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.

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