我认为有一点非常重要,那就是,将杂志营销部的主要任务集中于两个方面:发行利润和最大读者群?
我们应该从有线电视的经营方式中学习一些经验?我认为,一个有线电视频道的客户营销部主任应该负责两方面,一是争取最大的订购收入,二是获得不断增多的观众?他们的任务就是在吸引最大数量观众的同时使订购收入达到最多,而他们的广告经营部门则根据拥有的观众数销售广告?广告客户并不需要关心某个电视观众是否已经付过有线电视使用费?
为杂志客户营销部制订出一套相似的任务将会使出版商及广告客户双方受益,但在现行制度下实施起来非常困难?
摆在杂志客户营销部部门领导面前的更大难题是如何根据P&;L期号和读者数做出发行决策,特别是在读者数被过低估计的情况下?
我们还需要更好地理解发行?读者类型和读者之间的联系?我们需要新的基于专一度的测算方式,这不仅适用于杂志业,也适用于所有的传媒行业?
在美国杂志大会上,来自斯达康的安德鲁斯纳德说,他认为印刷业正处在爆发的尖端,主要的原因正是由于专一度所产生的价值?
大家都知道,美国杂志出版商协会在西北部的研究正开始全面总结对读者群和涉及面的估算——人们为什么喜欢杂志,人们为什么会购买杂志或者不买?今年一项由包括桦榭菲力柏契传媒集团在内的一些个体出版公司赞助的新研究将致力于分析定价和读者保持数之间的关系?我认为吸引读者的多少不一定和支付的金额或订购的渠道有必然的联系,现在斯达康的研究证明了这一点?
让我们看清事实,大多数消费者都是先选定他们想要的东西,然后才去考虑怎样以最优惠的价格得到它?这就是美国方式,对汽车是这样,对口红是这样,对“伟哥”是这样,对杂志自然也是这样?
如何把发行量和读者群联系起来,在这方面我们需要寻找更好的解决之道,因为读者群决定了阅读率,而阅读率才是真正影响广告回报率的因素?我们需要改变人们对杂志的看法,并由此征服整个读者群,而不仅仅是杂志购买者中的25%?
如果我们做不到较可靠地计算读者群,也做不到更及时地统计累加阅读率,杂志就无法和其他传媒形式相抗衡?目前我们在以下两方面的能力已有所改善,一是通过订阅数据计算发行量和累计读者数,二是详细分析基础交易数据,这将推动我们的行业在该方面前进一步?
出版商也需要重新把握我们的研究方向?在桦榭菲力柏契传媒集团,我们将读者作为消费者研究的主要方面?过去我们却将不到四分之一的研究资金集中用于客户研究,这显然是不正确的?
在筹划如何进行消费者研究时,编辑也更多地参加了进来?他们其实是杂志的创造者,可以把研究结果糅进杂志的内容中?我们定期向编辑们提供有关直接邮购?续订数量和报摊数据的重要信息?
我们已经重建了杂志编辑和订阅者或续订者之间的信息传递?
在单本零售方面,我们让杂志封面设计编辑和负责报摊销售的人员进行协作?编辑真正影响并参与到了客户营销中来?
正如我以前提到过的,我们不必惧怕技术对杂志业未来的冲击?举个例子说吧,我认为互联网正是一项已经而且将继续有助于杂志业的新技术?
互联网既是我们的最佳同盟,也是延伸我们品牌以及内容的天然媒介?网络是一个多产区域,既可以让读者体验产品,又可以进行研究,还可以实现订阅和续订以及创造全新的内容形式?
目前大多数的杂志封面都先在互联网上试发?网络能够快捷?廉价而又高效地使我们实现和读者间信息的传递,让我们了解到读者的阅读喜好以及读者对广告商品的看法?
这决不是巧合?雅虎的当家人格瑞·格考尔曼曾在美国杂志大会上讲到,他认为将来的某一天印刷和互联网势必会联合起来一起对抗电视业?
但互联网是一个广阔的?未加编辑过的信息汇集地?相比而言,杂志的巨大优势之一就是它所刊登的是高度集中又精心编辑过的信息,可以节省宝贵的时间?所以当消费者在网络上寻找信息的时候,我认为那些强大的杂志品牌占据了必然的优势?
