Check out the placement of The Monthly and Harvard Business Review in a newsagency I visited last week.
While the display looked okay, there was nothing wrong with it, I thought it could be more successful, especially for The Monthly, the title I expect they will sell many more copies of each issue. Given the cost of magazine pockets, maximising return is vital.
So I switched the titles.
Here is the result of the switch. You get the full effect of the cover art of The Monthly, you get context for the story tease: Of clowns and treasurers…
I think this simple single pocket switch will result in a better return for the business with more copies of The Monthly sold but without denying sales of Harvard Business Review.
It is important we do more than put magazines out. Our magazine department is s reflection on us. Placement of titles is our curation of the range. It can be a valuable point of difference for us.
The change in consumer engagement with magazines ought to drive changes in our engagement with the category. More thoughtful placement is one such important change I recommend.