Archive for June, 2013

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An Industry that Continues to Give Birth is NOT a Dying Industry…Examining the Retail Records of 25 New Magazines of 2012 (Amended)

June 12, 2013

Screen shot 2013-06-11 at 4.46.18 PM From a historic and naturalistic perspective, any entity that doesn’t give birth becomes extinct. That’s just a fact.

So when people say that print is dead or is going the way of the dinosaur, my gut reaction is to laugh out loud and then show them the numbers of new births that are being born every day in the delivery rooms of the nation’s newsstands.

I really don’t understand why it has always been acceptable for individuals who have killed products that don’t sell, don’t work or don’t have readership or viewership, to blame an entire industry for the demise of specific products. It is like saying television is dead because M.A.S.H. is no longer on.

Back in the late 70s when I first came to America, there were 3 major TV networks and three major magazines which distributed over 10 million copies: TV Guide, Reader’s Digest and National Geographic.

Then along came cable TV and the magazine industry went the way cable went. Magazines became “cable-lized.” The more cable added life and variety to the national psyche, the same happened with the magazine industry.

New magazine launches moved from the 50-100 titles per year, to the 700-800 mark. And the more new titles that have arrived, the more specialized they’ve become. Gone are the days of the 10 million circulations of one magazine, and hello to the present where there are hundreds of magazines with an over- all total of 10 million.

So what role new magazines play in the life of the industry? Now the definition of “new” is as lucrative and fluid as the titles coming and goings themselves. Some new magazines came out with new names, but old bipads. Some used different bipads based on various retail outlets. And some were nothing more than a name change or a test. For example, when Quilty magazine was published, it came under the bipad Paper Crafts SIPs, or when Revolucion came out, it did so under the SIM Cycle series.

Screen shot 2013-06-11 at 4.45.47 PM

So in order to maneuver through the new maga- zines maze, I reached out to the folks at MagNet to help me identify and clarify the identity of 25 new magazines from 2012. I gave them the names of 25 new titles that appeared on the newsstands for the first time in 2012. MagNet provided me with the circulation numbers of the first issue and the last issue of 2012 of the said titles. The numbers are revealing to say the least.

The 25 magazines (see below) had a total draw of their first issues of 926,281 copies, barely shy of the one million mark. While the average draw of a first issue was 37,051, the more revealing number is the median of those magazines: 9,019. Cosmopolitan For Latinas led the crowd with a draw of 299,823 for the first issue and Tap Root had the least number with a draw of 1,182.

The sell-through numbers reveal yet more interesting numbers. The average or mean sale through numbers was 23.58% while the median was 19.2%. Leading the pack was Recoil magazine with a sale-through number of 69.7% for the first issue and the teen-age new title Miabella scoring the lowest sell-through number of a mere 3.4%.

By the time 2012 was coming to a close, the total draw of 24 of the 25 magazines (Romantic Living did not have a second issue in 2012) had a total draw of 1,090,259 with an average or mean draw of 45,427 and a median draw of 7,636. Leading the pack was Cosmopolitan for Latinas with a draw of 300,983 and WristWatch* (see note below) magazine had the least number with a draw of 684.
While the draw of the final issues of 2012 showed a slight increase, the opposite was true with the sell- through numbers. The sell-through numbers showed few percentage points decrease both on an average and with the median numbers as well. The mean sell- through number was 21.05% while the median was 18.4%. Leading the pack was Beaches, Resorts, & Parks magazine with a sell-through of 57.8% and Empirical magazine scoring the lowest sell-through of 4.7%.

So what do all those numbers mean? One thing and one thing for sure, the magazine industry continues to be as vibrant as it can be, with new titles coming to the market, outselling established ones in some cases, and selling below, way below some ones in other cases.

Magazine publishing is just like gambling, the odds are always against you, but once you hit the jackpot, the rest is history.

Go gamble, or for that matter, launch a magazine.

