Archive for September, 2006
Can ‘glossy’ save magazine sales?
September 26th, 2006
In an period of magazine and newspaper circulation decline, it is surprising that women’s glossy Marie Claire has this morning announced a rise in its cover price. The November issue has been redesigned to become even glossier, but the new look will cost the consumer £2.90 instead of £2.70.
This begs the question, is glossiness enough to prevent an ever increasing magazine sales slump? It’s an interesting approach, but will it be enough to keep its readership and justify the price hike? Surely it’s no longer about look and feel, and more about price and convenience.
The news resonates with Liberate Media as we’ve just completed a proposal for a company that helps others to provide online subscription content. As leading publisher brands are looking to move their content online, Marie Claire is clearly bucking this trend. It will be interesting to see the impact this has on its circulation figures.
Liberating our online identity…
September 24th, 2006
For months we’ve been debating the benefits of a company website versus a blog for our online offering. We were planning to combine the two, based on the theory that some might prefer the traditional approach. However, if we did this, how would we be able to demonstrate the power of social media that we are so keen to prove to our PR clients?
So we have decided to put our money where our mouth is and trade solely off a corporate blog. It’s an experiment that we hope will be successful, and enable us to interact more easily with those visiting our blog who are interested in finding out more.
From a PR perspective, the Internet has opened up a range of new media channels that we are keen to research and exploit. We believe the growth of social media in particular, where citizens are creating and sharing their own news online, is unlocking exciting PR opportunities for organisations of all sizes. It is now more important than ever for businesses to be aware of who is talking about them online, what is being said and how to reach them.
Our goal is to be at the forefront of this change, creating a PR agency that understands and embraces new channels of communications. We welcome your comments and feedback along the way.