"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.