We have been promoting Annette Sym’s range of Symply Too Good To Be True healthy cookbooks with this behind the counter display.  We have put this up to support the cross promoting in upcoming issues of Take 5 magazine.  Our team has done a terrific job in showcasing the range – we know from our sales data across a number of newsagencies that Symply Too Good customers usually purchase two or more titles at once.

I’d encourage all newsagents to promote the range – to leverage the Take 5 promotion and drive sales because these things just sell.

Morrison Media, the publisher of frankie and a bunch of other good magazine titles, is launching Smith Journal on September 5.  This is an opportunity to get in on the ground floor with a title chasing a neglected space.  This is a magazine for discerning gents and girls who like reading about discerning gents as the publisher says.

Given the extraordinary success of frankie, I’d expect this new title to do well sicne it looks to be chasing a similar shopper who is passionate about the title and what it covers.

Click on the image to see a larger version of the cover.  Here are some other facts from the publisher about the new title:

  * GGA TITLE CODE: 14612
* CATEGORY: Special Interest, Lifestyle, Fashion, Current Affairs, Photography
* Launch issue – 5th September
* Newsagents who stock the publication will be promoted in the smith journal website (store locator) to maximise sales/sell outs.
* 20,000 copies printed (limited supply)
* Cover Price: $11.95
* POS:A2 Posters will be supplied to every outlet
o Full page advertisement in frankie #43
o A backing card will be supplied to outlets who sell frankie. It will be created to put behind the frankie publication.
o Online and print promotion through selected media outlets.
* On Sale for three months (with limited floor stock available)
* One summer and one winter issue annually
* Distributed through newsagents, selected boutique shops and our online store.

I plan to make sure that I have plenty of stock allocated for this title, to make the most of the launch opportunity.

I was at the Connections with ACP conference in Sydney yesterday (along with several hundred newsagents) and the terrific Awards dinner (Havana theme) last night.  A highlight of the conference was an announcement by ACP that they will be promoting newsagents in their TV commercials for magazines.  This is excellent news as it reminds consumers that our channel is a key go to place for magazines.  The more suppliers who tag their advertising as available in newsagents the better.

The conference itself provided an excellent mix of practical business building sessions as well as insights into how other retailers and businesses are addressing changed business conditions.

While there was discussion among newsagents about tough retail conditions, most I spoke with were upbeat about the future and the opportunities presented through change.  A common theme from ACP was that they want to partner more actively and cooperatively with newsagents through these opportunities.

I noticed several retail businesses in manila selling magazines including this large homewares store.  Yes, those three stands on the right of the entrance all contain magazines.  Each from a different distributor or publisher from what I can see.  I am guessing that they pay for this placement.

I was shocked to see magazines for sale in a homewares store.  Yes, some of the titles – homewares etc – made sense for this type of business.  But selling magazines in such a business, outside of a traditional magazine department was a surprise.

One of the stands was branded for the distributor or publisher while the other two promoted the title categories.

This is a magazine display unit at the front of a large book and stationery business I visited yesterday in Pasig City Manila.  It was compact yet showing off the full cover of each title – one title per pocket in most pockets.  Very browser friendly and space efficient – but a visual barrier due to height.  I’d say they had around 300 magazine titles on display so not a big range by our standards.  This size of display was rare in Manila from the two major shopping malls I visited.

With Unique Cars being the top selling car magazine in Australia, it’s appropriate that newsagents leverage this with prime position and also use this title to drive other titles.  We are doing this with a mini waterfall display several columns into the men’s magazine aisle – as shown in the photo.

We are also making sure that all team members know that Unique Cars is the top selling card magazine and that this status requires it to be given feature treatment every new issue and right through the on-sale.

This extra attention to Unique Cars helps us leverage its top seller status not only for sales of this title but also the titles we place nearby.

Given how much News Corp. and the Murdochs have been in the news lately we have been promoting the latest issue of The Monthly in a good location so that the full cover is seen.  While not a cover which will drive a large increase in sales, it is sure to appeal to those interested in the media and, in particular, the challenges currently facing News Corp. in the wake of the phone hacking scandal in the UK which is yet to fully play out.