The survival of glossies

How glossy magazines can overcome the current struggles

Glossy magazines have been facing some problems in the last couple of years. Critics say that glossy magazines are out of touch with the cultural changes that have been brought by social networks and online media (C. Lauw, 2009). The current economic crisis and the competition of new media are forcing people to re-examine the already existing business models.

One big problem that glossy magazines face is that they haven’t changed a bit the last couple of years (C. Lauw, 2009). It seems to be unable for them to change. Same subjects are being mentioned as in the glossy magazines of the years before: skin care, make over project, same celebrity’s. Glossy magazines are being repetitive and regular readers are losing interest in them.

The extreme popularity of blogs is also worrying for the glossy magazines. It is influencing their sales and their status. The blogs are realistic, they fit within budget of ordinary people. Glossy magazines portray celebrities with endless resources (C. Lauw, 2009).

A big problem to face is that for the last couple of years more and more information is moving online. People expect most of the time that they can get the information they like online, for free. Magazines try to solve this problem by putting the information online and asking people to pay for it in order to consume it. This principle is inspired on the iTunes model (S. Ngubane, 2009). An example of a magazine that applies this is the Rock and Roll Highschool magazine. It has put an PDF file online that you can buy for 6 euro 95 (www.rockmagazine.nl).

It seems to be necessary for the glossy magazine industry to review their content. New subjects should be discussed, there should be more attention for recent cultural changes. Magazines should be kept up to date to keep the audience interested. They should also pay more attention to low budget fashion, to keep it realistic. Further on they should pay attention to recent cultural changes, like the rise of the internet use of people. But this won’t solve all the problems magazines are facing these days. Glossy magazines need to keep their profit high enough to survive.

One way in which magazines industry can maximize their profit is by using price differentiation. With price differentiation different prices are being charged to different social or geographic sectors of the market. By using price differentiation magazines can come closer to charging every person what they are willing to pay. This way they fully optimize the consumers surplus (www.encarta.msn.com). For example a magazine could sell the standard magazine for 4 euro 95 and charge extra for a special edition of the magazine. People who want to pay more, can pay more, while people with a tight budget can also enjoy the magazine (www.businessdictonary.com).

Another way in which magazines could recover from the damage that they have suffered is to generate more publicity and in this way generate a greater audience. A greater audience stands for a greater demand, which generates higher prices. One way to do this is by documentary’s showing how magazines are made.

In conclusion, glossy magazines should seriously review the content of the magazines. Magazines should pay attention to recent cultural changes. They should also look at ways to maximize their profit, because they are losing ground. Ways in which profit can be maximized are price differentiation and by generating more publicity.


Literature

http://www.businessdictionary.com/tips/24/why-do-coupons-and-rebates-exist.html

http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_561539255/price_differentiation.html

www.fluxtrends.com
- Carina Lauw, A Glossy Downturn, 13 March 2009
- Sandiso Ngubane, New Model For The News Media, 15 April 2009