Blanket is a new magazine in the Art and Design category. It comes out of Brisbane. What is most interesting about Blanket is that it is an online only publication.

With sales of print magazines in the same category flat or falling, an online model makes sense. Given the online focus and target demographic, it is appropriate that Blanket has a MySpace page.

Newsagents need to see that the magazine space is changing, Blanket is proof of that ever if it a special interest title. The best place for newsagents to respond to magazine changes is in our in-store fixturing – less but better designed space should help us boost sales from fewer titles.

Watch Blanket and the other online only models launching regularly.

The Magazine Club Card which I created in 2004 is the subject of a report in the respected Circulation Briefing newsletter by Jim Bilton at Wessenden Marketing. This is very respected international coverage for what is a local low-tech magazine marketing initiative.

The many newsagents who have implemented the loyalty program can be proud of the attention this program is now drawing.

When we first launched the magazine Club Card in August 2004 we expected it to run for six months. It continues today without a break. Unlike a greeting card loyalty program, this one works on a continuous basis – especially if you stick with the rules we developed when we launched.

Every day we receive positive feedback from our customers about the program. A newsagent who is using the program said that the Magazine Club Card is the single most valuable marketing initiative he has seen in 30 years. That is what matters to me – that newsagents are able to use this simple program to grow their magazine sales and demonstrate a rewarding value proposition to customers.

This card is better than a VIP Card or some similar points based loyalty program. It connects with our customers in a more timely and practical way. I know of a newsagency which ditched the VIP Card for this and makes more money as a result.

It would be good to see Australian newsagent journals cover the Magazine Club Card as Circulation Briefing has in the UK.

The situation with T3 magazine is frustrating: the two editions pull focus from each other on the shelves in a segment of the magazine space which is already challenged. I would prefer to see one edition closed down – not just in my newsagency but across the network.

I have seen enough data to form the view that newsagents are not winning by having two titles. The problem is that with each from a different distributor there is no perspective at the supply end.

I figure that by blogging about this those responsible for T3 will at least look at their situation. Sometimes I find that blogging achieves more than dealing direct with a supplier.

Nothing against Donna Hay but the magazine bearing her name does not sell that well in our newsagency. The Donna Hay kids issues, however, sell exceptionally well. So, the brand is not the problem with our sales.

Looking at food titles generally, Delicious sells well (sells out since our supplies have been cut) as does Gourmet Traveler. Donna Hay is the weakest of the mix yet we receive more copies than the other two – ah the magazine supply model starving and drowning all at once.

We are planning a promotion for the next issue of Donna Hay to reintroduce the title to our customers. This will happen at the same time we relay our food related titles – it is time for a major rethink of how we display the range. We want a better point of difference.

Famous magazine has had a makeover and as a result it stands out better when in the mix on the shelf with competitors Who and NW.

We are going to use our magazine loyalty program to support the new look with a double clip option on Famous next week. While the merchandiser has created a good in-store display I feel that an over the counter offer to draw attention to the new look could help more.

The offer will also remind our team of the new look – it is hard sometimes to keep up with the changes in product at the counter.

The BBC is reporting Emap as reporting digital revenues up 34% in the June quarter. Print revenues are down in the same period.

Hmm, interesting headline…

Apparently a My Business magazine ad playing on Australian Newsagent Satellite Radio yesterday promoted the title as being available in newsagencies as well as by subscription. This would be like the CSI producer running an ad on Channel 9 saying it is available for download elsewhere. My Business would do well to revisit their ad copy for in-newsagency ads.

Take a look at the Wedding and Bride – it is four times the thickness of Australian Women’s Weekly. One more page and it would not squeeze into traditional newsagent magazine pockets. While it is an impressive publication, space allocation is a challenge in an already full wedding segment in newsagencies. We are playing with co-location next to our high traffic women’s titles for a week to see what happens. It is wedding season after all.

Ben Kay has come up with an excellent promotion in support of Diabetes Week at my newsagency.

Ben, the manager of the newsagency, has brought together a range of titles including the excellent Diabetic Living from the Better Homes and Gardens team at Pacific magazines and Annette Sym’s Symply Too Good cookbooks to create this excellent display.

In the middle of the display Ben has placed information sheets takes from the Diabetes Australia website.

It is this kind of local marketing which newsagents can use to better connect with customers and to demonstrate to publishers their relevance.

Diabetes does not attract the glamour and glossy marketing support of, say, breast cancer at Mother’s Day yet it affects so many. What Ben has done in our shop reflects well on the cause.