While circulation continues to fall for consumer magazines, customer-branded publications like Nrma’s Open Road have the opportunity to cash in, if they can get the content right says Paul Merrill.
One of the new clichés in marketing is that content is king. It’s not about the medium, it’s about the ‘consumer experience’. And seeing a television commercial for the 17th time or driving past a bus shelter ad for Silver Linings Playbook isn’t much of an experience.
Or, put another way, consumers aren’t content with the content of this content.
One way this so-called new thinking has manifested itself is in the continued success of contract magazines as a way of communicating with customers. Readership and ad revenue of paid-for mags have slumped to a much greater extent than those for periodicals commissioned by companies specifically to reach their database.
It’s one important way...
One of the new clichés in marketing is that content is king. It’s not about the medium, it’s about the ‘consumer experience’. And seeing a television commercial for the 17th time or driving past a bus shelter ad for Silver Linings Playbook isn’t much of an experience.
Or, put another way, consumers aren’t content with the content of this content.
One way this so-called new thinking has manifested itself is in the continued success of contract magazines as a way of communicating with customers. Readership and ad revenue of paid-for mags have slumped to a much greater extent than those for periodicals commissioned by companies specifically to reach their database.
It’s one important way...
- 2/4/2013
- by mumbrellahouse
- Encore Magazine
It’s been a while since I dropped by Zoo Weekly’s Facebook page.
Regular readers may recall that it fell foul of the Advertising Standards Board in November for a Facebook post featuring the top half and bottom half of a disembodied woman which asked readers which they preferred.
So how have they been since? It looks like service remains as normal.
Zoo put up a picture of Kim Kardashian riding a jet ski with the not entirely subtle innuendo: “Kim sure loves water sports.”
Reader Martin Devaney certainly got the joke, asking: “Can I piss on her?”
And thus began a cavalcade of misogynistic hate.
“Repugnant bitch! Why the fuck are you posting this?”, asked Benoit Joncas
“Fkn crash”, suggested Manuel SoundsFamiliar.
“I hope she breaks an arm,” urgfed Danny Devlin.
“How’d she get her fat ass on the ski?” asked Jim Look.
“What a pig”, chimed in Cory Simpson
More charmingly,...
Regular readers may recall that it fell foul of the Advertising Standards Board in November for a Facebook post featuring the top half and bottom half of a disembodied woman which asked readers which they preferred.
So how have they been since? It looks like service remains as normal.
Zoo put up a picture of Kim Kardashian riding a jet ski with the not entirely subtle innuendo: “Kim sure loves water sports.”
Reader Martin Devaney certainly got the joke, asking: “Can I piss on her?”
And thus began a cavalcade of misogynistic hate.
“Repugnant bitch! Why the fuck are you posting this?”, asked Benoit Joncas
“Fkn crash”, suggested Manuel SoundsFamiliar.
“I hope she breaks an arm,” urgfed Danny Devlin.
“How’d she get her fat ass on the ski?” asked Jim Look.
“What a pig”, chimed in Cory Simpson
More charmingly,...
- 1/7/2013
- by mumbrella
- Encore Magazine
Magazine formats aren’t meant to be around forever and should cash in on fads and trends says Paul Merrill.
The Australian Women’s Weekly celebrates its 80th anniversary next year and while it’s not the powerhouse it once was, it remains the best-read consumer magazine in the land, with nearly 2.5m very loyal readers.
But Aww is an exception to nearly every publishing rule – while it thrives, dozens of other periodicals have come and gone. All magazines have a lifecycle, and they are getting shorter and shorter. The side effect of this is that the propensity of major publishers to invest a seven-figure sum in launching a new title has been massively reduced.
As a result, the marketplace is a little, well, stagnant. One remedy is to look at prime time TV. There are no entertainment shows in the top 10 each week that are more than five years old.
The Australian Women’s Weekly celebrates its 80th anniversary next year and while it’s not the powerhouse it once was, it remains the best-read consumer magazine in the land, with nearly 2.5m very loyal readers.
But Aww is an exception to nearly every publishing rule – while it thrives, dozens of other periodicals have come and gone. All magazines have a lifecycle, and they are getting shorter and shorter. The side effect of this is that the propensity of major publishers to invest a seven-figure sum in launching a new title has been massively reduced.
