With the proliferation of online information, Web sites, blogs, and ecommerce, it can be easy to underestimate the still powerful impact of the written word on paper. Far from being dead, print is re-emerging in new ways, new industries, and reaching select target markets. Some of the new magazines may surprise you. Companies that do business online are now using print publications to reach customers and explain their businesses, as well as entice customers to continue to buy from the online companies.
The companies producing these new magazines cover a number of area that may surprise you; lifestyle, pet care, travel, food, and more. Brands that have introduced new magazines include Bumble, Dollar Shave Club, Casper, and Airbnb. The publications are a way to expand the brand’s reach and retain customers’ interest. After all, when reading online, there are continual interruptions with pop-up ads, videos, and other digital noise. Compared to that, a print magazine seems like a soothing way to relax and explore new topics at our leisure.
The approach is not always an easy one for companies. According to Pew Research, roughly 93% of Americans not get some level of news online. However, this hasn’t stopped companies – in 2017 there were 134 new print magazines launched. These magazines tend to be focused on specific niches and target markets where consumers have focused queries and interests. Not everyone wants to read about puppies, or international travel, or music. But for the customers who do want that depth, magazines provide information and escape.
What do you want to read?
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Poll students: Who reads magazines? Which ones, and why?
- Show some of the new magazines available:
Bumble mag: https://bumble.com/the-buzz/introducing-bumble-mag
Away: https://www.awaytravel.com/here-magazine
Casper: https://casper.com/woolly-magazine/
DSC: https://www.dollarshaveclub.com/content/story/author/melmag
Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/magazine
- Divide students into teams. Have each team examine a publication (online).
- Who is the target market?
- When do magazines make sense?
- Each team should next select a brand/company that might use a print magazine. For this company, have teams develop a magazine concept: Target market, editorial focus, possible articles, advertisers, etc.
Source: Jerde, S. (6 May 2019). Who said print was dead? What’s behind the proliferation of new titles. Advertising Age.