Stoner magazine exploits newsagents
Stickypoint is “Australia’s latest and greatest cannabis magazine” – or so says their website. Distributed to newsagents today by Wrapaway, Stickypoint is another new title exploiting the low barrier to entry to the lucrative newsagent channel.
Newsagent generosity or stupidity allows Stickypoint to launch with little downside. Newsagents become their marketing arm and bankers. We guarantee eyeballs seeing the title and provide cash flow in advance of sales. Where else could a small publisher get such gifts?
Then there Stickypoint itself. I’d be surprised if there is a commercial market for a cannabis title. I received six copies and would be surprised to sell one – not because of any view I have about the subject matter but because of my demographic. This magazine was released to retailers in December. Newsagents have received their copies today. That suggests to me that we are their second tier retail channel. I can imagine the attitude – yeah, send it to newsagents, it costs us nothing!
Stickypoint is a two cover magazine. The first cover (above) is the more traditional and the second (left) is chasing the girlie market. Neither title works visually in a newsagency. No matter where we place it, Stickypoint will look bad thanks to its low production values and a very dark cover.
It is disturbing that Wrapaway have entered this niche title space. The last thing newsagents need is another magazine distributor playing at this end. I hope everyone returns their Stickypoint stock right away and sends a message to the publishers and distributors.
I have retuned my 6 copies of Stickypoint and will not pay the amount invoiced. I did not order the title so why should Wrapaway have access to my cash?
I wonder if they approached Coles and Woolworths? Woolworths could carry the title as part of their renewed interest in farmers.
Australia Post is running this ad on the back page of this week’s Woman’s Day.
We put some magazines in our returns trolley this morning and someone laughed at us. But there was no one else around – it was unnerving. It happened with the next bundle of magazines we put in. Someone was laughing at us! Investigation revealed that it was a magazine laughing at us – Dandy. Actually it was the free Desperate Dan’s Giggle Sack laughing when more magazines being returned were placed on it in the trolley.
To my untrained eye the cover of NW this week seems incomplete – certainly compared to the other weeklies. It feels like a departure for the title, not as busy as usual. Others have commented so I’m not alone on this. Sales are the only measure which matters.
When Vaughan Lawrence of Beechworth Newsagency told me of how shabbily his business had been treated by 
