Magazines must engage readers to attract advertisers

BY IMPACT Staff

As magazine publishers demand more attention from advertisers, media planners and marketers insist on highly engaging content to attract readers. Is this going to transform the indian magazine industry.

Here’s news for advertisers. A recent study conducted by the Association of Indian Magazines (AIM) claims that magazines command the undivided attention of at least 65% of the people who read them. This is twice the quantum of attention of viewers that television manages to capture, and hence significant from the advertiser’s standpoint. Though the AIM study involves a very small group - 3,600 respondents across 10 Indian cities, which is much less than the actual number of magazine readers in India - Tarun Rai, CEO of Worldwide Media and president of AIM believes that the facts are ‘revealing’ and demonstrate the strength of the magazine medium.

“Among magazine readers, ad avoidance is only 12%; readers give their undivided attention to magazines with 87% reporting that they do nothing else when reading magazines,” he says. Though it does not draw a major chunk of the advertisers’ budgets, magazines are an important medium for advertisers of a few sectors who want to reach out to a highly targeted set of audiences. Advertisers in the lifestyle and cosmetics category like Garnier, Lakme, L’Oreal and Oriflame, as well as banks and financial services like Citibank place magazines very high on their list of priorities.

Yet the AIM report demands more attention from advertisers. The study attempts to portray a very positive picture of magazines in India, reading which one may believe that magazines are highly superior to television, print and outdoor media. However, there is a flip side to the perceived magazine growth story in India.

AIM’s Magazine Engagement study

READERSHIP OF MAGAZINES

Though over the last two decades, the number of magazine readers has significantly grown in India, statistics reveal that in the last two years, readership of leading magazines has slowly declined. As per Quarter 3 data of the Indian Readership Survey (IRS), Hindi and English magazines lost readership in Q3 2011 as compared to Q2 2011. “The reported decline in readership is primarily attributable to the meltdown in the magazine distribution sector in the last two years. Distribution is a very weak area and deserves maximum attention. Digital distribution and newer formats will go some way in restoring this decline,” says Hoshang S Billimoria, CEO of NextGen Publishing. On the contrary, readership of niche, celebrity, automobile, travel and lifestyle magazines grew rapidly.

The revolution in the magazine sector, which began in the late 1970s, gained critical mass in the early 1990s and made its presence felt in the media business. Today, magazines are considered a dominant medium to reach out to consumers who arguably represent the premium readers of print media. Several industry experts have argued that television has become the preferred medium for marketers. However, the print medium has not lost its sheen since the advent of satellite television and growth in consumption of Internet in India. Unlike several European markets, magazine and newspaper readership has consistently grown in India, despite increase in digital readership. One may have reasons to believe that Internet users may slowly drift away from the traditional print reading pattern, but that appears unlikely in the immediate future. This is not just true of newspapers, but also of magazines. Therefore, despite several odds against it, there is data beyond the IRS study that magazines continue to remain the preferred choice of readers as well as advertisers.

Ashok Dhamankar, Director, Magna Publishing Co. Ltd. explains that lifestyle magazines have tremendous power. News magazines, business magazines and finance magazines are facing stiff competition from new media like Internet, etc., but lifestyle magazines have aspirational content, and the reader wants the emotional experience of reading these magazines. For instance, readership of the magazine ‘Hello’ increased by 25% in Q3 2011 as compared to the previous quarter and that of automotive magazine ‘BBC Top Gear’ grew by 10% during the same period. Outlook Traveller increased its readership to 204,000 in Q3 2011 from 184,000 in the previous quarter.

Most publishers are quick to oppose the methodology adopted by the IRS, calling it traditional and outdated. “IRS does not capture the changing dynamics of the magazine industry. Many special interest magazines have been launched in the last few years, which individually are too small to be reported, but collectively add a lot of new engaged readers,” explains Mitrajit Bhattacharya, publisher of Chitralekha. Publishers admit that growing competition and increase in the number of niche magazines could be strong factors in diverting the readers of general interest magazines to special interest journals. IRS data, too, supports this hypothesis.

