The Future of Magazines (Through a Custom Content Lens)

10 customer publishing magazines in the UK

Eight of the Top 10 circulating magazines in the U.K. are now “customer magazines.” This means that in the country that brought us William Caxton and the first commercial printing press, 80% of the most popular magazine titles are being published by consumer brands—not traditional magazine publishers.
 
Is this trend apparent over here? Well, of the Top 25 audited titles in the U.S., #1 and #2 are published by AARP—and there are also three AAA titles in that list.

And while it’s interesting that membership magazines are so prominent on this list, the reason that these titles are audited (and therefore appear within this “official” BPA list) is to be able to gain a share of the ever-decreasing print advertising dollars that are around. The real eye-opening fact is that there are a number of higher circulating titles—whose health does not depend on advertising revenue—that do not appear in The Top 25, and they represent a growing trend as well as the future of magazine publishing.

These titles are the branded magazine titles that are being used as customer-engagement and branded-content vehicles by some of the leading marketing organizations in the country. P&G, Kraft, General Motors and Costco are all publishers of magazines that would be sitting within the Top 10 circulating magazines if the list were truly representative. And these “publishers” measure their success not in subscriptions (although Kraft’s Food & Family has recently moved to a subscription model), but in retention, loyalty and product sales. In the marketer’s firmament of programs that deliver ROI, the custom magazine has a five star rating.

And while the megabrand with an extensive customer database may have found efficiency and effectiveness in producing a magazine (these self-proclaimed "original communities of interest"), the reason for their success is not based on some outdated perception of the printed word having great resonance and lasting effect—it’s that these corporations and organizations have found the magazine to be a useful tool in their growing arsenal of custom content that is proving a significant Brand differentiator, Search Engine Marketing driver, CRM piece and Social Media component.

If these organizations are using print magazines, believe me, it’s not because they are following. It’s because they are leading.

What about the future of consumer magazines?

The future of print titles clearly does not depend on magazine publishers. If the Unique Selling Proposition is a database of folks who like to read about travel (or horses or left-footed motorcyclists), and the magazine guys have not built a value or a brand around their unique community of interest, then they should not be surprised if the leading travel brand or horse feed manufacturer or motorcycle manufacturer stakes out the high ground and produces content that delivers sales of their products, perception of their brand or retention of their customers (and preferably all three) as a result of producing engaging, high-quality and thoughtful editorial content.

Let’s just think about the most successful magazine launches of recent years: ESPN Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, Everyday with Rachel Ray, Food Network Magazine, Martha Stewart Living. Brand extensions have taken over successful magazine publishing and the “own brand” magazine publishers have been left behind.

In Part 2 of this blog post series, I’ll examine the custom content companies that are providing the specialist skills to these branded content producers and look closely at what they are doing in the digital environment.

And, just for fun, I’ll look at the consumer magazine publishers who "get it." Lastly, to round up, I’ll also take a look at whether the iPad and e-reader will, as the traditional magazine publishers hope, save the day—or whether this development merely accelerates the adoption of custom content publishing by brands.

Posted By: Craig Waller