MAGAZINE NEWS (December 2004) " Delivering engagement: engaging with consumers through the power of magazines." According to Jim Bilton, Managing Partner of Wessenden Marketing, a badly targeted advertising message can undermine the trust between a magazine and its readers: "The creative tone of voice is increasingly important - mass produced messages stand out in a negative way. Ads not in the same tone as the magazine editorial will be rejected." IN CIRCULATION (November/December 2004) " Retail compliance: the facts" There are few topics more likely to drive up a publisher's blood pressure than retail compliance...... Click here to download full article MEDIA WEEK (14 September 2004) " Can subscriptions deliver if the news-stand's shelf life expires?" Jim Bilton, Managing Partner of media consultancy Wessenden Marketing, says publishers need to be taking a more strategic view than they do at the moment. "Publishers talk about how valuable subscriptions are, but they haven't been shifting their budgets out of retail and into subscriptions fast enough," he says. "It is a very simple fact of where publishers spend their money, they will get their returns."......Bilton believes that the short-term focus of magazines is to blame for the slow uptake in subscriptions. "The magazine business is not very strategic and the six-monthly ABC horizon is what makes publishers panic," he says. "You'll always get a quicker return on retail, and that's where all the politics, panics and pressures are. Subscriptions are a long, slow burn and it's two to three years before you see a real return. For a publisher under financial pressure, one of the the simplest things to do is to cut your subscriptions budget." Bilton believes that the central issue of postal distribution centres on price rather than service quality. "The cost of fulfilling magazines through the post is significantly higher in the UK than other counties, and in Europe, where it's largely subsidised by the state." IN CIRCULATION (July/August 2004) " Retail promotional spend - who benefits?" Retail margin via the back door....that's how one leading publisher recently described in-store retail promotions.... Click here to download full article. [PDF format 81Kb] TMB WEEKLY (28 May 2004) " PPA voices concern at WHS range review" According to analysis by Wessenden Marketing, the WHSmith High Street proposals represent a 23% reduction in the publishers' on-shelf display opportunities...... RETAIL NEWSAGENT (June 2004) " A special mission" In order to help retailers maximise their magazine sales, Future Publishing commissioned Wessenden Marketing's Brandlab to look at how and by whom specialist magazines are bought. Chris Spratling, Future's Retail Sales Director: "The research has shown that our typical customers are not only buying specialist or computer magazines. They also buy a selection of mainstream titles from FHM to What Car? It also shows that, unlike with consumer titles, buyers of specialist magazines are loyal to their favourites, but will nor ask for what they want if they do not see it, so good retail display is essential...." RETAIL NEWSAGENT (June 2004) " Mounting sales?" Wessenden Marketing's Brandlab conducted independent research for Future on how consumers view their covermounts. "We videotaped people in-store as they were buying their magazines and then interviewed them after the purchase. One of the research's main findings was how readers of different magazine sectors looked for different values in their covermounts. In the computer gaming sector, covermounts are seen as an integral part of the product. In the PC computing sector they are seen as a promotional extension. In the entertainment sector, readers see it an an extra......." RETAIL NEWSAGENT (May 2004) " Doubts over promo value" Publishers are increasingly sceptical about the value they are getting for their retail promotional investment, according to research commissioned by the PPA through Wessenden Marketing and unveiled at last week's PPA Conference. The research showed that the promotional spend in the industry had increased from £17m in 2000 to £25m in 2003, but that the rate of growth in spend had slowed down dramatically..... PPA MEMBER BRIEFING (February 2004) " On the launch pad" Last year saw healthy growth in the number of magazine launches according to the latest edition of the "Circulation Briefing" newsletter published by Wessenden Marketing. Regular frequency launches were up by 18% on 2002 to 566...... IN CIRCULATION (January/February 2004) " Independent Retailers - the future of magazine sales?" As the retail multiples continue to grow in share and power, does the independent retailer offer a refuge for a magazine business that is coming under increasing pressure? Click here to download presentation charts [PDF format 100Kb] COMMUNITY RETAILER (November 2003) " Winning back sales" New research for the PPA by Wessenden Marketing suggests ways that independents could share in the magazine sales boom curently being enjoyed by the supermarkets..... RETAIL NEWSAGENT (10 October 2003) " Survey suggests consumers prefer the bigger stores" Results from a recent survey by Wessenden's Brandlab shows that more people look to buy magazines at supermarket or high street stores than at independent retailers......... MARKETING WEEK (9 October 2003) " Sparks fly as the magazine sector explodes" Research commissioned by the PPA from Wessenden Marketing's Brandlab showed that each retail sector has different strengths, and that consumers use different outlets for different kinds of magazine purchase...... THE NEW SINGLE COPY (4 Aug 2003) " Wholesaling in Britain. How different is it?" The August issue of "Circulation Briefing" features an extensive look at the wholesale level of publication distribution in the UK. Three companies represent an estimated 85% of the magazine business...... FINANCIAL TIMES (23 July 2003) “ Generous to a fault” (magazine covermounts)According to Jim Bilton, managing partner of media consultancy Wessenden Marketing, even publishers recognise that there is a diminishing return from free gift promotions but, like drug addicts, they cannot wean themselves from the practice. Bilton blames the pressure put on publishers to maintain their six-month ABC figure, which leads to short term marketing at the expense of long term brand building. He believes that free gifts can actually have a negative impact: “A cheap gift can devalue the brand image and regular readers can feel patronised.” MAGAZINE RETAILER (June 2003) " Independently minded" Independent retailers are the backbone of the magazine business and, in spite of their declining numbers, have an abiding place in consumer buying habits. This is the very clear message from a recent research project from PPA's Selling Magazines programme which commissioned Wessenden Marketing's Brandlab to look at this whole area...... RETAIL NEWSAGENT (May 2003) " Impulse sales vital" According to new research, 22% of magazine purchases from independent retailers have an impulse element to them. Jim Bilton, Managing Partner of Wessenden Marketing, presented the findings at the PPA Magazines Conference this week. A quarter of customers surveyed intended to buy a magazine before they entered the shop, but 3% did not follow through this intention. The primary reason for this was that the magazines were not available or could not be seen properly on the shelf..... MEDIA WEEK (28 Mar 2003) " Promotions mean prizes for regional papers" Jim Bilton, founder of Wessenden Marketing, was one of the judges in the Newspaper Society Sales and Promotions Awards: "Even when budgets were very tight for some newspapers, the creativity and planning still shone through...." FIPP MAGAZINE WORLD (April 2003) “International Subscription Models” In a number of markets around the world, magazine subscriptions are growing. Why? What challenges does this present to publishers? Click here to download full article. [PDF format 150Kb] THE GROCER (February 2003) “ Tesco gains on WHSmith” The T&S acquisition has taken Tesco to within a hair’s breadth of market leadership in UK news and magazine retailing….. The media consultancyWessenden Marketing has Tesco just behind WHSmith with a 6% share in news and a 13% share in magazines compared to WHSmith’s 3% and 16.5% respectively………  The
way publishers stagger contracts with wholesalers could also make a sudden push
to national distribution very difficult added Wessenden Marketing’s Jim
Bilton. But all the drivers for national distribution are still there. “There
are still massive frustrations with the supply chain.” .
PPA MEMBER BRIEFING (January 2003) “ Subscribe to a different view” An overview of the “Subscription Marketing 2002” report. Click here to download full article. [PDF format 79Kb] |
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