ANALYSIS: Can Next be the foreign magazine that breaks Taiwan? - Next believes its paparazzi approach will be a hit with readers

The signs are promising that Jimmy Lai's first venture in Taiwan

may be spared the fate which has befallen so many foreign titles that

have tried to land in the country.

The market, which has buried a host of foreign titles, has allocated a

special place in Taipei's newsstands and convenience stores for the Hong

Kong media tycoon's Next magazine.

Sales clerks have given it pride of place, stacking it next to the cash

register. Part of the reason is due to its size. Next is too small to

sit in the racks with its like-themed competitors - gossip veterans such

as China Times Weekly, TVBS Weekly, Scoop and Dujya Baodao. But the

sensationalist Next is also too outre to fit either among the like-sized

but mainstream titles such as Cita Bella, Nong Nong and GQ Taiwan.

For now, its place near the cash register is assured, considering that

the May 31 launch issue reportedly sold all 275,000 copies in eight

hours, making it Taiwan's largest-circulating magazine. That roughly

equalled the combined circulation of its main rivals, China Times

Weekly, TVBS Weekly and Scoop. None are audited, but each is believed to

sell between 80,000 and 100,000 copies.

By any measure, it was a stunning launch, but what fuelled it? More

importantly, can Next sustain sales, even reach ad targets, at a time

when the Taiwanese economy has hit a rough patch? Next editor-in-chief

Peir Woei pins its launch success squarely on its content.

The launch issue had Taiwan's first family on its cover, with much of

the attention focused on President Chen Shuibian's daughter. "We wrote

about her feelings, her past romances, and we profiled her current

boyfriend by interviewing his former girlfriends."

Another example? The story about United Bamboo, a triad

organisation.

"Usually the triads are reported second-hand, but we sent reporters to

their meeting." The photo spread bears this out. Perplexed yet

malevolent faces glare at the camera.

Such fare would be watered-down whisky by Western tabloid standards.

Yet this is heady paparazzi stuff in Taipei, where the press is usually

deferential when it comes to society's high and mighty.

Its racy approach is potentially Next's key strength in attracting

readers, but there's a danger it could have the opposite effect on

advertisers.

As media went to press, it emerged that the Taiwan Advertisers'

Association had circulated a memo advising its members not to advertise

in Next. The memo cites the magazine's tabloid approach and the

potential privacy threat it poses.

The view that Next's controversial approach could be counter-productive

when it comes to attracting advertisers was backed up by K F Lee, chief

executive officer of Carat United Media Services Taiwan: "Here the media

are very friendly to big corporations, but Next is saying it doesn't

care who has placed ads," he says. "It could be risky for them."

Next's sales director, Wilson Chou, confirmed that a number of

advertisers had also taken a wait-and-see approach. Next had targetted

100 ad pages for the launch, but only managed 83. Its pages boasted

quality advertisers - Apple Computer, Nokia, Aetna Insurance, Mercedes

Benz, Ralph Lauren, and SK-II.

New titles in Taiwan frequently give space away for free, especially

given the wobbly state of the economy. George Shen, managing director of

CIA, says: "Offering free space is a common practice here for new

media.

The cable TV channels, TVBS and JET, gave spots to premium advertisers

for free when they started up. That practice lasted half a year." Chou,

however, insisted that no free ads were given away. He said the company

had developed several packages such as a half-year nine-plus-six

package, in which advertisers receive six free ads for nine paid, but

have to sign a contract and pay.

Another obstacle Next faced was pricing. It was entering the market as

an unknown with a megalomaniac circulation goal. Chou's solution was to

lower costs. "We couldn't guarantee any numbers, so we priced at 1.2

times the cost of a page in China Times, and that is cheap considering

that our circulation is so much larger."

Next is now aiming to repeat the success it achieved with its launch

issue each week. In fact, those are the direct orders of NextMedia

publisher Andrew Chow, who oversees the parent title in Hong Kong as

well as its Taiwan offspring. His first year goal for Taiwan is a

circulation of 250,000 to 300,000 copies, including 100,000 in

subscription sales. He also expects ad revenue of NTdollars 500 to

dollars 600 million (USdollars 14.5 to dollars 17.4 million). The

numbers work out just about right, when compared to the NTdollars 1.8

billion in advertising - 20 per cent of the island's NTdollars 7.9

billion magazine market - currently commanded by Next's gossip

rivals.

Taiwan is a graveyard of foreign titles that have come and gone. And

it's not the best of times to launch a magazine.

Next's success may have been fuelled more by curiosity in Jimmy Lai's

latest venture and by the inspired advertising campaign by Saatchi &

Saatchi (media, June 8) than by the magazine itself.

The real issue will be whether Next still enjoys pride of place in

stores six months from now, or whether it eventually finds itself

relegated to the low-traffic shelves.