Several new and international titles have also been added to the long list of Indian magazines. The KPMG-FICCI Report, 2012 explores how the entry of foreign publishers has expanded the market despite the global economic slowdown. The market has become particularly attractive for international luxury magazines with titles such as Atelier and Robb Report being launched. “In 2011, several international magazines acquired equity in Indian publications. In August 2011, Gruner+Jahr International acquired a majority interest in MaXposure Media Group, India,” the report states. “Magazines need to create properties around themselves. The days of large circulation general interest magazines are over. There is a shift towards specialty magazines. Magazines are increasingly filling the niche within a niche. More specialized titles mean more specialized audiences and shorter print runs,” says Dhamankar.

Easy entry norms for international magazines have made it easy for foreign publishers to enter the Indian market. However, advent of niche magazines is not solely responsible for decline in readership of leading general interest magazines – there is lack of innovation and poor engagement with consumers as well. Experts believe that the increase in literacy and growing number of magazine readers should add more numbers to the existing lot, but that has not happened in the last two to three years. Vikas Gupta, Co-founder & Director of 9.9 Mediaworx Pvt. Ltd believes that the growing readership of magazines is a fact to worry about. “Magazine brands that can’t stay relevant and provide value will die,” he asserts. Interesting and engaging content remains at the heart of attracting more advertisers to the medium.

FROM REACH TO ENGAGEMENT

Magazine publishers feel that there is a strong need for the genre to engage its audience. This is because the nature of magazines and readership patterns are fundamentally different from that of newspapers. While stressing the need to create strong magazine identities and separation of magazines from newspapers, publishers and advertisers say that magazine brands need to extend themselves into areas that will only strengthen them. “A magazine is an experience. It’s a living thing. Magazines stimulate the mind more than any other medium because of presentation, use of pictures, colours, etc. Magazines are like friends to consumers,” says Dhamankar.

There has been a lot of action in the Indian magazine industry in the last few years. While some magazines have moved from the philosophy of ‘news’ to ‘analysis’, many are returning to the news path. Some magazine publishers say they sometimes consider television as a competitor because of the growing analytical approach of television shows. As a result, several journals have changed their positioning and entered new spaces like lifestyle, travel, business and technology. This has also offered good platforms to advertisers to reach out to their audiences. Advertisers and ad agencies are interested in people’s engagement with an ad rather than merely contact with it and that, as many publishers believe, is the strength of magazines. The likes of India Today that have made an innovative foray into the mobile and digital formats, are also experiencing fresh traction from advertisers. Experts believe that for constant engagement with consumers, magazines need better research. The research can be focused on studying measures of magazine readership, quality and intensity of reading and the relationship between readers, magazines and advertisements. The research should reveal how readers use and interact with magazines, the close relationship built up between readers and their favourite titles and how this rubs off onto the advertisements and proof that magazines sell products. Publishers demand that advertisers should shift the argument away from ratings and reach into affinity with the medium, where magazines do well. Measuring physical exposure to ads should be combined with measuring involvement with the ads.

MAGAZINES AND TECHNOLOGY

Some magazine publishers believe that the threat of digital has forced magazines to get smarter. However, the readership survey doesn’t take the online readership through apps into account. Although in its infancy, digital media has started attracting the younger generation towards the magazine sector. “As it progresses, the digital media will deliver newer audiences to the engaging content uniquely supplied by magazines,” says Billimoria. Magazines like India Today, Outlook and Open that have gone aggressive on digital media are already on the path of monetizing their content on the new medium. Almost all the leading general interest magazines have launched their tablet applications in the last 12 months. This initiative has made available a large chunk of inventory to reach out to premium and potential buyers. “There is a strong need to adapt new technology like mobile apps to engage the younger, tech-savvy audiences. It offers great opportunities to both readers and publishers,” asserts Indranil Roy of the Outlook Group.

WHERE DOES THE MAGAZINE INDUSTRY STAND?

