Now that just about everyone else is done publishing their annual feel-good “Best Of” lists, it’s time for Dead Tree Edition to remind us what a crappy year we just stumbled through. Here’s a look back at some of the media world’s unsung losers and overlooked failures of 2011:
What do the book makers believe about the future of reading? I had the pleasure of speaking with the charismatic President and CEO of Ingram Content Group, David “Skip” Prichard. How do you see the growth prospects for books in all forms over the next five to 10 years?
Entrepreneur Magazine has ranked Fastsigns International as the top franchise in the sign and graphic category for the second year in a row. The company opened 20 new locations in 2011 and expects to finish the year with 27 new franchise agreements signed.
In the last couple of cycles, it has become increasingly common for campaigns to ask for a contribution before they hand over a yard sign. The driving force behind this trend is cost saving, but there are many other benefits. With that said, there are also some potential downsides. A few things campaigns should consider when contemplating whether to pass the hat:
Breaking with tradition will mean hurt feelings. Many long-time volunteers and activists have come to expect free yard signs. I have literally been screamed at, had doors shut in my face, and been told that asking for donations
Each of the big four comics publishers (DC, Marvel, Image, and Dark Horse) have committed to releasing every issue of every comic for digital download on the same day that the physical comics ship to retailers. Why is “same date delivery” important? Particularly when casual readers don’t necessarily rush out every Wednesday to pick up their comics fresh off of the UPS truck?
It’s more symbolic than anything else. The true significance is that the distribution of digital columns is no longer going to be selective or strategic. In music and books, you can freely assume that anything you can buy
Far from killing off the book, the digital age is proving a boon to innovative publishers and authors, many of whom are using new technology to breathe life back into old ideas. Here, we survey four of the most interesting ventures.
According to the most recent wave of Affinity’s American Magazine Study surveys, there are now 15 magazines generating larger digital audiences than print reader numbers. For some of these brands—like WebMD the Magazine, ESPN the Magazine and Food Network Magazine—it may come as no surprise.
Paper consumption in North America is declining. This is a structural decline, and not just a cyclical decline. That means we can’t expect paper demand to “return to normal” when the economy recovers. This is the new “normal.” That point is not in debate, though experts do differ on the rate of decline.
Magazine publishers are demanding explanations from GfK MRI after its fall magazine audience report showed more than two-thirds lost audience versus a year ago, many of them by double digits. About 70 percent of the 220 magazines measured were down, according to MRI.
Big decliners included Wired, down 22 percent to 2.5 million; Bon Appétit, down 17 percent to 5.8 million; O, The Oprah Magazine, down 10 percent; and New York, down 14 percent.
One publisher, whose title saw a double-digit audience decline, fumed, “Magazines with robust readership are showing declines, and magazines with significant digital platforms are not seeing those
Some Popular Mechanics subscribers got something extra with their November issues. The issue was bundled with an outsert from Hewlett-Packard that greeted them by name and showed a scene specific to their hometown. Inside the issue was a 16-page insert that gave readers locations where they could buy HP products near their homes.
As for the results, 3 percent of the 300,000 subscribers who got the customized issue entered the contest, which is in the ballpark of the response rate for direct mail. But of that 3 percent, 85 percent clicked on the QR codes in the insert.
