by Jocelyn Duff. If Sarah Palin lived in South Africa (heaven forbid), she would surely have said, “YOU magazine is my fave and what I really like are the back scandal pages!”
“All of ’em, any of ’em that have been in front of me over all these years.” — Sarah Palin, unable to name a single newspaper or magazine she reads, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News
You want to reach the masses by using magazines? Simple, use the ubiquitous family stable: Huisgenoot, DRUM and YOU. But hold on — not anymore.
Titanic
Circulations of these famous brands have dropped considerably, totalling 41 000 copies. That is 7% less than just over a year ago. Many niche publications would be overjoyed with a circulation of 41 000 and to lose that in a year would be titanic.
So what has happened with the income received by these three mags over the same period? Has that gone down proportionately, and are we going to see Naspers, the highly successful holding company, suffer as a result?
On the contrary; there has been an increase of R66 million to R79 million — an increase of 18% coming from ad revenue alone. Yet circulation is on the downward slope and income is on the upward. That makes for an interesting financial strategy — deliver less and make more rands.
Like a chocolate bar
It is like a chocolate bar reducing the size of its offering and then asking for almost 20% more on its cost. Inflationary? You bet!
The latest highly successful results for Naspers published last week shows that the group made a profit of R2.25bn.
It is common knowledge that it is diversifying from print and pay-TV to its internet businesses outside of SA.
It earns 72% of its revenue offshore. Naspers’s internet segment, which includes classifieds, payments and online retail platforms, has remained the fastest-growing segment in the group and accounts for 58% of revenue. Naspers’s DStv business reported profit of R5bn: an increase of 11%.
At our cost
From the financial report: “The print media businesses continue to struggle. But revenue grew slightly while margins contracted further.” We know that! So print is being replaced — but at our cost.
Note to media planners: be careful with the budget, negotiate, and make the combination of these magazines work hard for you. They still deliver but not at the same level.
Jocelyn Duff is an analytics & insights strategist at Nota Bene, specialising in gathering insights and disseminating best practice media theory. She has been in the media and advertising industry since 1984, the longest stint having been within the WPP group of companies, particularly at Ogilvy, where she was media director. Follow @mecnotabene for regular media updates.
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