While general interest magazines dominated the industry earlier, B2B magazines have seen unprecedented growth in the last few years, attracting a new set of advertisers from sectors like automobile, consumer durables and real estate. Magazines, considered a special medium about two decades ago, are an integral part of the media and print industry today. With growing literacy and reach, this medium has slowly grown into a large, profit-making industry. In markets where Internet penetration is over 80% of the population, there is a strong belief in the media industry that print versions of magazines and newspapers are dead. Many expensive advertisements that once kept magazines alive are migrating to websites for highly targeted advertising results. However, India is far from this print versus digital reality. As per IRS data, though growth of Internet is over 40% year-on-year in India, the print medium, too, has been growing at a decent 2.5- 3.5% in the last few years, if compared with matured economies. As per the Pitch Madison Media Advertising Outlook (PMMAO) findings, the magazine industry stands at Rs 1,149.5 crore. Put together, the India Today Group, World Wide Media, Outlook Group, Delhi Press and Malayala Manorama Group command almost 45% of the pie. Other big players include Spenta Multimedia, Infomedia18 and Condé Nast India. As per industry estimates, approximately 70% of the magazine revenues are generated from advertisements, leaving the industry highly vulnerable, especially the B2B category.

SEPARATING NEWSPAPERS FROM MAGAZINES

Not just readers, advertisers too perceive magazines differently from newspapers. Publishers believe that it is an underrated fact of the industry, which fundamentally differentiates the consumers of newspapers from magazines. Difference in readership pattern and geography, nature of content and engagement with readers are the key factors that separate magazines from newspapers. Advertisers believe that high-level of engagement keeps magazines a notch above newspapers. “As far as magazines are concerned, engagement delivers the brands and has an interesting role to play in brand communication strategy with consumers. That’s why one advertises in magazines,” says Mrinmoy Mukherjee, Director, Marketing and Business Development, Raymond Ltd. So, how different are magazines for advertisers and why should they be approached differently? Are magazines finding it difficult to attract advertisers? According to the AIM report, magazines are more engaging than television. The report claims that 54% readers trust products more when they are advertised in magazines. Moreover, there is 12% ad avoidance in magazines, which is the lowest amongst all media. Readership and content remain at the heart of the business.

For several lifestyle brands, magazine advertisements are the best way of reaching out to consumers. “For us, magazines work better than newspapers or other mediums. There are several advantages of advertising in magazines, the biggest being a clearly defined audience,” says Jaydeep Shetty, CEO of apparel brand Mineral.

ARE ADVERTISERS LISTENING?

Publishers across all magazine categories are working hard to convince planners and advertisers that magazine ads have long-term impact on consumers. While ads may not result in immediate Return on Investment (RoI) like newspapers, they provide product features in detail, resulting in long term impact on purchasing decisions. “Magazines allow us sharper customer-led marketing activities relating to fashion, sport, technology, automotive & business, etc. Such a strategy reduces wastage and optimizes spends,” reveals Nalin Kapoor, Senior GM & Group Head, Marketing, Hyundai Motors. Some advertisers also believe that magazines should offer a platform for comprehensive messages. Rajesh Mehta, Director, Marketing, Western Union India, says, “Marketers will only advertise in a magazine if it offers them a platform to deliver a comprehensive message to their consumers in the most interesting and cost effective manner.” Some advertisers also assert that in terms of speed of delivery, magazines cannot compete with digital media and hence the overall content strategy for magazines needs to change. In addition to this, positioning of magazines should clearly overlap with the brand message of advertisers. Sudeep Narayan, Marketing & PR Director, Volvo Auto India, says, “We would look at the tone and content of the magazine and connect between the brand ethos and magazine ethos. We also collectively look at quality and accessibility of the magazine.”

GOING AHEAD

In a nutshell, magazine publishers continue to have the traditional belief that content dominates and is the strongest force that attracts readers as well as advertisers. “The main focus area for any magazine needs to be the content. Concentrated effort needs to be put into seeing that the content going out to readers is relevant and engrossing. Information is freely available across mediums today, but a magazine predominantly puts everything together and presents a face to that information. That we believe is the most important part,” explains Sandeep Khosla, CEO, Magazine Publishing, Infomedia 18 Ltd. Most publishers are certain that the luxury segments of almost all sectors cannot avoid magazines in their media plans. Despite several arguments going against the magazine sector, publishers remain optimistic about its growth and relevance in the long term.

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