Circulation: Growing Internationally

Indian magazine market is very vibrant right now due to launch of a slew of international magazines. Here are the trade secrets of some international publishers and what makes them click in different countries.

Playboy Magazine: Subsidiaries Produce Local Content

While Playboy has been a worldwide icon, executive VP and general manager, Playboy International, Robert O’Donnell, says that unique content is what makes it an international force.
“We stress local rather than universal content,” O’Donnell says. “You have to be relevant to the market. We average between 75 and 90 percent local content between the different markets.”

IDG:Worldwide Markets Require Products

“Our goal has always been to serve our customers worldwide,” says David Hill, president and CEO, IDG International Publishing Services. “On the readership side, the need for information on information technology is present in every country.”
“The only question becomes, ‘Are there enough readers in any given country to support a publication?’," says Hill, adding, “The web has made it possible to reach even smaller audiences that could not be economically reached in print.”
On the advertising side, Hill says, since the IT industry is global, and many of IDG’s customers are global players, the company wants to have a publication or vehicle anywhere in the world they may want to market their products.

Cosmopolitan: The Power of the International Newsstand

Hearst Magazines International president and CEO George Green, says “In the U.S. more than 90 percent of your circulation is subscriptions. Outside the U.S., more than 90 percent is newsstand.”
As a result of the greater percentage of newsstand sales outside the U.S., Green says that the money a publisher receives by publishing internationally is “10-15 percentage points higher” than domestic publishing. Another cost-saving effect of the strong international newsstand is the fact that publishers can cut out subscriber acquisition expenses.
Aside from the power of the newsstand, Green attributes the success of these international editions to the fact that each edition is given a local spin. The editions are published in their local languages, and Green says there are not any Americans working at any of the international editions.
“[The editions] interpret the brand,” he says. “They don’t copy the U.S. edition. The only pickup is the cover frequently, and maybe some other small things.

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