MEDIA: Reader's Digest chips away at agency bias - Talking up direct marketer skills to tackle media bias

In the splash of red that is the latest advertising revenue report by CMR, a handful of titles appear to have bucked the steep downtrend, growing by double digits - triple figures in one instance - in the first six months. Of the winners, it's the 52 per cent rise in Reader's Digest's revenue that is impressive. At a time when rivals have either seen ad pages disappear or are struggling to maintain advertising income, the region's biggest-selling title added US$2 million to revenues. But desperate times call for drastic measures. For Reader's Digest, the depressed global economic climate has considerably added to the degree of difficulty it now faces in achieving "incredibly aggressive" revenue and circulation targets for its three Asia-Pacific editions. Which is where two major editorial changes - this month's cover redesign and the launch before year-end of the practical advice RD Living section - come in. For a company like Reader's Digest, the changes are significant; it's the publishing equivalent of trying to fix a wheel that isn't broken. "When you're the world's best-selling magazine, change shouldn't come easy. Everything we do is carefully evaluated. But the tests we did were completely conclusive," says associate publisher for Asia, Peter Jeffery. The conclusive proof Jeffery talks about are the focus group evaluations it conducted in Asia and the success it enjoyed in the US when the the new cover design was introduced. According to Jeffery, newsstand sales in the US climbed eight per cent on the back of the new cover although overall newsstand sales dipped 10 per cent in the same period. "It's important for us because newsstands have hardly been a channel for us. It's been exclusively direct marketing," he says. Whether the new cover will see it repeat its US success in Asia remains to be seen. What is crucial though is the title's efforts to chip away at agency bias. Few doubt the magazine performs strongly on key media buying criteria. But for the 20-something media buyer, who grew away from Reader's Digest during adolesence, the magazine is more solid than sexy. Still, the first half ad revenue spike provides early proof that Reader's Digest's message is getting through. Investments in sales, marketing and research-driven initiatives to play up the company's strengths as a direct marketing organisation are key strategies in breaking down lingering bias towards the magazine. Fifteen new advertisers, including several local corporations, have signed up from October onwards. Among them are Volvo, Mitsubishi, Sony, consumer goods company Fraser & Neave of Singapore and the Philippines' national petrol chain Petron. The FMCG category is proving to be a bright spot, says Jeffery. It went from nothing last year to a little less than 20 per cent of revenue this year. Jeffery credits the latest spate of advertising deals to Reader's Digest's ability to deliver a critical mass of consumers. Its circulation base comprises 709,342 copies across Asia, according to audited figures for 2000, making it the region's largest-selling title. On top of the numbers, the ATMS 2000 report showed Reader's Digest outperforming rivals across categories such as car ownership, travel, personal finance and investment, computers and consumer electronics. "Whether you're selling cars, home electronic products or any other consumer products, the actual numbers of consumers of that product who read the magazine is higher than any other title," says Jeffery. "The people who subscribe to our magazine tend to be DM and offer-responsive. We've leveraged this internally to sell our products; we will now leverage it externally for our advertisers." Reader's Digest subscription renewal rate runs to about 60 per cent, with subscribers having stayed with the magazine for about nine years on average, according to Jeffrey. That subscribers in Asia are younger than those in its other markets, and are in the middle to upper class demographic mean they are in "the ideal life stage to be receptive to a range of products and brands". In playing up the company's strengths as a DM operator, Jeffery is confident Reader's Digestcan claim the real prize - to enjoy the best of both worlds as a regional and local buy. Media agencies have started toting up the magazine's strengths. Christina Wong, Zenith Media Hong Kong associate director of its strategic planning department, says its ability to offer flexibility through split runs across Asia gives the title an edge over some of its regional competitors. "Advertisers can adapt their messages accordingly and this is a huge advantage. Plus, the improvements to the editorial product ensure a quality advertising environment, which makes us confident to book Reader's Digest."

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