What is old is new again. Black becomes the ‘new black’. Everything in this life has a cycle. This article: “4 Trends Impacting Retail Marketing Strategies” is an interesting read.
print magazines
The 2018 Box Score for Magazines is Here!
Every year, it is with bated breath that we await the latest box score report, letting us know who is up, and what magazines are really making it happen at retail. Click here for the 2018 report.
MBR Canada Event Brings Together Industry Experts
Magazines and Books at Retail (MBR) hosted another stellar day of learning, providing some interesting insights about what’s happening at retail, and online, at the Marriott in Markham, Ontario, on October 21st. As always, this event was packed with value.
The meeting began with round table meetings in the morning, where retailers, representatives from retail, consultants and magazine publishers were able to discuss what’s new and exciting, and to also take care of a little business. The presentations kicked off over lunch, with our own Craig Sweetman announcing the winners of the 2018 IAG Retailer Awards. Retailers who support the magazine category and whose sales surpassed those of the industry were presented their awards this summer. Click here to see this year’s winners.
I, then chatted about how the industry members could get involved in the promotion of the magazine category, by providing content for our blog, this blog. So many positive stories are going on out there from new title launches, to hot covers and titles that continue to grow month after month, and year after year. These are the stories the industry should be hearing more of, and we encourage, no, we would love guest contributors to our blog. Reach out and become a contributor.
Melanie Rutledge of Magazines Canada then joined the podium with the exciting launch of an upcoming research study to be conducted focusing on the area of Click and Collect for publications. Together with Phil Scrutton of Brandspark International and Craig Sweetman of CRS Media, they reviewed the still relevant findings of 2016 research and introduced this vital new research project that is funded through Heritage Canada. Click here to have a look at the presentation.
What’s hot, what’s not… Scott Gosse, Metro 360 gave the latest box score that surprised some of us with the magazine stats. Click here to view.
Amar Singh, Senior Analyst at Kantar Retail IQ put together a program specifically for the Canadian magazine and book retail audience ~ eCommerce in Canada. Always insightful and entertaining, he talked to key omnichannel retailer strategies: Loblaws, Sobeys, and Walmart. Not only did he provide what is happening in the marketplace and with consumers, he brought forth implications and opportunity for books and magazines. Click here to view.
The jam-packed day concluded with impressions of the day from industry experts: Annie Gabriellian, St. Joseph Media, Carm Alfano, TNG Canada, Craig Sweetman, CRS Media, and Dean Waldron, Metro 360.
Special thanks goes out to Jerry Lynch, MBR President and to Jose Cancio for organizing such an important industry event.
Magazines Help People Savor the Moment – An Interview with “Mindful Magazine” Editor
“Magazines help people to focus, to slow down, to savor the moment…” – click here to read “The Mr Magazine Interview with Anne Alexander, Editor of Mindful Magazine”.
Magazine Media Tells and Sells
Great new article from Linda Thomas Brooks, President and CEO, MPA – The Association of Magazine Media… The Facts: “Magazine Media Tells and Sells” that has been posted on Magazines Canada website. Click here to view.
She was also interviewed by Mr. Magazine recently. Click here to read the interview.
A Story Behind the Cover
Often we see the magazine covers in stores, but we really don’t think that much about them, what goes into the making of a good cover or how a magazine decides upon a particular cover.
New York Times magazine has an interesting new project. In their new video series, “Behind the Cover”, they are documenting the creation of the cover images. For the whole story, click here and for the story behind the April 29th cover, click here.
Canada and English Language Magazines, Really Eh?
Geographically, Canada has a larger land mass than the United States, however the reverse is true in terms of population density. Canada hosts 10% of the entire North American population, with 36.4 million people country-wide, but produces 12.8% of the English language sales on the newsstand! This becomes even more impressive when you add in the fact that French is the mother-tongue of about 22.3% of the Canadian population or about 7 million Canadians. The majority of the French language population reside in the province of Quebec and of that 7 million, 4.5 million only speak French and as such are not consumers of English language magazines!
Magazine Advertising Effectiveness Versus Perception
Advertising in magazines has long been known to get results for advertisers. Magazine readers like seeing ads in magazines and retain that information more than with other advertising. The curated content in magazines attracts readers and the ads that accompany that content are relevant to the readers.
So then, what is going on with advertising today, in this ‘digital world’. Has it changed, or has the perception just changed?
Latest Market Share for English Language Publications by Province….Some Interesting Facts
Did you ever wonder what the market share was for English language publications was per province versus the percentage of English language as 1st language speakers there were in Canada?
Well we have the answer for you in the chart below?
The highlighted provinces/territories outperform in terms of market share of copies sold versus provincial/territorial population versus overall Canadian population.
Also very interesting is the number of copies sold per person per year on average is highest in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. We would hazard a guess that this has a lot to do with limited activities available.
Source: CTC Boxscore