Single-Copy City

City and regional titles often have great newsstand numbers. Part of the reason is aggressive marketing. A look at who’s doing what...

By
Wednesday, March 30, 2005

By Meghan Hamill

City and regional magazines are a fast growing category and some are doing so well that they are competing with and out performing national magazines in their locale. The sell through rate for national magazines is 34 percent while for the typical city and regional magazine it is over 50 percent. Dollar sales per issue are up for mature city and regional titles, with increases of 100 to 900 percent or more since 1998.

City and regional magazines reach their target audiences better than some national magazines because they have a higher penetration into a market and reach a higher percentage of people. Edit is targeted to the “best of” locally—everything sells on its local appeal and this includes advertising.

From 1994 to 2004 the City and Regional Magazine Association membership grew 36 percent from 36 to 100. To be accepted as a CRMA member, the magazine must be a general interest consumer magazine, published at least quarterly, audited, distributed in the mail (not in bulk shipments), printed on coded four-color paper and it does not have to be paid circ.

The magazines leverage their personal relationships with readers with circulation tools such as participating in marketing programs that prove to the retailer that city and regional magazines have more profit potential than national magazines (in their locale.) Through newsstand marketing, St. Louis sold on average 27,500 copies in one month on its metro-area newsstand compared to 19,182 copies of Martha Stewart Living and 8,093 copies of Fortune.

Newsstand sales are on the increase because city and regional magazines can prove to major retailers that they do sell well and therefore get the top spots. Based partly on its 12,555 monthly newsstand sales, New Jersey Monthly recently secured a coveted top row pocket between People and Cosmopolitan at King’s Supermarket during a re-racking program.

Some city and regional magazines work with the retailer on a grass-roots level with the help of a merchandisers, Mpls St. Paul did this when it created its own in-store special promotions. The magazine also made sure it knew about new racks in advance of their being built. The result is a dollar sales increase of 146 percent from 1998 to 2004 and a total newsstand sales increase of 4,000 copies in the last year, with a 58 percent sell-through rate.

In the pages that follow we highlight the array of activities deployed by several of the most successful magazines—from retail placement programs to sales-producing public relations campaigns.

Boston and Philadelphia magazines

To reach their readership, Boston (119,393 total paid) and Philadelphia (132,175 total paid) are packaged as authorities on local information. “Our circulation model is focusing on and providing a high quality readership. We are not looking to grow our circulation, but rather tweak it,” says Lori Birney, circulation director, Boston and Philadelphia magazines.

A few years ago, several locally supermarkets drains in the magazine markets moved to corporate management and the importance of city and regional magazine was no longer top of mind. The company hired newsstand consultant Alan Centofante. Job one was to increase newsstand efficiency and to represent them at the corporate level.

By leveraging sales information from Centofante Group’s cover database covers are designed using the results of previous issues. “We adjust our draws based on the sales potential of the cover topic and cover design,” says Birney. Both magazines’ average sales efficiency is in the low 50-percent range.

By using the cover database to produce topics that sell, Boston’s “Real Estate/Best Places to Live” issue has a yearly sell through at or near 70 percent. “We are adjusting draw where we are having sellouts or low sell through, but it is a continuing process,” says Birney.

Because a higher percentage of its newsstand buyers are female, 56 percent of Boston retail sales come from selling at major supermarkets. Its top supermarket is Stop & Shop (3,124) and Philadelphia magazine’s top is ACME (2,897). “Train stations and the airport are key because as city magazines, travelers look to us for advice on the best dining,” says Birney. It is also crucial that they have placement in Borders and Barnes & Noble where they sell a average of 1,024 and 1,582 copies per issue. Boston and Philadelphia are now both top ten city and regional circ performers on the newsstand.

Both Philadelphia and Boston magazines launched Home and Garden titles in 2003. “Although the home category is somewhat flooded with other titles, we saw a need for this type of information focusing on a local level,” said Birney.

In 2004 Boston Home & Garden sold 4,752 single copies, with a 58.8 percent sell-through. Philadelphia Home & Garden sold 10, 350 single copies in 2004, with a 31 percent sell-through rate.

Mpls. St.Paul Magazine

For 30-plus years readers have relied on Mpls. St.Paul Magazine (78,181 total circ) for recommendations on the best of the best in the Twin Cities. It has also increased its circulation by 20 percent in the last ten years. “Much of the increase is due to investment in upgrading the editorial product and investing in circ staff,” says Colleen Puent, director of circulation marketing.

With the help of a merchandiser, building relationships with retailers and wholesalers, the magazine created some special promotions by taking its sales into its own hands. “Newsstand has a high visibility in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Our market is a manageable enough size for us to take our sales personally at the grass-roots level,” says Puent. By doing this, dollar sales per issue increased 146 percent since 1998 and single copy sales increased by 6,785 copies per issue. The magazine also sold 15,000 more single copies than competing national magazines on Twin Cities newsstands in June 2004 with its “Top Doctors” selling 35,851 single copies.

