TUESDAY, MARCH 7
 State of Terminal
Accounts
Bever identified “effective planning” as the key to continued success in the airport concessionaire business. Closely monitoring who the passengers are, where they travel, and what they want to buy as they go, is at the center of effective planning. Bever also spoke about the current demographic profile of the airline passenger, offering statistics that exposed the gender split as 50% female and 50% male, with an age range of 35-54. She noted that airline passengers are college educated with an average income of $95,000, and that reading is a very important “planned buy” for this demographic. According to Bever, the airport concession area experience must be enticing, quick and convenient with the right mix of magazines, newspapers, food and impulse items for these savvy, busy consumers. The displays and environment that the products inhabit must be energetic, but easy to navigate. Luxury items that are connected to the cultural profile of a region or city are no longer out of place in terminals. They sit and sell comfortably alongside low priced souvenirs are higher priced items from regional sculpture to high-end surfboards. Increasingly, digital kiosks offering news on demand and downloadable music and media sit alongside magazines and hardcover bestsellers. The line between the airport terminal and the mall is blurring more and more each year, and that means great opportunities for airport terminal concessions, as products and services formerly thought of as out-of-place in an airport terminal become planned purchases.
20 Ideas in 20 Minutes Moderator Panelists
Furthering brand awareness, brand extensions and reader engagement were among the topics covered in this fast-paced panel discussion, in which participants had a total of one minute to answer each question. Here are some of the highlights. On engaging new readers: Jeff Clapper of Clapper Communications related a feature called “Girls Night In” in one of Clapper’s crafting magazines, which offered recipes, drinks and simple crafts that would attract women who may not have any experience crafting, and may then be attracted to the hobby. “We had to develop a program that won’t cost much, won’t take a lot of time, or take much experience.” On connecting with readers to improve magazines: Michael Barbee of Kalmbach Publishing said that they conduct reader satisfaction surveys, send out email surveys for new product ideas or new SIP (special interest publication) topics, and increasingly, do online cover testing. On the print brand and the digital brand: Tim Schreiner of The Taunton Press revealed, “Our readers are very internet savvy, which made it easy for us to launch our paid subscription site [FineWoodworkingNetwork.com].” Membership to the site was offered as an upsell to the magazine or as a standalone subscription. The magazine promotes what’s new on the web in its table of content section, while the magazine and subscription to the print product is promoted online. Andrew Ormson of FHM calls the brand’s audience “very internet-intensive.” The young male audience spends a lot of time online, so FHM invests in both the print and online entities. “To get the full FHM experience you need to be in both media,” said Ormson. Plus, reader-generated content such as joke and photo submissions feeds the interactivity and fosters a sense of community for readers.
Macro
Trends
Madeline Temple engaged the audience in an exploration of “What’s Happening with Consumers” and how to reach them with products. She began by defining “values” as the “why behind the what” (the forces driving individual and group consumer behavior), an “observation” as “a sign of consumer want,” “trends” as “several observations across time,” and a “macro trend” as “an aggregation of observations and trends across demographics and geography.” Temple cited various examples of how conventional and innovative products were brought to consumers in dynamic ways that took in to account consumers expectations and desires in the retail experience. Among the examples was a retailer who offered same-day delivery from the store. It was a service that enticed consumers to buy more than they could carry, and thereby encouraging them to spend more. Her suggestions for the magazine industry ranged from embedding titles in everyday activities to special branding opportunities. She explained that in the retail space you have to enable “consumers to pick up a copy without a second thought,” like hanging a shopping magazine in the very same rack with denim jeans. She urged “awakening the senses” with magazines to let them reach out with smells from scent strips or scented polybags. She also gave theoretical and actual examples of co-branding efforts with retailers and designers of the moment. Quoting Jim Young of Jamesan Group, Temple presented the idea that if people want to buy something they go online, but they go to malls and retail spaces in hopes of getting a physical sense of where the world is going in terms of style, design and value. Temple explained that this is why dynamic retail experiences are so critical. She concluded by encouraging retailers and publishers to find new ways to launch new products and make them work with store environments and promotions. Retailers should try to connect with consumers in a meaningful manner in order to pull them in to the stores and compel them to buy.
Data Utilization Moderator Panelists
Looking Ahead
“It’s not hard to understand why,” remarked Kliger. “I guess when a person has their mind, eyes and hands occupied with a magazine, there’s not much attention room for much else.” However, Kliger also acknowledged the possibilities new technology brings saying, “Magazines create valuable brands and content…in a world with near-infinite media choices. Magazines…can use technology to build new consumer relationships—particularly with young, tech-savvy consumers who live much more in a screen-based world.” Technology is also key to creating a better, more efficient business. Publishers can publish with higher print quality, and innovations in digital production and electronic publishing systems have sped up magazine production. Digital advancements also allow for faster consumer research, which can in turn help publishers save time and money on distribution. Ultimately, Kliger believes that it’s the consumers’ engagement with magazines that will be at the core of the magazine business, and it will be a priority for the industry’s distribution partners as well. He closed by urging the audience to work together to understand, reach and retain consumers’ connection with the medium.
BEST PRACTICES AWARDS LUNCHEON
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