Magazine Promotion Still Strong 8 Months In

Eight months ago we launched our Magazine Club Card promotion in an effort to boost magazine sales in our retail shop. Very quickly we were experiencing 35% growth. We expected, as if often the case with such promotions, that sales would settle and the increase drop back to around 10%. Not so, today, eight months in, we’re tracking 28% growth in magazine sales in year on year same period comparisons.

In addition to the magazine sales growth we’re also tracking growth in greeting cards, stationery and newspapers – decent chunks of which is attributable to the Magazine Club Card.

The Magazine Club Card promotion is run in or shop without any external or in store promotion except for the offering across the counter of a club card with an 8 week life.

In a channel where magazine sales have grown, on average, 6% in the last year, our sales growth of 28% – 35% each month for the last eight month without any store changes is most significant. We’re aware of winning additional sales as well as stealing sales from other magazine outlets.

The mechanics of the campaign are simple and the rewards quickly accessible to our customers. It is a far more valuable loyalty campaign than any offered by the major retailers of magazines we compete with.

The success has come from simplicity of the offer and total employee engagement.

This is a good small business success story.