As a result, the marketplace is a little, well, stagnant. One remedy is to look at prime time TV. There are no entertainment shows in the top 10 each week that are more than five years old.
- 11/26/2012
- by Luke
- Encore Magazine
Mumbrella’s monthly sister title Encore magazine will drop its print edition and increase from monthly to weekly frequency in the New Year.
The announcement comes on the day that Apple put the iPad mini on sale in Australia, and the November tablet edition of Encore went live on The App Store.
Encore is free on the Apple iPad and will shortly be available on Google Play.
Focal Attractions bought Encore from Reed Business Information three years ago. The title will celebrate its 30th anniversary in Feburary next year.
Link: Editor-in-chief Tim Burrowes explains Encore’s new direction
Features in the new November edition of Encore include:
The straight-talking Neil Breen, new executive producer of Nine’s Today Show, on life after News Ltd, along with an entertaining video in which he talks about the day he got his Sunday Telegraph job; Exclusive video from YouTube’s video evetn staged...
The announcement comes on the day that Apple put the iPad mini on sale in Australia, and the November tablet edition of Encore went live on The App Store.
Encore is free on the Apple iPad and will shortly be available on Google Play.
Focal Attractions bought Encore from Reed Business Information three years ago. The title will celebrate its 30th anniversary in Feburary next year.
Link: Editor-in-chief Tim Burrowes explains Encore’s new direction
Features in the new November edition of Encore include:
The straight-talking Neil Breen, new executive producer of Nine’s Today Show, on life after News Ltd, along with an entertaining video in which he talks about the day he got his Sunday Telegraph job; Exclusive video from YouTube’s video evetn staged...
- 11/2/2012
- by mumbrella
- Encore Magazine
No stranger to an angry mob, Paul Merrill leaps to the defence of magazines as online petitions attempt to bring them down.
Magazines are under attack. First Zoo was forced into a grovelling apology for running a competition to find the ‘Hottest asylum seeker’ and then Cleo was pilloried for retouching models. In both cases, the weapon of choice was the online petition.
Unlike petitions where you’re stopped in the street, these simply need the click of a button and hey presto, it’s sent off to those concerned. They spread like wild fire through social media and are latched onto by newspapers as evidence of public opinion. Just look at the one targeting the advertisers on Alan Jones’s show running into the tens or hundreds of thousands. Overwhelming public opinion? Well, maybe, but still some way short of his breakfast audience who are probably wondering what the fuss is all about.
Magazines are under attack. First Zoo was forced into a grovelling apology for running a competition to find the ‘Hottest asylum seeker’ and then Cleo was pilloried for retouching models. In both cases, the weapon of choice was the online petition.
Unlike petitions where you’re stopped in the street, these simply need the click of a button and hey presto, it’s sent off to those concerned. They spread like wild fire through social media and are latched onto by newspapers as evidence of public opinion. Just look at the one targeting the advertisers on Alan Jones’s show running into the tens or hundreds of thousands. Overwhelming public opinion? Well, maybe, but still some way short of his breakfast audience who are probably wondering what the fuss is all about.
- 10/15/2012
- by Brooke Hemphill
- Encore Magazine
Acp Magazines’ gives the company a much brighter future than many expected, argues former Acp editor Paul Merrill.
The TV news reports last night about the sale of Acp Magazines to the German publisher, Bauer were funereal in tone. That potent pillar of Australian greatness, the Women’s Weekly was now the German Australian Women’s Weekly. Yet another Aussie icon had fallen into the evil clutches of a foreign behemoth.
And we can’t trust foreigners, can we?
The actual facts of this deal tell a very different, and very positive, story. I believe this is a miraculous outcome for Acp and one that bodes extremely well for its titles.
For a start the reported price of $500m is astonishing in the middle of a global meltdown, with collapsing ad markets and a ludicrously high Aussie dollar. Five hundred million for an industry that has been declining for years (in nearly all international markets,...
The TV news reports last night about the sale of Acp Magazines to the German publisher, Bauer were funereal in tone. That potent pillar of Australian greatness, the Women’s Weekly was now the German Australian Women’s Weekly. Yet another Aussie icon had fallen into the evil clutches of a foreign behemoth.
