Our sales for the last issue of Dolly magazine which went off sale yesterday morning matched our average for the title. This is despite a $49.95 watch being mounted to the cover of the magazine. I expected at least some sales bump.
Are magazine cover mounts losing value? Is suspect they are given the frequency of use of them over the last couple of years. There are only so many bags, scarves, beanies, journals or t-shirts a customer will collect before realising that the bonus has become the norm.
Cover mounts are like a drug for some titles. The challenge will be to withdraw safely.
From a newsagent’s perspective, the occasional cover mount for a title is great, it is seen as a genuine bonus and it gives us a reason to really push that issue.
Titles which have more than a couple of cover mounts a year are no longer that special. They also demand more space than usual and this significantly increases the cost to the retailer. With each magazine pocket costing $1.90 a week in rent, a title with a wide cover mount costs $3.80 a week in rent. I need $15.20 a week in sales per double pocket to pay for the space.