Here is an example of where rules can work against newsagents.
The excellent Good Health is a feature magazine in the ACP magazines Connections program. This means we are to do an aisle end display. If we do that we will not have enough stock for the co-location strategy which works well for this title.
So, we have decided to not do the Connections display. Instead, we have Good Health in three locations including between Australian Women’s Weekly and Woman’s Day. We have sold six copies in four and a half days – that’s 37.5% of supplied stock. I’d expect to have sold 60% by Sunday – demonstrating that our strategy is appropriate for the 16 copies we have received.
I understand that the Connections display is also about promoting the brand. The reality is that I need a better return than I can get from 16 copies if I am to provide an a valuable aisle end for as display.
Where situations such as this arise it shows one of the major flaws of the connections program. It can often result in newsagents once again becoming process workers … Monday morning – set up new connections display …. Monday morning set up new connections display.
Maybe there is an opportunity for marketing groups to devise a system where publishers offer members payment (monetary or points) for the use of display ends. The payments could change each week depending on the magazine or the promotion. Newsagents would then get the ability to choose which display they wish to go with, based on their own demographic and the incentive being offered.
A program like connections that focuses on one publishers’ titles is not going to get the best result for newsagents.