Fears, cheers and reality of magazine publishing

“As more and more titles see the day, consumers are faced with more choices which results in the audience fragmentation – smaller audiences for each title – and an increase of media ownership whereby various companies compete in all forms,” Kummerfeld said.

“Besides, as digital revolution constantly threatens traditional media, competition is now taken into a new platform – the Internet.”

All these trends put enormous pressure on the industry, sowing fear and anxiety among magazine publishers who believe that sooner or later they might be out of business, as consumers – seeking immediate news, instant gratification and social networking – abandon them to focus on online consumption, Kummerfeld conceded.

Good news

But he moved quickly to soothe the publishers' fear and anxiety, injecting a glimmer of hope into their ‘melting' hearts.

“The good news is that despite the magazine circulation being flat, it is not declining and many strong brands are actually increasing sales even in saturated markets,” he said.

Furthermore, publishers are not only concerned about the readers' ‘disappearance'. They are likewise worried that advertisers might move their money elsewhere, like in online interactive markets.

But, amid these worries and concerns, research shows that globally magazine advertising continues to grow at a healthy rate – 6.1% in 2006 after a 5.3% increase in 2005, delegates were told.

“Advertising agencies are not sure that brand advertising for consumers products will ever be successful on the net due to negatives from consumers, clunky display formats and the absence of effectiveness measures – as opposed to reach measures,” Kummerfeld.

These are the realities of the industry that publishers have to face, he said.

Content is everything

However, there is only one way to counteract these worrying trends if one wants to stay in business for a long time to come.

“Quality print editorial will undoubtedly survive in the digital era but it is not so clear that lower print magazines will,” he said.

“Long form journalism will not disappear and print will remain the best platform for its consumption.

“Print magazines that do thoughtful, provocative, fact-checked editorial will survive in a media cluttered with often unreliable and unattractive editorial on the Web,” he added.

Neal Farrell, of Ramsay, Son & Parker, echoed Kummerfeld's sentiments. “Content will win at the end of the day,” he said. “Remember, we are no longer magazine publishers, but content publishers.

“Because content is everything,” Farrell added.

“The combination of strong print brands and strong online platforms will likely increase the success of both in the marketplace because they feed each other,” Kummerfeld advised.

“The rewards of success online are so great – better profit margins than print, less cost inflation for manufacturing and distribution.”

Mike Stopforth, of Cerebra, duly supported Kummerfeld's theory. “If you can't change the magazine into an online version, you will never get going – in terms of sale and editorial,” he said.

“Social networking is not a trend, but technologies are,” Stopforth added.

Doomsday for print dinosaurs

“Publishers who remain print-centric (print dinosaurs) will eventually disappear,” Kummerfeld prophesised.

“Print-centric organisations are inherently unable to compete successfully in the fast-moving, volatile online world. And integration of print and online in the same organisation is virtually impossible,” Kummerfeld warned.

The conference, organised by the Magazine Publishers Association of South Africa (MPASA), ends today, Wednesday 7 November, with the MPASA PICA Awards this evening.

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