Jessica rolls out dollars 2m ad blitz

<p>HONG KONG: Women's magazine Jessica has launched a circulation </p><p>drive for its first anniversary, cutting its cover price to HKdollars 10 </p><p>from HKdollars 35 for three months. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The magazine is also running a HKdollars 2 million (USdollars 257,000) </p><p>television and print campaign to promote the offer and build its </p><p>brand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The price promotion will run until August. Jessica is aimed at the 25 to </p><p>35-year-old executive market, and counts Elle, Cosmopolitan and Marie </p><p>Claire among its direct rivals. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The first issue at the reduced cover price sold out in four days, with a </p><p>60,000 print run, according to its publisher Jessica Ng. She added that </p><p>the publication's owner South China Media was considering an 80,000 </p><p>print run for the next issue. Jessica's last ABC audit, for July to </p><p>August 2000, gave it a circulation of 34,995. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The TV campaign for the price promotion includes five-second spots </p><p>running on Chinese-language channel ATV Home, in a bid to generate </p><p>impulse buys. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The tactical drive is complemented by 20-second brand-building ads on </p><p>English-language channel ATV World. These ads follow an executive woman </p><p>through her working day and evening's entertainment, which sees her </p><p>following Jessica magazine. The TV campaign was produced by The </p><p>Headoffice, based on a creative concept by Freeway, with media bought </p><p>in-house. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ng said: "Women in Hong Kong are very loyal to magazines and don't try </p><p>new ones out, and a lot don't know our title because it's new. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"All the other magazines give away premium gifts. We felt we had to do </p><p>something very aggressive, that none of the other titles would do. Our </p><p>goal is to become the leading woman's glossy in Hong Kong." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>