Author: Mark Fletcher

The latest issue of Australian Country magazine from Universal Magazines is the anchor title for our country section at the moment. The cover is clean, reaching outside the country category to appeal to other shoppers. I urge newsagents to seek out the title and ensure they are using it as an anchor title. Sales of country titles are surging for us – in part because we have devoted specific space to them close to the busy area of our women’s magazine aisle.

We are promoting the Woman’s Day recipes+ bonus offer with promotion in several locations including this one . It’s a good value offer. recipes+ inside Woman’s Day makes the overall package a bit physically unstable. We are countering this by keeping pockets full.

As the audits continue to show, frankie is an important magazine for newsagents. We promote it several times through the on-sale and for the rest of the time we have three pockets of the title in our women’s magazine aisle as shown in the photo. Below this we have four more pockets of frankie. It’s very noticeable to anyone entering the aisle.

When we promote the magazine we do it in a billboard fashion on the aisle end as well as tactically at the counter or elsewhere.

Bringing multiple Moshi Moster products together like this continues to be a smart move, driving purchases of multiple products.  We are finding this small Moshi Monster display working well at the ticket sales counter. I’d urge newsagents to group Moshi products together.

We are promoting the just released Internet Security magbook with newspapers as well as with our tech magazines.

I suspect the newspaper location will work well as it’s the type of title people with an interest in online security will purchase on impulse.  This is not a title people will visit seeking out – hence our placement in a high traffic impulse location.

We need more titles like this, titles that reinforce magazine range as a point of difference. Newsagents will reject special interest titles like this at their peril.

This is how we are promoting the latest issue of InStyle magazine from Pacific Magazines.

As the only magazine being promoted in this way in this section – InStyle stands out. You can see shoppers notice it.

These in-location displays work well for us and for the title being features.  Okay, it’s not an aisle end but they don’t always drive the sales you want.

This type of in-location display achieves sales and that is what matters.

SA Gardens is selling well from what I am told.  It’s a garden magazine for and about South Australian gardens and gardeners.

SA Gardens taps into the interest in local stories. We know from independent local newspapers that people like to read stories about people and happenings closer to home.

I’m told newsagents give it prime positioning because of the local interest and the feeling of supporting the state. Makes sense.

SA Gardens is distributed by IPS.

I liked the look of this mini cookbook stand I saw at Changi Airport on Wednesday night.

I like the small footprint, ease of browsing and that the edges are not sharp.

I am looking for something like this to try mini cookbooks elsewhere in-store to get them to a point where they are profitable.  I don’t think it’s smart to leave them in the magazine department.

Clicking on the image will show more detail.

We have replaced the Men’s Health display of a couple of weeks ago with this Women’s Health display – at the entrance to our magazine department.

Note the placement of the current issue of Men’s Health in a floor display unit next to the main display. We also have Women’s Health placed in the women’s aisle as the feature health title.

Women’s Health is a popular title for us.