The data below shows the magazines’ first issue and last issue of 2012 together with their sale efficiencies. (All numbers are from MagNet)

Amazonas
First issue: Draw: 5,181 Sold: 17.3% Last issue: Draw: 2,966 Sold: 31.5%
Amour Creole
First issue: Draw: 1,943 Sold: 6.1% Last issue: Draw: 1,927 Sold: 19.8%
Beaches, Resorts & Parks
First issue: Draw: 7,446 Sold: 40.5% Last issue: Draw: 4,780 Sold: 57.8%
Blindfold
First issue: Draw: 4,077 Sold: 38.3% Last issue: Draw: 8,609 Sold: 6.6%
Celebrity Cooking
First issue: Draw: 11,611 Sold: 8.9% Last issue: Draw: 25,092 Sold: 12.8%
Cook’n
First issue: Draw: 9,019 Sold: 16.3% Last issue: Draw: 2,251 Sold: 42.3%
Cosmopolitan for Latinas
First issue: Draw: 299,823 Sold: 24.7% Last issue: Draw: 300,983 Sold: 20.1%
DC Nation
First issue: Draw: 97,458 Sold: 13.5% Last issue: Draw: 109,872 Sold: 21.3%
DreamWorks Adventure Magazine
First issue: Draw: 3,778 Sold: 23.6% Last issue: Draw: 6,663 Sold: 16.7%
Dujour
First issue: Draw: 16,329 Sold: 19% Last issue: Draw: 17,021 Sold: 17.9%
Empirical
First issue: Draw: 8,416 Sold: 7.1% Last issue: Draw: 4,764 Sold: 4.7%
Geek
First issue: Draw: 94,073 Sold: 31.5% Last issue: Draw: 112,452 Sold: 30.2%
Marvel Super Heroes
First issue: Draw: 150,717 Sold: 21.6% Last issue: Draw: 116,300 Sold: 11.8%
Miabella
First issue: Draw: 18,013 Sold; 3.4% Last issue: Draw: 6,380 Sold: 7.9%
Pacific Standard
First issue: Draw: 4,160 Sold: 7.5% Last issue: Draw: 5,005 Sold: 10.1%
Positive Impact
First issue: Draw: 10,467 Sold; 17.1% Last issue: Draw: 5,193 Sold: 13.5%
Quilty Magazine
First issue: Draw: 57,935 Sold: 41.2% Last issue: Draw: 58,015 Sold: 33.3%
Recoil
First issue: Draw: 34,489 Sold: 69.7% Last issue: Draw: 182,722 Sold: 46.9%
Revolucion
First issue: Draw: 64,839 Sold: 17.1% Last issue: Draw: 64,896 Sold: 19.2%
Romantic Living
First issue: Draw: 5,894 Sold: 22.4% No second issue in 2012
Shoeholics
First issue: Draw: 3,331 Sold: 20.3% Last issue: Draw: 5,086 Sold: 9.5%
Taproot
First issue: Draw: 1,182 Sold: 19.2% Last issue: Draw: 1,154 Sold: 41.1%
The Local Palate
First issue: Draw: 4,359 Sold: 17.5% Last issue: Draw: 36,496 Sold: 26.7%
The Stndrd
First issue: Draw: 9,355 Sold: 29% Last issue: Draw: 10,948 Sold: 15.6%
WristWatch* (see note below)
First issue: Draw: 2,386 Sold: 56.7% Last issue: Draw: 684 Sold: 18.9%

Screen shot 2013-06-11 at 9.22.36 AMNote: The above article appeared in the magazine program for the 2013 MPA/PBAA Retail Marketplace conference in Philadelphia.

Important Note: I have received an email from Michael Gerardo, a newsstand consultant whose Wrist Watch magazine is one of his clients. He noted that the numbers used in the article above are not correct. After further investigation, I discovered that the data included two magazines with the same name one with the word magazine after it and the other without. The magazine referenced above has a bipad number of 01144 and is not the same magazine as WristWatch Magazine with the bipad number 01466. I have offered Mr. Gerardo the opportunity to further explain the numbers. As soon as I hear from him I will post his response below.

