I and some colleagues are doing a magazine relay today (when I land back in Melbourne from Sydney) for a newsagent, to reinvent their magazine offer. We have been planning the relay for a week (off and on), considering sales data, demographics, the MPA magazine layout recommendations and gut feel.
As should happen with magazine relays, we are going into this with the view that what we do today is not a destination – no magazine re-location should be considered to be this. Indeed, it is about change, change and more change. This keeps the offer fresh and ensures it continues to improve.
The layout of magazines needs to be assessed in each newsagency at least annually. By assessed, I mean reviewed physically and through magazine performance reports. The category responds well to change – there is commercial value in playing with the layout based on what customers are buying and looking for.
Ill vouch for this. We do at least one minor and one major relay every six months. The growth that can be driven from this change is significant.
Our last major relay was only a month ago. Sales have responded dramatically with a huge number of sell-outs of major titles. At one stage sales increased so much that we sold out of our entire range of home-lifestyle titles.
On a slightly more personal level, it feels good to get in and move a category around. As is so often the case, seeing the physical result is extremely rewarding.