In one leading national drugstore chain, the magazine received permission from the wholesaler to set up displays and bring copies into the stores on its own.
This cost more money but it resulted in the sales advantage of always having in-stock copies on the stand.

“One of our biggest challenges is that our displays consistently sellout too fast,” says Puent. “We still billed the copies through the wholesaler, and everyone—wholesaler and retailer—got the same cut.” The magazine was personally invited to participate in a permanent Barnes & Noble ladder display program based on its outstanding sales during a test. Going from a mainline-only position in B&N to the ladder displays tripled its sales. For the first two
years the costs per ladder display were reasonable but the magazine had to pay $60 per display per month to stay with the program.

“We’ve even been displayed on ‘electronic endcaps’ via our local e-grocer, Simon Delivers. About 75 to 300 copies per month sell at this retailer,” says Puent.

It is different in each retail chain, but the title has been next to People, Us Weekly, Real Simple and O the Oprah Magazine. When they goe into rack negotiations the magazine’s sales history speaks for itself.

Mpls. St. Paul is marketed much like a national magazine via its Web site and strategic media appearances on programs. Editors discuss the magazine’s featured content on a weekly basis during drive-time radio and morning and evening newscasts. In 2003 its annual Mpls.St.Paul Shops magazine launched. “It made sense considering our reach into the market,” says Puent.

D Magazine and D Home & Garden

Dallas has read D Magazine for over thirty years and in the last ten years paid circ has increased from 42,549 to 74,810. Today’s reader is 61 percent female, and 95 percent have attended college. The magazine has an average house hold income of $244,700.

“Our selling power is a direct result of our reputation and our recognizable D logo,” says says Crystal Hudson, circulation director. When The Dallas Wedding Guide launched, the “D” brand was excluded. When it was changed to D Weddings, sales increased because of its association with the D logo.

The magazine’s distributors, The News Group and Anderson News, distribute D Magazine at just about every retailer imaginable. In 2004 the average sell through was 48 percent and 8 out of 12 issues were well over 55 percent.

To increase its newsstand sales (17,000 copies per issue on average), the circ team attends merchandiser meetings once a month and gives away prizes for stores that score 100 percent on their sales sheets. “We reward the merchandisers and try to do everything we can to keep them excited about D. They are very responsive to us because they know our selling power. It helps them do their job. My newsstand manager is in the field every day of the week checking our stock and sales,” says Hudson.

Last year the magazine held a contest offering its distributors a weekend getaway based on its sale of November’s “Best Doctors” issue (the issue sold 29,606 single copies). If the distributor scored 90 percent on their check sheet—they were a candidate to win. When a name was finally drawn, The News Group won by helping drive 19,000 single copies—19 percent more than the magazine’s average.

The magazine is merchandised at the checkouts at Kroger’s and Tom Thumbs; while Barnes & Noble and Albertson’s have promotional racks. It is sold on the front row and mainline everywhere else.

D Magazine’s marketing department gets the magazine noticed on the radio, TV and at local events to honor its “Best” winners. It also sponsors events benefiting charities and this year will do another Best of Big D party.

St. Louis Magazine

The St. Louis (20,000 total paid) reader is affluent (average HHI $194,800), involved in the community and well-educated. The total readership is about 200,000 professionals and business owners.

The magazine averages 4,068 single copies sold per monthly issue. It is sold at grocery stores (checkout), bookstores, drugstores and the airport and occasionally displays are placed in the pharmacy and liquor departments of grocery stores. Grocery stores offer the greatest opportunity to sell the largest number of units per store. “Since our audience skews slightly female, grocery shoppers are a great prospect for single copy sales,” says Marie Schmich, director of circulation.

It is sold at two large chains in the market that are more upscale and provide the highest sell-through levels. The magazine also participates in a ‘checkout pocket feature’ display.

A program has been developed this year with Barnes & Noble to increase newsstand sales by merchandising the magazine on a three-facing ‘stepladder’ display. Drugstore distribution helps sell special issues like its “Best Doctors.” Although it is not a large volume contributor, the sell-through level at Lambert International Airport is very high travelers are a great prospects for single-copy sales. Here, the magazine uses a high-end cardboard display unit with a four color header card to highlight the benefits of the magazine.

“We compete with national titles by participating in marketing programs with our retailers, and by continuing to highlight our sales volume and sell-through levels in the local market,” says Schmich. “St. Louis provides more profit potential for the retailer, and we think that this quality provides value to the retailer.”