And we can’t trust foreigners, can we?
The actual facts of this deal tell a very different, and very positive, story. I believe this is a miraculous outcome for Acp and one that bodes extremely well for its titles.
For a start the reported price of $500m is astonishing in the middle of a global meltdown, with collapsing ad markets and a ludicrously high Aussie dollar. Five hundred million for an industry that has been declining for years (in nearly all international markets,...
- 9/4/2012
- by mumbrella
- Encore Magazine
The latest free iPad edition of Mumbrella’s sister title Encore magazine is now live.
Encore became free on the App Store two months ago. The September edition of Encore includes:
The E List, Encore’s 200 list of the industry’s most powerful media and entertainment players. While the top 100 ran in the print edition, the app is only place to see the full list; An exclusive extract from Ita Buttrose’s book, A Passionate Life, plus video extras; Behind the scenes of Ten’s hit drama Puberty Blues; The significant seven – Australia’s top voiceover artists; We ask if producers have finally nailed the correct mix of entertainment and brands in branded content off the back of Host’s Kiwi Sceptics, Qantas’ The Great Crusade and McDonald’s Gets Grilled; Our critics examine milk ads; Ex Maxus boss David Gaines on why he hates – really hates – Today Tonight; We...
Encore became free on the App Store two months ago. The September edition of Encore includes:
The E List, Encore’s 200 list of the industry’s most powerful media and entertainment players. While the top 100 ran in the print edition, the app is only place to see the full list; An exclusive extract from Ita Buttrose’s book, A Passionate Life, plus video extras; Behind the scenes of Ten’s hit drama Puberty Blues; The significant seven – Australia’s top voiceover artists; We ask if producers have finally nailed the correct mix of entertainment and brands in branded content off the back of Host’s Kiwi Sceptics, Qantas’ The Great Crusade and McDonald’s Gets Grilled; Our critics examine milk ads; Ex Maxus boss David Gaines on why he hates – really hates – Today Tonight; We...
- 9/3/2012
- by Brooke Hemphill
- Encore Magazine
The line between editorial and advertorial has never been more blurred as brands try to get more bang for their buck. While magazines aren’t alone, they suffer most, says Paul Merrill.
When I started in magazines nearly 20 years ago, the flatplan was very simple: there were editorial pages and display pages.
All very neat and tidy. Editorial integrity was sacrosanct. Like oil and water, the two types of page never met.
These days, it’s a blur. No advertiser worth their salt would buy space unless they had ‘added value’. It’s a bit like a shop selling a cake for $2.
The customer is asked for the cash, but then instead of handing it over, asks what else he is getting for his money. “Well, you’re getting a cake,” he’s told.
But that’s not good enough. Now he wants more, or else he’s going to...
When I started in magazines nearly 20 years ago, the flatplan was very simple: there were editorial pages and display pages.
All very neat and tidy. Editorial integrity was sacrosanct. Like oil and water, the two types of page never met.
These days, it’s a blur. No advertiser worth their salt would buy space unless they had ‘added value’. It’s a bit like a shop selling a cake for $2.
The customer is asked for the cash, but then instead of handing it over, asks what else he is getting for his money. “Well, you’re getting a cake,” he’s told.
But that’s not good enough. Now he wants more, or else he’s going to...
- 8/29/2012
- by Zoe Ferguson
- Encore Magazine
The second free iPad edition of Mumbrella’s sister title Encore magazine is now available.
Encore became free on the App Store a month ago. To date there have been 1091 downloads of the July edition.
The August edition of Encore includes:
An exclusive extract from Zoo Weekly founding editor Paul Merrill’s memoir A Polar Bear Ate My Head, plus video extras; How word of mouth has met social media; The behind the scenes story of the audacious Cadbury Joyville train stunt; The significant seven – Australia’s top TV reviewers and commentators profiled; We ask: Why are there so many flipping film festivals?; Radio stunts – how on air content drives ratings – and PR. Plus video extras; We profile the director of potential global hit The Sapphires; Our critics examine Olympic ads; A full guide to what’s in production in film and TV; We examine audio post production Columnists include:...
