Ho, ho, ho

Up late doing Christmas cards. Don't you love the holidays. Thought I should get going on these seeing as I received one today from the fine people at PHD Canada. This shop gets my nod as "agency of the year". Not just because of the pretty cool card they sent me but because they have a system and it seems to work pretty well. They have a print buying unit that meets all the reps every year and requests a general pitch for all PHD clients. That way they get the best possible deals without the haggling. But best of all, they answer their phones, seem happy to hear from you, return messages and emails, answer all questions and even will meet with you. How quaintly old-fashioned. And they still have Nina with the perfect up-do answering their phones. Kind of makes you want to go the extra mile for them. The only thing that would make it totally sweet would be a few ad bookings. Well you can't have it all.

Have a merry this and a happy that!

What then the future?

Mediamark Research Inc. (MRI) has released data from the company’s first-ever survey of American children ages 6-11, highlighting their magazine readership, multimedia and product usage, lifestyles and thoughts and feelings. MRI is America's leading provider of magazine audience and multimedia research data. In other words, MRI is the PMB of the USA (albeit a private company and not an industry association).

So what do they mention in their press release:

• Gaming is the top online activity.
• CD players outnumber MP3 players for music listening
• 70% want to make a lot of money when they are older.
• When asked what they do when TV commercials come on, nearly 60% of respondents say they watch them.

The release is virtually all about online and music. Not a single word about magazines. Even though the study was funded in part by charter subscribers Time for Kids, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Boy’s Life and National Geographic for Kids.

Could it be because they discovered that kids don't read magazines? Unless comic books count, I suspect not. Well-meaning parents might buy them subscriptions but the lure of a televison or computer is just too powerful. Sure kids read, probably more than ever. Just not magazines.

If habits start young, what then the future?

So who's stalking now?

There's doing our jobs and there's being a crazy SOB. On a sales call today, I heard that there is a rep out there who has been calling this media planner every single day to see if there is any news on the account. I am without words.

P.S. If you know a rep who behaves like this, post their name here and I'll begin a Hall of Shame.

"A" for effort

So yesterday I attended a Magazines Canada breakfast seminar, the first in a series of "Connections". The Financial Connection was a panel-style presentation moderated by the seemingly omnipresent Paul Jones. The panel was one member short as Vince Aragona of RBC Financial got pulled into something more pressing (like what isn't more pressing than facing a room full of magazine reps) at the eleventh hour. But we received a makegood with the ever-adorable presence of Brian Fitzpatrick of Mindshare. The other panellists were Lauragaye Jackson of State Farm Insurance and Brenda Woods of Visa Canada.

Considering it was free and breakfast was served, the event was not very well attended. There are a million magazine reps out there but fewer than a hundred were in attendance. Those poor media planners did not get the quiet morning they were anticipating.

We heard about content integration, customizing ads to different readers within the same magazine and providing evidence that magazines produce measurable results for specific campaigns. Sounds more like three wishes for a genie than a reasonable expectation of the magazine industry.

The highlight of the morning was when a rep from Cottage Life seized the opportunity to present the unique possibilities available with his magazine to the derisive chortles of the rest of the crowd. And while Paul did cut him down with razor-like precision, he did not have the gumption to accept another question from a patient rep in the front row who was clearly expecting to have a chance. No, after three questions Paul had had enough and brought down the gavel.

Seeing as report card season is upon us, why not grade this effort in terms of its stated goals:

• The future evolution of the financial services industry: C-
• Its advertising needs and expectations: C
• The use of retail vs. image programs: D
• How media choices are made: D-
• The role of magazines (and competitive communication options): C-
• What you can do to help your magazine meet these challenges: C-

Conclusion: room for improvement. Looks like Maggie must pull up her socks – she is capable of so much better.