MediaTel Group Forum Takes A Closer Look At Consumer Magazine Sector

The first MediaTel Group Forum, in association with YouGov, took place last week and focused upon the consumer magazines sector. The concept of the forum is to follow up some of the topics raised at previous MediaTel Group seminars and provide an overview of some of the key issues facing the industry.

Attendees (in alphabetical order):

Phil Cutts – PPA Bill Doris – MPG David Evans – MediaTel.co.uk Tony Long – Hachette Filipacchi David Lucas – YouGov Rachel Macey – Future Publishing Charlotte Nilsson – MGOMD James Papworth – IPC Advertising Kirsty Robertshaw – YouGov Julia Toni – H Bauer Publishing

Utilising the web

A core theme of the original seminar held in March – the Future of Consumer Magazines – was the online offering of publishers. Tony Long followed up on this by outlining that publishers have to now think of themselves as media companies that deliver content across a wide range of channels rather than just as publishers. Similarly, James Papworth and Rachel Macey spoke about how their companies are looking to grow across media. IPC have created a new brand, Good to Know, to showcase content from a range of their brands and Future Publishing have recently launched Music Radar, which delivers unique content to the online music community. These approaches back up Tony Long’s view that companies who merely roll out brands and content “because they have to” are missing the point, with a core, overall strategic approach to add value being key for companies to communicate effectively over a variety of channels.

A resilient medium

The issue of a potential downturn in advertising revenues was also discussed, with the overall feeling that the nature of magazines helps to protect the industry. Julia Toni outlined that magazines are seen as a “treat” and a core part of consumer’s lifestyles. James Papworth also agreed with this quoting US research that said female magazine buyers would rather surrender their daily latte rather than give up their favourite magazines. The security that a cover price provides publishers also means that they are less reliant upon advertising delivering the majority of revenue unlike other media such as TV or Radio.

Room for more frees?

The issue of cover price was also touched upon with regards to the growth of the free magazine sector. It was felt that the free titles currently available, such as ShortList and Sport are a success, with David and Kirsty at YouGov sharing research that consumers regard advertising in free titles in the same way as in paid for titles. Despite this, future potential for other launches in this area was seen to be unlikely, with Charlotte Nilsson believing that free titles can only work in concentrated population areas such as London and therefore certain sectors and James Papworth feeling that distribution issues may hinder any further launches from being a success due to clutter. However, Bill Doris pointed out that younger generations are becoming more and more accustomed to receiving content, be it music or print media for free so there potentially is a greater role for more free titles in the future.

The power of magazines

The benefit of advertising in magazines was also debated. Reference was made by Phil Cutts to recent work that the PPA has carried out to quantify the ability of magazines to reach key influencers across a wide range of categories including FMCG brands. In addition, reference was made to TGI potentially delivering figures looking at levels of engagement for different media that is scheduled for release later this year. Both of these will look to reinforce the perception that magazine are effective in terms of targeting and engaging with key consumers.

Overall, it was a valuable overview to see where both publishers and agencies saw the market currently is, and where it will be moving towards in the future, with many thanks to David and Kirsty at YouGov for helping to get everyone around the table. Please get in touch with David Evans at MediaTel Group if you would like anymore information regarding the forum and also forthcoming MediaTel Group events.

MediaTel Group: 0207 439 7575 www.mediatelgroup.co.uk