Is it time to re-think the rate card?

The traditional way of rewarding magazine advertising customers -- with discounts for frequency and size -- needs to be rethought, according to a column in Publishing Executive. Eric Shanfelt, executive vice president of eMedia for Virgo Publishing (he previously worked for Penton Media and Aspire Media) says that, with restless advertisers shifting from print-only to a mix of media, it's a wonder that magazine media kits and rate cards have failed to respond.

Is our goal really to get advertisers to buy more print from us? Our goal should be to get them to spend more money with us regardless of which media they choose. So let’s stop perpetuating a sales model that no longer works, abandon the old print rate-card frequency model, and instead reward advertisers based on their total spend with us.

He recommends that magazines establish "a la carte" pricing.

What would each media item cost if you bought it separately? List out everything that you sell—print sizes/positions, Web ads, e-mail ads, webinars, booth pricing, etc., along with the open rate (no frequency) that each item costs if someone purchased only that item.

Then he suggests that an escalating series of "partnership levels" be offered, driven by the total amount an advertiser spends, no matter in what medium.

If done right, your partnership levels will somewhat mirror the kinds of discounts you would give for print frequency at the same dollar levels. Typically, the partnership levels would be on an annual basis and would be reset every year.

He provides a simple example:


He also suggests using some pre-set packages with different mixes -- for instance, a "print-lover's special" or the "supreme -- combining print, online, events and other products". That way advertisers have the choice of plucking a package off the shelf, modifying a package or negotiating a custom option.

Yes, this is a radical departure from how we’ve always done business in the past, but this is a brand-new media world, and the old ways of doing things simply won’t work anymore. Even if you don’t use this specific model, find a concrete way to reward your customers based on total spend rather than just rewarding them for print frequency.