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More Magazines are Sold on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and 13 Other Fun Facts About Magazines at the Newsstands…

June 11, 2013

Screen shot 2013-06-11 at 9.22.36 AM

At the MPA/PBAA Retail Marketplace conference in Philadelphia, Gil Brechtel, from the Magazine Information Network (MagNet) presented 14 fun facts about the magazine business at retail outlets in the United States. His fun facts, all based on research and analysis from MagNet, were so intriguing, I asked him for permission to post them on my blog… so here are 14 fascinating and educating fun facts about the magazine business at the newsstands:

1. About 50% of all magazine copies are sold on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The lowest selling day of the week is Wednesday, with only about 11.5% of the total sold on an average week.

2. November is the weakest month for magazines sales, even though the day before Thanksgiving is among the best magazine sales days each year.

3. Bookazine sales typically spike during the first few weeks of July, where the average cover price of all magazines sold during that period has ballooned by about 12% in recent years.

4. Average monthly sales in June, July and August are 7% higher than the rest of the year, helped by a spike in teen and children magazine title sales!
December is a good month for those categories also.

5. On average, the biggest week to week sales gain comes during week 13, around the last week of March, where sales are consistently 8-10% higher during this week compared to week 12.

6. Friday, followed by Sunday, are the two best days for magazine sales in airport terminals.

7. Although Saturday is generally the best magazine sales day of the week, in July, Sunday sales outpace Saturday sales by almost 8%.

8. In the fall, celebrity title sales usually dip, while titles in the Food, Health and Automotive categories spike during the 4th quarter.

9. The computer category has the highest overall cover price of copies sold. The average cover price peaked at about $10.70 in Dec 2012. That is a 20% increase over 2010 prices.

10. Sales tails matter! Bookazines and other SIPS on sale for 2 months or longer sell nearly 20% of their copies after they’ve been on the shelves more than 6 weeks.

11. Supercenters show strong seasonal magazine sales increases in the summer, experiencing up to a 50% average surge in sales in the first three weeks of July!

12. Based on MagNet’s sample of non-bookstore retailers, 20% of all books sold in 2012 were sold on Saturdays. Friday is the second highest sales day.

13. Only 10% of Newsstand COT sales occur on Saturday, as opposed to nearly 20% at Bookstores.

14. How important to the industry are celebrity titles? Celebrity magazines sell more copies than the total sales of titles in the Food, Games, Health, Automotive, Home, Lifestyle and Teen categories combined.

Posted in News and Views | 5 Comments »

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Around the World in 21 Days: Magazine Power and Reach Are NOT a Figment of the Imagination…

June 5, 2013

at Arab Media ForumWhen it comes to magazines and magazine media we are not lacking the research that shows the effectiveness of print and its reach. We are lacking people who are willing to translate that research and put it into practice. What profit do we gain if magazine companies ask their researchers and research departments to conduct all kinds of research and then ignore it?

I have been traveling the world in the last three weeks. I have attended and spoke at four different “research gatherings” in Lisbon, Portugal(The IMMAA Conference); Dubai, United Arab Emirates (The Arab Media Forum) ; Barcelona, Spain (The FIPP Research Conference); and Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Sanoma). Most of the readers of my columns and blogs know my views on print in this digital age. However, what I learned from those international meetings is that I am not alone. I learned that what I have been preaching is not a figment of my imagination or the fact that I am, in the words of John Harrington, a “print passionista.” I learned that print is still alive and kicking worldwide and researchers are showing the evidence for that statement on a daily basis.

at FIPPStudy after study is showing what print can deliver to advertisers and to readers at the same time. The return on the investment is great for both customers. To say I was relieved to hear that and to see all the research would be an understatement, but to say I was not bewildered as to why the leaders of those media companies are not following up on their own findings would be ludicrous on my part.

