Author: Mark Fletcher

Limelight magazine which came out yesterday is an opportunity for newsagents to shine. While we have put a couple of copies in the usual location, we have put more stock in our high traffic women’s weeklies area. With the Pavarotti cover and the bonus CD of Paravotti and Dame Joan Sutherland it is bound to be of significant impulse interest.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we look for magazines with covers which will attract impulse purchase – it’s a low hanging fruit opportunity.

Oops. R rated Penthouse arrived in newsagencies today without a plastic bag – meaning anyone could browse the porn title. The distributor advised newsagents late today that they are sending out plastic bags for us to stick Penthouse in and seal.

Is it just my newsagency or are others overloaded with Derriere magazine. We have three different issues on our shelves at the moment. None selling – chewing up cash, space and labour. The porn magazine market is dead.

We received plenty of stock of the launch issue of Women’s Health today but no promotional material. Our plan was to put up an aisle end display in a high traffic areas but we have used that for another title due to lack of material to support Women’s Health. What we did get was a red counter unit but that’s hardly enough to make a display.

I’m not impressed with this launch. Publishers need to understand that proactive newsagents plan their displays and need material when a title arrives – not days later.

So, without publisher support, we have engaged in a co-location strategy. We have Women’s Health inn our weeklies area (see photo), in the health area and as the feature magazine on our busiest lottery counter.

UPDATE: I was at another newsagency today and they received free standing stand on which to display Women’s Health – so, I am not sure what happened to his for Forest Hill.

The Sunday Age ran an interesting article for magazine lovers yesterday. Magazine City is about Melbourne’s independent magazine boom, covering titles you’re unlikely to see in newsagencies. It’s interesting to see Sahil Merchant, founder of Mag Nation quoted – this respects Mag Nation’s unique offering in the magazine space and demonstrates their business as the category leader it is.

I was at my local BP petrol outlet last night and noticed a promotion for Women’s Health, the new magazine from Pacific Magazines which launches today. The deal was a free sampler of a couple of articles from the magazine if I buy a bottle of water.

The lack of knowledge by the employee behind the counter about the new magazine and the co-promotion with water meant the campaign was a dud where I live. I was surprised to see the new title being promoted in the BP outlet given their poor commitment to magazines.

I am not aware of the sampler offer being put through newsagents. If it ran in petrol outlets I’d be most disappointed. Newsagents are well placed to talk up magazine launches. We are the ones who will invest plenty of real-estate promoting the title today and for this week.

Publishers suck up to newsagents telling them how great they are and that Australia needs the magazine specialist retailers. Sometimes, their marketing decisions tell us otherwise.

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.