Encore became free on the App Store a month ago. To date there have been 1091 downloads of the July edition.
The August edition of Encore includes:
An exclusive extract from Zoo Weekly founding editor Paul Merrill’s memoir A Polar Bear Ate My Head, plus video extras; How word of mouth has met social media; The behind the scenes story of the audacious Cadbury Joyville train stunt; The significant seven – Australia’s top TV reviewers and commentators profiled; We ask: Why are there so many flipping film festivals?; Radio stunts – how on air content drives ratings – and PR. Plus video extras; We profile the director of potential global hit The Sapphires; Our critics examine Olympic ads; A full guide to what’s in production in film and TV; We examine audio post production Columnists include:...
- 8/7/2012
- by mumbrella
- Encore Magazine
Merrill: ‘Women on magazine covers is not objectifying them, it’s celebrating them.’
In the next of our series from the Mumbrella360 Conference we feature Paul Merrill, founding editor of Zoo Weekly, both in the UK and Australia, in conversation with Mumbrella editor Tim Burrowes.
In the video highlights Merrill discusses:
Starting out on a UK regional newspaper 20 years ago How to offend your readers and move your career forward Launching Zoo in a veil of secrecy The variations of the hand bra Are lads mags sexist? Will Acp and magazines in general survive
You can hear the full 44 minute conversation and audience Q&A on the Mumbrellacast below.
Mumbrella360 returns on June 5 and 6, 2013.
You can also subscribe to The Mumbrellacast on iTunes and other podcatchers.
Direct link to Mumbrella’s iTunes store listing for the podcast...
In the next of our series from the Mumbrella360 Conference we feature Paul Merrill, founding editor of Zoo Weekly, both in the UK and Australia, in conversation with Mumbrella editor Tim Burrowes.
In the video highlights Merrill discusses:
Starting out on a UK regional newspaper 20 years ago How to offend your readers and move your career forward Launching Zoo in a veil of secrecy The variations of the hand bra Are lads mags sexist? Will Acp and magazines in general survive
You can hear the full 44 minute conversation and audience Q&A on the Mumbrellacast below.
Mumbrella360 returns on June 5 and 6, 2013.
You can also subscribe to The Mumbrellacast on iTunes and other podcatchers.
Direct link to Mumbrella’s iTunes store listing for the podcast...
- 8/3/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Magazines have a long history of paying for tall tales simply because these stories sell. Paul Merrill debates the whys and wherefores of chequebook journalism
Years ago, when I was editing a women’s weekly mag, we were offered a story about a chicken that thought it was a dog. Sweet enough for a single pager, so we offered the owner around $100 and despatched a snapper to capture the chook in action. But we’d jumped the gun. Another mag had offered her $200, and no contract had been signed. As the photographer was going to cost us some $500, we upped our offer, and so did the other mag. Eventually, we paid this woman $650, and ended up with some photos of a chicken that looked like a chicken, and a few anecdotes about it enjoying running with the border collies.
Chequebook journalism sells magazines. Gone are the days when a case...
Years ago, when I was editing a women’s weekly mag, we were offered a story about a chicken that thought it was a dog. Sweet enough for a single pager, so we offered the owner around $100 and despatched a snapper to capture the chook in action. But we’d jumped the gun. Another mag had offered her $200, and no contract had been signed. As the photographer was going to cost us some $500, we upped our offer, and so did the other mag. Eventually, we paid this woman $650, and ended up with some photos of a chicken that looked like a chicken, and a few anecdotes about it enjoying running with the border collies.
Chequebook journalism sells magazines. Gone are the days when a case...
- 7/25/2012
- by Zoe Ferguson
- Encore Magazine
So three months ago, we made something of a leap when we launched an iPad edition of Mumbrella’s sister title Encore magazine.
Today we’re making another leap – we’re making it free. You can find it on the App Store here.
At the time, I promised to share what we learned along the way – and our numbers, no matter “how embarrassingly small”. And I’ll do that in a moment.
A lot has happened since then, and we’ve learned a lot.
For starters, I’m still in love with the iPad as a means of delivering a magazine.
When you’re writing about visual content such as ads, it makes a huge difference to be able to play them right there. And the experience of reading longer pieces beats doing it on your average website.
