly small compared to the size of the challenge.” But he also addressed darker issues relating to the nation’s security. In particular, he outlined a stark scenario involving the convergence of terrorism, international crime and drug money. “It’s a dimension of the terrorism problem unlike nothing we have ever seen,” he said, adding that a dozen terrorism organizations are funded by drug money. Cuba also posed a near-term threat to the security of the United States, according to the General. When Castro dies, he predicted one million Cuban residents would try to flee and head to the United States. |
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