Success of RD's Our Canada results in spin off More of Our Canada
Our Canada, one of the most successful launches of recent years, has been so successful that Reader's Digest Magazines Canada has launched a spinoff called More of Our Canada, according to a report in mastheadonline. The bimonthly Our Canada has a circulation of 300,000, six times a year. The new magazine, which will come with a $20.96 sub price (same as OC) will have similar content, generated by readers. Already, with only one issue published and one circulation promotion, MoOC has 34,000 subscription requests.
Labels: launches
posted by D. B. Scott at
1:03 pm
4 Comments:
I don't understand. Why not just make Our Canada monthly? Even on their website (http://www.ourcanada.ca/2008/08/letter_from_editor.php) they claim the reason they are starting another mag is because readers wanted a more frequent publication.
Can anyone explain?
RD seems to have found a way to create a two-tier subscriber base: some 300,000 who pay $21, and about 36,000 of those (so far) who pay an additional $21. Assuming that RD can get 1/3 of the Our Canada subscribers to take that deal, the gross increase in their annual circulation income alone will be more than $2 million. Since the content is "reader-generated" and there is little increase in editorial staffing, content costs are relatively low. They keep both the subscribers whose price threshold is $21 and extract an additional $21 out of those willing to pay for more of the same. This may turn out to be a brilliant marketing strategy.
I think it's genius. They'd never get readers to a price point of $42 on 12 issues of a single magazine, but they will get it from some by pitching it as two magazines.
I'm not convinced.
Okay, the content costs may not be much extra, but if they only convert 1/3 then the per issue printing costs will be higher for More.
Also, there is a circulation dep't overhead/burden. They'll have to send out renewal notices to the More subscribers and the regular subscribers. Different renewal notices have to be created. And there is bound to be confusions about which magazine a reader has renewed and when (which will drive the circ people crazy). If readers subscribe at opposite times of the year (Jan and July, say) they will be under a constant barrage of renewal notices!
Just thinking out loud.
Of course, if they can get 100,000 subscribers at $21, then they would still be the envy of every medium and small size publisher in the country.
They probably still would have been better off getting 300,000 at $39 each. (But maybe there testing indicated no one would go for that.)
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