|
Report on the AM2C
Magazine Media is Strong. Can That Be Translated to the Newsstand?
By John Harrington
www.nscopy.com
It's now called the American Magazine Media Conference, hence the inserted 2 in the old AMC logo, but as it has always been, and properly I quickly add, it remains essentially a pep rally for the troops. And that explains why when David Carr, the insightful media columnist of The New York Times and the moderator for a panel of the industry's leaders*, asked a question about "cratering newsstand sales," the subject never really got addressed. Well, to be fair, one offered that sales at retail are cyclical and would probably come back, another pointed to wholesaler consolidation, and a third switched to the strength of subscriptions.
However, it would be unfair to infer from their reluctance to assume that magazine media leaders are unconcerned about the retail magazine marketplace, which The New Single Copy has most recently been describing as endangered. As said right at the start, the AMC is a pep rally, and coaches generally don't get the team motivated by reminding them that the tackling wasn't so hot last week. Better to celebrate the long touchdown passes and the heroic goal-line stand. By that measure, the 2013 AMC, held last week in New York, was successful, reminding the attendees of the strength of magazine brands, which is particularly notable, and the wide extension of those brands in the digital realm, which has been made possible by the remarkable success of magazines in print.
From a newsstand perspective, the unanswered question is how and when is magazine media leadership prepared to apply the same energy, confidence, and talents to the challenges of retail that it has focused on the other aspects of its business. That is not likely to be answered immediately, so in the meantime, consider the achievements that the AMC was celebrating last week.
On the strength of the brands: Hearst's David Carey told an anecdote about the expansion of their Esquire magazine brand into television, a move that will soon take place. In a survey to determine the viability of the project, something like 10% of respondents thought the channel was already up and running. He also noted that magazine brands had significantly more public recognition than those of products whose sales figures were greater by huge multiples.
Comment: One important place those magazine brands achieve that recognition is on bricks and mortar retail displays, just by being seen there, let alone selling copies.
On the value of magazines for advertisers: In her keynote address, MPA president Mary Berner noted, "Data shows that engagement in our brands is so strong that - unlike virtually every other medium, including social - magazine media consumers not only like the advertising in magazine media they actually welcome it as part of the experience."
Comment: Actually, a couple of them. Part of the conventional wisdom in the ad community is that single copy trends are indicative of the vitality of a magazine, which should focus publishers who are confronting newsstand challenges. Mary's point is underscored by the fact that newsstand sales suffer when soft advertising results in thinner publications on display.
Publishers need to innovate with greater speed: Several of the leaders emphasized this. Time Inc.'s Ripp, who has just returned to publishing, said that in private equity, where he had been working, it was the nimble companies which could innovate quickly that were the most successful. He was hopeful that the spin-off of Time Inc. from Time Warner would enable it to capitalize on that agility. Hearst's Carey closed his remarks with a reminder of the "need to move faster."
Comment: The highly successful, if unconventional, supermarket operator Stew Leonard has said his company tries lots of small, new things. Many don't work, but the cost is low and the successes are very profitable. One of the few bits of recent good news for magazines at retail has been the bookazine phenomena, high cover price books put together fairly quickly, often recycling previously published material. Some of them may turn into regular frequency titles, with sustainable sales numbers.
On the ascendancy of magazine media: In her keynote, Mary Berner said the headline for the business in 2013 should be, "Industry Pivots from Magazines to Magazine Media." All of the chief executives on the program supported this concept. As he did when he spoke earlier this year at The Retail MarketPlace Conference, David Carey said publishers once had the conventional three legs of a financial model - advertising, subscriptions, and newsstand. Now they have eight, nine, maybe ten. Conde Nast's Bob Sauerberg talked about their development of video, along with the expansion into multiple digital platforms. Meredith's Tom Harty and Rodale's Maria Rodale joined in on that theme as well. Joe Ripp reminded everyone that it was Time Inc., before it was part of Time Warner, that launched HBO, and when they become just Time Inc. again, they may well be in that business again. For emphasis, it was up to a panel of advertising agency executives, on a panel called "Go (M)ad," to emphasize that it is print publications that are still the centerpiece of the magazine media business. Among their points were that print is valuable because of its engaged audience, which can be defined and identified, and is loyal; and it is magazines alone, among all media, where the audience likes to see the ads, as well as read the content.
Summary Comments: There was a great deal of positive energy at the AMC, and there was a lot of talent on display as well. A few years ago, in a one-to-one, one of the top officers on the publishers panel there told me that their long term financial model begins with retail. So we should expect that some of the energy and talent on stage last week will soon be focused on fixing the newsstand.■
* David Carey, president, Hearst Magazines; Tom Harty, president, National Media Group, Meredith Corporation; Joe Ripp, chief executive officer, Time Inc.; Maria Rodale, chairman and chief executive officer, Rodale, Inc.; and Bob Sauerberg, Conde Nast.
|
"The Industry that Vents Together Stays Together" 
