Are magazines prepared for the digital era?

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Permalink Reply by David M. Kalman on May 28, 2009 at 2:26pm

I would agree if by "magazine" you mean an endeavor to deliver a collection of related content (in whatever media) to some cohesive audience.

But if you're talking specifically about print magazines as the basis of digital places, then I think your optimism is misplaced.

In some cases -- depending on the audience and the function of the content -- a print magazine magazine may be the basis of the digital community, but not necessarily.

As more (and younger) people rely on the Internet for information, the role of the print component will become dwarfed by comparison.

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Permalink Reply by David White on May 28, 2009 at 2:38pm

I am actually talking about all types of collateral in general. We actually call our product an interactive collateral management (ICM) solution and magazines are actually not in the top 3 of our existing client base. This is mainly a result of our sales focus being in other areas given the hard work in convincing magazine publishers to switch from print to digital. It is actually the mistake of most of our competitors to waste endless time targeting just magazine publishers as other industries are much more mature when it comes to this type of product at the moment.

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Permalink Reply by Guillermo Perez-Vargas on May 28, 2009 at 3:09pm

It’s not just information. Magazines are entertainment combined with a way of life in which you can relax away from a monitor or an electronic devise. It’s sad to think that people will want to be hooked up to an electronic devise 24 hrs a day.

For me magazines will always be a great companion, great entertainment and a source of information that you can enjoy without having to be connected to the rest of the world or having to share with every contact in your network.

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Permalink Reply by David White on May 28, 2009 at 3:45pm

You may of missed the comment in my previous post: Many publishers think digital providers like Zmags see digital as a complete replacement for print but this could not be more false. Digital brings extra value to the print issues, and even if it only reduces 5% of the print subscribers, it will easily drive in new subscribers via word of mouth and of course search engines.

The topic of the forum is of course Are magazines prepared for the digital era? So I suppose we are going off topic if we openly dispute being hooked up to a computer for 24hrs a day but I agree anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Peter Milburn on May 28, 2009 at 4:21pm

Wow 32 replies already (prob more by the time I finish this). Everyone great comments -- your rock!

I am a pessimist about print's future but I deff recognize the unique experience it can offer (the tactile, portable pleasure, spontaneous discovery etc.). My point is that I think the digital benefits (instant delivery, connecting with other readers, bookmarking, sharing on Facebook, video etc. -- and there are a lot more) outweigh the benefits of print. That's even before talking about the environmental benefit of less paper waste. Yes there are still consumer who don't have computers, don't have smart phones. But the 14-30 yr old demo is already highly wired and women 50+ are the fastest growing cohort on Facebook (even if just to keep tabs on the kids). As publishers are strapped for cash they will put out even less compelling print editions and invest in the future. They will likely fulfill print editions to only those that opt-in to them.

A FEW MORE CHOICE LINKS FROM LAST FEW WEEKS:
Regarding Zmags and Digital Editions. There are at least 75+ providers and different flavors so check them ALL out. List here: http://blog.mygazines.com/?p=3

Print ads cost way more than web ads because users spend way more time exposed to them: http://bit.ly/ApZVv

Interesting case on how Smithsonian doubled web traffic: http://www.minonline.com/news/11057.html

BizWeek's update of their 2005 article on blogs http://bit.ly/jjBw

'Why Print Journalism Must Invariably Die" http://tinyurl.com/o7dovy

10 Reasons to keep your pub in print http://tinyurl.com/mkdawj

Pub get's funding to survive with "save us" appeal http://bit.ly/qKbQ7

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Permalink Reply by Michael Lonier on May 28, 2009 at 4:26pm

Aside from the comments that we enjoy magazines, they're 'real,' smell good ("I love the smell of ink in the morning"), tell us things we may not know, entertain, are legible in bright sunlight, are 'interesting,' etc etc, we need some compelling business reasons to encourage marketers to continue spending money on advertising in magazines--reasons that return more money in sales to the marketers than they spend supporting magazine operations buying 'space,' which is the only business reason they will do so.

Or else maybe magazine publishers may not be as prepared as they should be in the battle over marketing dollars in the digital era.

Here's a start:
http://www.foliomag.com/2009/top-10-reasons-print-should-remain-vit...

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Permalink Reply by David White on May 28, 2009 at 5:06pm

Michael ~ The top 10 reasons print should remain ~ number one was 'Print is a lead-generation tool!'

I understand the market average for a subscriber passing a printed issue around is that is gets passed on to 3-4 people. I believe that a digital edition is a much more effective lead generation tool.

People seem to keep coming on here and defending print like us digital providers want to see the back of it but this is not the case. Digital will never replace print this side of 2020, the digital issue is meant to be used to help increase subscribers, advertiser revenue and in return will maybe reduce print subscribers by 5-10% max.

Maybe in 8-10 years time print will be almost gone, but until then print and digital are floating in the same boat.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Lonier on May 28, 2009 at 5:13pm

"Print is a lead-generation tool! Used correctly, print drives leads to your prospect funnel."

Just assuming the sales funnel points to a digital bucket...how else to get a marketer to spend on print?

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Permalink Reply by David White on May 28, 2009 at 5:19pm

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying print is not a lead generating tool also. I just think that if the average print edition is passed around 3-4 times, a digital edition can probably average maybe 20-30 times considering it is online so much easier to share.

Having digital editions to support print can help increase advertiser revenue if the advertiser sales are done correctly. Take a magazine which prints in one country but can penetrate internationally with a digital edition. This will help attract international subscribers and in return international advertisers. More circulation = More advertiser revenue right?

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Permalink Reply by Michael Lonier on May 28, 2009 at 5:29pm

Which is why the big books are cutting rate base, drastically... If it were that simple today...

The question remains, how do marketers get their money back after they buy 'space' or 'clicks' or golf balls and t-shirts...even the LPGA is wondering if it can stay alive.

Believer or non-believer (that advertising will return to print in a big way). Marianne or Ginger?

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Permalink Reply by David White on May 28, 2009 at 5:34pm

Problem I see with print advertisements is that they are so outrageously expensive, and advertisers can't really track the results. I mean even TV ad success can be tracked to a certain extent with viewing times but with print, all you have is circulation figures which can be a little inaccurate to say the least.

In today's financial climate marketers need to see proven numbers and results for their spend otherwise they look nervously over their shoulders fearing the chop.

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Permalink Reply by David White on May 28, 2009 at 5:12pm

Kerry Smith Dec 7th 2008 said ~ It's not a question of whether print is going out of fashion. The question is how print and the web can be used to compliment each other by providing content via each medium in a way that recognizes how readers consume information, and therefore reinforce each other.

Hit the nail on the head!

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