The magazine markets to its readers using its Web site, which provides a teaser-length version of its editorial product. Search engine marketing is also mixed in. “St. Louis is very active in the community. Our staff develops and manages four to five high profile, exclusive events yearly, most with a charity beneficiary,” says Schmich. Bringing more to its community, St. Louis spinoff At Home launched this year.

Chicago magazine

The readers of Chicago (180,344 total paid) have a $172, 400 HHI, are 63 percent female and love dining out (on average 11 times a month). What the magazine provides to its readers is service oriented content. Its April issue features “Where to Get Stuff Fixed.” Issues like these and its overall circ model increased single copy dollar sales by 100 percent from 1998 to 2004.

The magazine is sold in retail locations primarily throughout Chicagoland, with secondary coverage in adjoining state Illinois. “We are a regional title, so we want to be able to reach all consumers within our geographic region-—part of the way to do that is through exposure,” says Brandi Nance, senior newsstand specialist. Supermarkets are its biggest retailer but it is also sold at other large chain retailers including bookstores, drug stores and independent outlets (checkout and mainline.)

In store the magazine competes with national titles for checkout positions by showing the magazine buyers that regionals are successful in the respective markets. “Last year we were successful in moving our placement to over-the-belt locations and gained full-share in our two top-selling chains. These actions were in part responsible for our additional 52,000 plus copies sold over our 2003 record-selling year,” says Nance.

Getting the magazine noticed includes merchandiser promotions with incentives on selected issues like placing floor displays, using mail-in post card incentives and pre-pack floor displays. “Often before a special issue, we will send a kick-off themed campaign package to merchandisers with announcements, schedules, and a small gift,” says Nance. “We work with our major wholesalers to get special distributions, put announcements in newsletters, and get our information into weekly calls to the merchandisers. We participate in wholesaler activities and co-host a Cubs event once a year.” The title also makes its presence known to consumers through joint ventures with its parent company, Tribune Company.

In 2004 its cover price decreased by 45 cents but its sales per issue increased from 23,000 to 31,000.

New Jersey Monthly

The suburban readership of the thirty year old New Jersey Monthly (92,704 total paid) wants service stories that tell them what’s the best, where to go and who’s doing what. “That's what we are known for and that is what we do best,” says Donald Seckler, associate publisher/consumer marketing.Editorial also includes human interest stories such as an article in the April issue about a police officer who was shot and killed in an arrest that went wrong and other journalistic stories like who the power brokers are in New Jersey.The magazine has a lot of success in getting the top pockets at the best supermarket chains in the region based on its on average 12,555 single copy sales.. “When Rosie folded we were able to get its top pocket at the checkout in Shop Rite in New Jersey. Recently, King’s Supermarket had a re-racking and we were able to secure a top-row pocket right between People and Cosmopolitan,” says Seckler.

The Cover Strategy

“It’s great to have an issue that sells higher than average. We are averaging between 12,000 and 13,000 copies per issue. It’s not a huge sale but we’ll have some issues that will sell over 20,000 copies,” says Seckler. New Jersey Monthly’s formula for selling covers on the newsstand is contrary to a lot of the national magazines, especially the women’s service books that use 16 to 17 cover lines. “Coming straight to the fence is what we think our strongest pitch is to the consumer,” says Seckler. On the subscription side, promoting the magazine at events hasn’t been an effective way to generate subscriptions. “It is easier and cheaper to get those subscriptions via direct mail. Our direct mail is inexpensive right now (about $3.00 per order),” says Seckler. “People who have been on the file for the last couple of years renew at a high rate. A couple of the sources are approaching 90 percent renewal rate.” Response rates are more lucrative via insert cards and a subscription promotion on its Web site. Other ways that New Jersey Monthly keeps circulation balanced is utilizing a cover database, provided by its newsstand consultant. For example, the database shows all of the “best doctors” covers for each year with their sales information, which Seckler says guides cover decisions. “I also communicate a lot with the regional and city magazines. For example, one direct mail piece that I had created, I had given to Lori Birney at Philadelphia and Boston magazines and they gave me what they were doing at the time.” said Seckler. Sharing data and techniques with peers so far has created a great network of knowledge and expertise that has really pushed the category to great heights. “There is a lot of information exchanged amongst the regional magazines which is great, because not too many of us compete directly. I talk to other circulators around the country almost on a daily basis,” says Seckler.

A Focus on Guerilla Marketing

Circulation ideas don’t fundamentally change in regard to local vs. national. City and regional magazines do have to rely on guerilla marketing and be sensitive to replenishing stock (even if that means distributing stock on their own), but most aren’t investing a lot of money in direct mail to generate subscriptions.

The focus is usually on guerilla marketing, because the magazines can’t afford the names and addresses of six million people on a list. The magazines still have to do some direct mail but only on certain zip codes—not big broadcasts.