总而言之,杂志目前正处于最好的状态,而同时其他媒体正面临着受众群分化以及产品层次降低的局面?有了强大的品牌?优秀的内容?忠诚的读者,杂志业已成为当今的强势媒体?
现在正是抓住有利机会以读者的专一程度作为卖点向广告客户进行宣传的时候,这些客户对商务关系表示出前所未有的兴趣?在长时间的投入之后,我们已经能够做到全行业一起努力,利用每一次机会推动杂志的发展?
在致力于将杂志在媒体业中占有的份额做大的同时,我们还必须重新研究阅读率的计算方法,以便做到更及时,并且更好地将发行量和读者群联系起来?
我们必须建立一种新制度,让发行负责人能够把精力集中在真正重要的事情上来,即争取发行利润和最大读者群?
我认为我们应该有足够的自信,相信读者会对他们热爱的高质量印刷产品保持忠诚?一些读者将依赖于我们在其他环境中如互联网上提供的内容?将来我们也会把一些内容以数字形式发行,不过我仍然敢肯定地说,印刷品的力量及独特性将永远不会消失?
杂志业的成功最终将不仅依赖于我们是否能联合起来,而且依赖于我们是否能统一为一个行业?ABC能不能不断取得成功将取决于是否将精力放在了对出版商和广告客户来说都真正要紧的方面?
我相信这必将实现而且会带来双赢的局面?
Peter Kreisky
Chairman,Kreisky Media Consultancy
“Changing the Magazine Experience at Retail”
American Magazine Conference
October 5,2004
Boca Raton,FL
Good Morning,everyone.
When Tom Ryder and Nina Link asked me to take a tough,strategic look at retail nine months ago,I accepted the challenge enthusiastically.
I accepted the opportunity to bring clarity to the fog of retail-because of its importance to consumers and to the publishing industry.
Consumers buy one-and-a-half billion magazines at retail-one at a time.That's 30 million separate purchase decisions each week,reflecting individual interests,passions and needs.
For publishers,the retail channel is the most immediate“window to the world”,a powerful barometer to gauge the vitality of titles-and a high quality tool to recruit new readers.Yet it is poorly-and narrowly-understood.
So today,I'd like to focus on this issue that's on all of our minds.Simply put,how do we stimulate demand in the retail channel?
Changing the Magazine Experience at Retail
Today,John Loughlin and I want to address how we change the magazine experience?Where have we come from?What are we doing?And,what can you expect to see as a consequence of these activities?
Focus on Supply Chain“Fix”
Let's start with where we've come from.
Over most of the past ten years,the magazine industry has been focused on supply chain issues:“fixing”an inefficient,antiquated system of magazine distribution that does not fulfill the modern day needs of publishers and retailers.Through MPA,it has commissioned leading consulting firms,and MRAC a cross-industry group representing publishers,national distributors,wholesalers and retailers to help think through the issues,producing some invaluable insights.
Mercer Management Consulting,Charles River Associates and McKinsey all came to a similar conclusion:that a different model was needed-but,importantly,that the marketplace must drive the process.
As an industry,we have been painfully slow in reaching for it.
Yet,no matter how the logistics and economic structure of our supply chain evolve,we mustn't take our eye off our real objective-assuring a strong retail presence for our titles and stimulating retail growth.
The Challenge:Retail Growth
As you all know,we've seen a slow-down in retail growth.The flattening of dollar sales at retail over the past decade masks this,the real problem:the rapid decline in unit volume from 2.1 billion units in 1993 to 1.4 billion in 2003,a drop of 33%!
The root causes are not well understood,but we don't believe supply chain is the sole driving force;only one among several factors.No matter how the supply chain evolves,the real threat is this absence of real growth at retail.
If we can stimulate demand,many of the financial woes plaguing the supply chain melt away,as more fixed costs are covered and sell-through efficiencies improve.The Challenge:Change in Mix.
Where has this decline been the greatest?
As unit volume has shrunk by one-third,a sizeable shift has occurred in the title mix.Smaller titles have become more important.In fact,the only significant growth in the past decade has come from the smallest titles.The 25 largest titles have been squeezed the most,their unit volume declining by one-half over the decade.To be fair,this decline has been driven disproportionately by the contraction of a handful of titles:TV Guide,the tabloids,some of the women's service titles.