Magazine Panel: “The hierarchy of a reader”

One of the key areas of debate at MediaTel Group’s ‘Future of Consumer Magazines’ seminar this morning was the relative value of a subscriber v a newsstand reader and also how a free magazine reader fits into the overall mix.

Dominic Williams, press director at Carat, felt that a subscriber should be regarded with more value than a newsstand buyer – “though I’m not going to pay more for it,” he said.

Also of value was the fact the “subscriber information is important – in terms of the depth of data”.

Williams also felt that a paid-for reader was of more value than a free title reader, However, it was felt that free titles had a greater level of flexibility and creativity to integrate brands more closely into the product.

Evelyn Webster, chief executive of IPC, was happy that subscriptions for them were going up as it helps to “avoid retail issues”, stating that “consumers have changed” and are now more willing to subscribe to a product than before.