I’ve also found myself in various conversations – including at the Oomph-curated...
Today we’re making another leap – we’re making it free. You can find it on the App Store here.
At the time, I promised to share what we learned along the way – and our numbers, no matter “how embarrassingly small”. And I’ll do that in a moment.
A lot has happened since then, and we’ve learned a lot.
For starters, I’m still in love with the iPad as a means of delivering a magazine.
When you’re writing about visual content such as ads, it makes a huge difference to be able to play them right there. And the experience of reading longer pieces beats doing it on your average website.
I’ve also found myself in various conversations – including at the Oomph-curated...
- 7/9/2012
- by mumbrella
- Encore Magazine
Next week’s episode of the ABC’s zeitgeist-chasing pop culture show Common Knowledge will be recorded in front of the audience of Mumbrella360.
The episode will discuss modern Australian men.
Description:
Secrets, desires and the new Aussie male
Australians say they love nice guys, but are we secretly fascinated with the bad boys?
Hear the panel tackle the enduring appeal of wholesomeness versus the dangerous but lucrative cache of the bad boys in the media, advertising and TV.
See radio being made as Rn’s Cassie McCullagh and Jason Di Rosso record their pop culture show, Common Knowledge, live at Mumbrella360.
Common Knowledge’s guests will be Bevan Lee, creator and writer of Seven’s Packed to the Rafters; Paul Merrill, who was founding editor of lads’ mag Zoo Weekly and Brooke Hemphill, managing editor of Mumbrella’s sister magazine Encore.
Bevan Lee will also be joined by collaborator...
The episode will discuss modern Australian men.
Description:
Secrets, desires and the new Aussie male
Australians say they love nice guys, but are we secretly fascinated with the bad boys?
Hear the panel tackle the enduring appeal of wholesomeness versus the dangerous but lucrative cache of the bad boys in the media, advertising and TV.
See radio being made as Rn’s Cassie McCullagh and Jason Di Rosso record their pop culture show, Common Knowledge, live at Mumbrella360.
Common Knowledge’s guests will be Bevan Lee, creator and writer of Seven’s Packed to the Rafters; Paul Merrill, who was founding editor of lads’ mag Zoo Weekly and Brooke Hemphill, managing editor of Mumbrella’s sister magazine Encore.
Bevan Lee will also be joined by collaborator...
- 5/31/2012
- by mumbrella
- Encore Magazine
Paul Merrill – the man who helped create the weekly men’s magazine market in the UK and Australia through the launch of Zoo Weekly – will share anecdotes about life on lads’ mags at Mumbrella360 next week.
The interview comes shortly before publication of his memoir A Polar Bear Ate My Head.
Merrill boasts one of Australia’s more unusual LinkedIn profiles:
“I’ve run competitions to find Australia’s Randiest Nanna, Hottest Horse Dentist and Ugliest Baby, and offered prizes of a boob job, lesbian wedding, divorce, voluntary euthanasia for a loved one and time machine (a clock).
“I got Nikki Webster, Mercedes Corby, Roberta Williams and Julia Gillard’s stepdaughter to remove their clothes, published the only known topless shot of Dame Judi Dench and judged a naked beauty contest with Leo Sayer.
“I attacked Tony Blair with a glove puppet, upset Donald Trump, had a dwarf basted, threw a biscuit at Christopher Lee,...
The interview comes shortly before publication of his memoir A Polar Bear Ate My Head.
Merrill boasts one of Australia’s more unusual LinkedIn profiles:
“I’ve run competitions to find Australia’s Randiest Nanna, Hottest Horse Dentist and Ugliest Baby, and offered prizes of a boob job, lesbian wedding, divorce, voluntary euthanasia for a loved one and time machine (a clock).
“I got Nikki Webster, Mercedes Corby, Roberta Williams and Julia Gillard’s stepdaughter to remove their clothes, published the only known topless shot of Dame Judi Dench and judged a naked beauty contest with Leo Sayer.
“I attacked Tony Blair with a glove puppet, upset Donald Trump, had a dwarf basted, threw a biscuit at Christopher Lee,...
- 5/29/2012
- by mumbrella
- Encore Magazine
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.