Greed and Opportunism

I hate Black Friday!

It’s meaningless here in the UK - a post-holiday sale without a holiday makes no sense.

But even without that absurdity, Black Friday embodies the absolute worst of humanity; greedy retailers opportunistically marketing their stuff to greedy consumers looking, opportunistically, to save a few pennies.

I realise that some of you probably do Black Friday deals, or maybe your advertisers do. But there has to be a better way to deliver value to you customers than jumping on this rapacious bandwagon.

“Get out of my way, I need that fucking air fryer”

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Turning Black Friday Green

Here’s a much better idea from Newsstand.

Over the weekend following Black Friday, for every purchase made, the online magazine store will make a donation to the Trussell Trust foodbank charity.

They will also donate unsold magazines to foodbanks.

Perfect!

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The Rebirth of magazines

This is less an idea to steal and more of an inspirational read.

Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting is one of the most thought provoking newsletters I get. This edition from back in October gives Brian’s take on the digital transition magazines have gone through and the very real problems the industry faces.

But it also surfaces some of the ways magazines are adapting to survive in our AI-driven, algorithmically organised future. From brand value to content bundles, ecommerce to experiences, magazines have a future… and it won’t all be digital.

It wouldn’t be surprising for physical media to become a mental health habit as a way to cut down on screen time.

Brian Morrissey, The Rebooting

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Every cloud

I know it’s tough at the moment, but some publishers are finding a silver lining in these cloudy economic times.

The 100-year old Harvard Business Review has tuned in to the economic uncertainty and leveraged its reputation as a source of business insights into significant subscription growth. The bi-monthly has succeeded with investment in content that delivers ‘actionable advice’.

If you are a business leader or someone focused on managing through uncertainty, you want to spend your time with someone giving you trusted advice.

Sarah McConville, HBR

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This week’s magazine song is ‘Shot by Both Sides’ by Magazine. To be honest there are easily a dozen Magazine songs I might have chosen, but Mr Chris Maillard called it for this one and who am I to argue.

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Thanks for reading

Please remember to send me any magazine publishing ideas that you think are worth stealing for future issues. And remember, if you would like any help finding ideas for your business, let's arrange a chat.