I asked the media researchers at one of the conferences, “Why after all this data, do your CEOs and publishers continue to push ‘Digital First” and not apply the findings of your research?” The simple answer I heard was that they’ve closed their eyes and ears and are determined that the only future is the digital way. They, in fact, are not only ignoring the research but also ignoring reality and common sense. I wonder if that is the effect of the “virtual” world we live in today that makes us forget about anything and everything that is physical and tangible.

National Geographic overseas-26None of the researchers, including myself, deny that we live in a visual, digital, mobile age; however, that does not mean that print should play second fiddle to digital in today’s market place. All agreed that, yes, some magazines are struggling, some others are dying, but a lot more are coming to the market place. When visiting Dubai for example, to speak and attend the 12th Annual Arab Media Forum, I visited one of the many newsstands at the Mall of Dubai. You name the magazine it was there. Marie Claire in Arabic, Esquire, the Middle East edition with a promise of a weekly print Esquire coming soon to the market place. Forbes Middle East in both languages, English and Arabic, Men’s Fitness Middle East, National Geographic in Arabic, etc. etc.

Women's Health-20Women's Health-14New Scientist-15
In Lisbon I picked up several new magazines, and in Barcelona I picked up the first issue of Women’s Health that appeared on the newsstands the day I was leaving… By the time I landed in Amsterdam the first issue of Women’s Health in Dutch was welcoming me at the airport. New magazines are aplenty and there is no shortage of them.

Newsweek And that joke about the #last print issue of Newsweek is only alive and well in these United States of America; the rest of the world is still enjoying a printed Newsweek. Needless to say the recent news about the possible sale of Newsweek is no joke. I could easily say I told you so, but I am resisting this temptation since there are a lot of folks who are offering their opinions about the past, present and future of Newsweek.

So, why the doom and gloom you may ask in the magazine business? Well, for one, the magazine industry is not making as much money as it used to make. Other non-media platforms are making more money than in ad revenues than the entire print industry. None of the media entities have figured a way, a good way, to make dollars and not pennies from their digital ventures. And above all, our institutional memories are so in need of a crash course in learning the past and how it applies to the present.

Did you know that Radio advertising revenues exceeded all of print ad revenues in 1934? Did you know that Television advertising revenues exceeded all of print and radio advertising revenues in 1955? The mere fact that someone else, some other medium, media related or not, is making more money than the magazine or print industry, does not mean that print or magazines are dead. If my neighbor is making more money than I am, it definitely does not mean that I am pushing up daisies in some serene cemetery on the backside of nowhere!

It is about time to wake up and focus on our customers, the readers/viewers and advertisers. If we are going to survive we better listen to our customers and follow their wants and desires. Research is showing that customers in this digital age still love and utilize magazines and other print entities. Why is it print and magazines leaders are not listening to their own research and studies? I do not know, but what I know for sure is that it is funny when less than 25% of iPad owners tell researchers that they prefer to read magazines on digital devices and media reporters spread the news of the digital success of reading… Folks, read that aforementioned statement one more time, less than 25% of iPad owners enjoy reading their magazines on the tablet… What about the 75% that don’t? Since when is 25% a much bigger deal than 75%? I do not know.

In closing, maybe all the naysayers of the magazine industry and the future of print in a digital age, need to take a trip or few trips overseas. Well, forget about overseas, maybe a trip to Des Moines, Iowa and see what Meredith is doing and the guarantees it is offering their advertising clients. Where there is a will and a vision, there is a way. Print and magazines are not dead; some folks wish they were to fulfill their own prophecies. False prophets start believing their own divinations and they work hard to fulfill them. Well, I have two words for them, go fish.

Printed Pages-9Print is well, alive and kicking. Today’s print is not your father’s print. Today’s magazines are not your father’s magazines. But in both cases they are still print and they are still magazines. Like it or not, they are here to stay. So, to the gloom and doom zealots: go fish in another pond!

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