In the international departure area of Melbourne Airport, beyond customers, is a WH Smith store. At the front of the store is this stand with magazines they recommend.
The display is capped with a sign: WH Smith recommends Our No. 1 Magazines. I like this, especially in a transit situation like the airport.
Newsagents considering a display like this should ensure that they own the fixture. Do not get a fixture from a publisher for the display for it is only with your own fixture that you have control of the titles you promote in this way. Since such a display is about your recommendations you need to ensure that you control what is placed there.
The WH Smith display shows top selling titles from Pacific Magazines and ACP Magazines on the top row. An aware consumer is more likely to trust than if the top row contained titles from one publisher.
The only thing I would change about the display, for what it’s worth, is the placement of Frankie. Given that this title is reporting the fastest circulation growth over the last two audits, it should be higher on the stand.
It does seem a bit cluttered with titles. Maybe take a couple of titles off to sharpen the display up?
Personally, I don’t think customers (aware or not) really care or know which publisher is linked to which magazine. I know it says it on the barcode or somewhere but I don’t believe that would be there reason for buying or trusting this end display. Surely the cover stories are what sells a mag.
Niall, I agree. The challenge for newsagents is that some publishers demand space for their titles only. It is the category which we should promote.