Here's a trivia game especially for folks in "magazine media". (It's mainly consumer-oriented, but some B2B titbits are included.)
Since this isn't Cosmo, we'll skip the formal points / scoring exercise. Let's just say that if you ace these questions, you're clearly up on what's going down in the industry… but you're probably behind on your work.
1. Which branded extensions have not been launched by magazines (far as we know)? [For all questions, choose as many as you think apply.]
a) fast food b) shoes c) hair removal device d) small appliances e) dating service f) car
2. Which are not real statements / news reports about "native advertising (NA)"?
a) “Nothing we’re doing is compromising editorial integrity.”
b) "The worst piece of news I have is that the battle for the integrity of the editorial stream is lost."
c) The editorial team produced the [sponsored supplement's] content… the magazine wouldn't likely have dedicated so many pages to football without a sponsor, [Publisher X] said.
d) "There's plenty of ways in which magazines are playing hide-and seek with readers." (Explaining why inserting advertisers' logos in print editorial copy is more "transparent" than some other magazines' NA practices.)
e) Some [of the magazine's NA writers] have even worked for [its editorial] in the past, but they're not current contributors, so as to avoid any journalistic conflict of interest.
f) "Publishers are not only selling their souls… they are accelerating their own demise."
g) "This whole church / state thing is so over."
3. Which of these are not real statements or news reports re magazine media?
a) "Fiscal 2013 was a year of strong growth in revenues, profit and cash flow."
b) “Things are getting worse and worse… Advertisers tend to find B2B [business models] disappointing.”
c) "A business model that treats consumers as fodder for advertising bases isn't one that gets your customers as engaged as any of us would like."
d) "We will continue to expand our frontiers across all media channels in the weeks and months ahead.”
e) "This editorial-team expansion reflects our dedication to producing the highest-quality, engaging content, both in our print magazine and our expanding digital platforms."
f) "Face the reality that print will eventually go away."
g) "Print has never been more vital. Consumers tell us every day through all of our business channels, from subscriptions to retail, that they want print. They love it, and they are actually willing to pay more for it, which is an important part of our long-term strategy."
4. Which of these are from real reports about the US newsstand business?
a) "We love dead people." (On choosing cover subjects.)
b) The retail channel [in conjunction with digital and mobile versions] is "absolutely critical" for reaching Gen Y consumers… who are "the lifeblood of our business going forward."
c) [He] noted that [the company] sells 4 million magazine copies a month at retail, so the channel is clearly economically important.
d) "There are a lot of efforts that need time and support from all [retail] channel partners… We're all going to have to [collaborate] to think about the potential we have, rather than just manage decline."
e) "[Wholesalers] spend more time looking at costs and meeting with unions than on [efforts to increase newsstand] sales. That's sad. But if we don't [focus on cost-cutting], our doors would be closed already."
f) "… How about finding new ways and places to display magazines… not much has changed with [magazine] merchandising and marketing for maybe 30 years."
g) "Publishing is being challenged from a thousand directions. The primary response has been to expand into digital, but there needs to be a major effort to help newsstand.”
h) all of the above
Answers: 1. c [FYI, recent launches include an Elle dating service and a GQ-branded Fiat.] 2. g [The real sources: a) former Time Inc CEO Paul Caine; b) B2B consultant and CFO Publishing VP, content / digital strategy Paul Conley; c) Marie Claire VP / publisher Nancy Berger Cardone; d) ESPN: The Magazine editor-in-chief Chad Millman; e) Adweek reporting on Wired's new NA business unit; f) Bob Garfield, "The Natives are Feckless, Part One of Three," MediaPost / publications.com. 3. e [Real sources: a) Meredith Corp chairman / CEO Stephen M Lacy; b) Conley again, same story; c) Reader's Digest Assoc president / CEO Robert Guth; d) Time Inc Sports Group president Mark Ford; f) tech entrepreneur / venture firm co-founder Ben Horowitz; g) Condé Nast president Bob Sauerberg, in Publishing Executive. 4. h [Real sources: a) Town & Country editor-in-chief Jay Fielden; b) Meredith's Lacy; c) Hearst Magazines president David Carey; d) Sauerberg, in IPDA Daily News; e) Hudson News president / COO Ron Clark; f) New Single Copy publisher John Harrington; g) Harrington, same article.
