Single sales to be pushed by PWC
The Periodical Wholesalers of Canada are to launch a government-supported pilot scheme to enhance the marketing of Canadian newsstand titles, according to an item in mastheadonline. The "Best of Canada" project will be in B.C., including Vancouver, Western Living, BC Business, Gardens West, Business in Vancouver, Okanagan Life, Porch, Geist and Pacific Golf.
posted by D. B. Scott at
11:51 am
3 Comments:
The report that Ray Argyle did was very interesting, and pretty good, on the whole, but basically dismissed the small magazine market as something "the mass market distribution channel cannot effectively serve" ... and therefore not something they should trouble themselves about in their "Best of Canada" marketing proposal.
I can see both accuracy and unreasonableness in this viewpoint.
It is true that the mass market isn't good at distributing niche titles.
However, since the retailing of magazines has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer companies (retailers, distributors, wholesalers), it leaves fewer options open to publishers of small magazines. So now it feels just a mite tacky of them to say "We can't really be bothered with the niche titles", rather than "We also need a companion program that will help open up the mass market distribution channel to more of the niche titles".
Over the past few years, the mass market players have done their fair share of whining about CMPA/MagsCan's distribution operation (which serves the tiniest of the tiny titles), as if that was taking valuable business away from them. I just don't see how they can have it both ways.
I appreciate the interest in the Periodical Marketers repprt that I authored.
Re small niche titles, the problem is not that wholesalers don't wish to handle them, but that retailers generally are not receptive.
We hope that our proposed BC pilot program for regional magazines can help move retailers a step toward more favorable reception of a diversity of titles.
Hi Ray,
I didn't mean to slam the wholesalers in particular!
I was kinda slamming the whole gol-darn system -- how efficiency improvements tend to wind up reducing the availability of "niche" product for consumers, and eliminating many opportunities for "niche" producers to reach potential consumers.
In the case of cultural products (such as magazines) that must rely on commercial sales channels, we should all keep putting some onus on retailers to maintain variety, rather than just carrying the top few dozen titles. And for solid "bottom-line" reasons, not just altruism:
1. Increase sales by huge percentages
In Abacus' 2002 report for Heritage ("Taking Back The Rack"), we analysed some of the data supplied by HDS Retail from Magazines Canada (CMPA)'s "Genuine Article" retail display program in HDS outlets in Spring 2002. I was particularly interested to learn that when the "Canadian-ness" of magazines was pointed out to consumers at retail, it didn't benefit the larger publishers nearly as much as the small publishers. Grouped by 2001 sales volume in the HDS chain, we found the following percentage increases:
Under 100 copies: 65.8% increase in sales during "GA" campaign
101 to 500 copies: 27.7% increase
501 to 1000 copies: 18.6% increase
1001+ copies: 3.8% increase
A 3.8% increase on the larger titles is terrific, but the huge sales growth for smaller titles reinforces small Canadian publishers' oft-voiced theory that Canadians will choose to read those magazines when they can find them (and when they realize they're Canadian).
We should continue highlighting those results with retailers. Real growth potential.
2. Retail variety as "bait"
There is another significant benefit for retailers in providing greater variety. Personally, I usually choose to visit (and spend more time at) newsstands that carry a wide selection -- in my case looking for magazines such as This Magazine, The Walrus, Prefix Photo, Explore or Taddle Creek ... and then I often also pick up a copy of a mass-market title such as Toronto Life or Canadian House & Home. I wouldn't ever go out looking for TL or CH&H, so I only give a quick glance at a rack with very titles. I know I'm only a "focus group of one", but I bet I'm not all that unusual (in this regard, at least!).
Retailers who try to maximize efficiency by concentrating entirely on the sales of the "top" titles, without analysing buyer behaviour, might easily make the wrong business decision.
We should all care about maintaining variety on the newsstand, not only because it makes sense financially, but because as consumers we'd be bored silly if the "efficiency" trend continues toward its logical conclusion -- wherein virtually every outlet carries only the same 50 top-selling titles (and all of them paying pocket fees!)
Of course not all stores can carry all titles, or give them equal visibility. But it would be downright exciting to walk into a chain grocery store and occasionally see a few outstanding "niche" titles in the racks. And at a chain drugstore outlet, a different (small) selection of niche titles. Just a few titles that aren't about shopping ... titles that expose us to some unusual viewpoints on politics, the environment, or the arts. A little more diversity.
If the PMC's "Best of B.C." pilot program goes ahead, I hope we'll hear how (say) Gardens West, Geist, Pacific Yachting, and Kootenay Mountain Culture fare -- compared to (say) Vancouver, Western Living, and BC Business. Without sacrificing any title's confidential data, I hope PMC will find a way to share its findings with the rest of the industry. And -- one way or the other -- I'm very encouraged that PMC members are interested in finding ways to increase the visibility of Canadian magazines.
I also encourage the PMC to consider including a small test of "ultra-niche" titles in its pilot program (perhaps a half-dozen mass-market outlets, with a special display rack featuring a variety of titles that do not currently use the wholesaler network). Some such titles might include the Watershed Sentinel, Event, Ricepaper, Dance International, Pacific Rim, or SubTerrain. More can be found here: http://www.bcamp.bc.ca . Results from such a test would be of great interest to countless smaller Canadian magazines ... and could even be a bit of an eye-opener to some retailers, wholesalers and distributors.
All the best -- Jon
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