1 Time’s customised magazine initiative is called Mine. Unlike other magazines, readers are allowed to choose the types of articles they want and have the information sent to them either online or in print, packaged as a personalised magazine. They can select five magazines from Time Inc’s portfolio of eight, with 56 different combinations. Readers answer several questions to assess their interests. The magazine is running for five issues over 10 weeks.
2 The customised magazine concept derives from online niche offerings such as www.tabbloid.com and www.idiomag.com, says Ed Tam, director of invention at Mindshare China. It is, he says, a clear response to changing reader habits as a result of online growth. “Over the past decade, the internet has whetted the appetite of millions for vertically rich content covering every niche. Printed periodicals have worked hard to mimic their digital brethren, but with mixed success.”
Despite the added complexity, there can be financial benefits to the concept. “This seems to be a growing trend among print publishers in order to reduce their cost structure but still pull in ‘loyal’ consumers, getting them hooked into the feed,” says the head of one media agency.
3 From an advertising perspective, the concept has its merits in that it can carry ads targeted according to the interests of the reader. In the case of Mine, the entire initiative was sponsored by Lexus (all ads were for the Lexus 2010 RX SUV) but messages were personalised according the data collected on the recipients. “From a media planning perspective this clearly makes our communications more targeted and relevant when integrated into consumer wants and needs,” says Howard Thompson, director of invention at Mindshare China. The corollary is a potential rise in CPM. “From a cost perspective, I’m sure publishers would charge a premium for advertisers to do this.”
Benjamin Yeow, director of Mindshare Singapore, adds that it will make it easier for relevant ads and picking positions next to the right content as customised magazines are targeted and contextual.
4 But magazines tend to be reasonably targeted anyway. “The beauty of magazines is that they allow us to reach a large number of highly targeted consumers and promote our brands in the right environment. For example, promoting Fendi in Vogue not only reaches the right audience, but positions the brand in the right environment,” says Cheuk Chiang, chief executive officer Asia-Pacifc, at OMG’s PHD. “A magazine like Mine would need to define clearly who its target readers are and clearly articulate the type of environment they want advertisers to be in.”
5 So is this the sort of concept that could take off in this part of the world? As Yeow points out, the region’s publishers are still largely only at the e-magazine level, which offers the basic magazine online with options to select pages to download and print out. But, says Yeow, e-magazines are growing in popularity in Malaysia and mainland China. There is potential, but the technology costs associated with producing such customised magazines will remain prohibitive until publishers can be confident about gaining significant numbers of readers in the region. “You have to provide the hosting and content partnerships as well as delivery charges via email, e-books and hard printed copy. Only with scale will the effort make sense.”
6 Finally, there are those who believe that customisation will rob magazines of their appeal. “I love the idea of customisation but the danger Mine might face is that it becomes another “generalist” title or, worse still, another trash magazine that tries to be all things to all people and nothing to no one,” says Chiang. Or, as Tyler Brûlé, chairman and editor-in-chief of Monocle, concludes: “It removes any element of surprise and serendipity.”
What it means for…
Publishers
- Customised magazines offer a way for publishers to repackage and repurpose content to produce products of high value to readers and advertisers. As such they offer a way to increase revenue without investing in additional editorial.
- Improving targeting for advertisers could lead to a higher CPM.
- However, the costs associated with producing these magazines remain high, meaning publishers must be sure they can achieve the necessary scale. For this reason Asia’s markets are unlikely to see customised magazines in the near future.
Advertisers
- One of the goals of producing personalised magazines is to provide advertisers with ever more targeted outlets to consumers. Messages can be adapted according to consumer tastes in a more sophisticated manner than at present.
- However, cherry-picking content robs the content of its surrounding environment. Advertisers must be sure that a pick-and-mix magazine does not turn out to be more ‘generalist’ than a standard title.
Got a view?
Email [email protected]