« October 2004 | Main | December 2004 »

November 23, 2004

Print publications, part 2: It’s all about you

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! In between making your grocery list or searching for your grandmother’s recipe for sweet potato pudding, why not spend a few minutes with me thinking about print publications?

Last issue I shared insights about an easy-to-use newspaper, Metro; in this entry I’ll tell you about a new Time Inc. magazine called All You. If you’ll recall, my premise is that it’s valuable to know about trends in external publications, because the best consumer-oriented print vehicles provide inspiration for your internal publications.

If you haven’t seen All You yet, it’s because you haven’t been shopping in Wal-Mart; this new magazine is only available in the world’s biggest retailer, which happens to be responsible for 15% of all newsstand sales of magazines. Here are three reasons I suggest you pay attention to All You:

1) Magazine publishers are trying to create a sense that their publications are geared to their readers’ individual needs. (Another big publisher, Hachette Flipacchi Media U.S., has just introduced a magazine called For Me.) In a recent article in The New York Times, Eric Heuvel, media director of advertising firm Citigate, summed up the trend as follows: “I think a lot of what you are seeing is the influence of the Internet.” Naming publications “for you,” Mr. Heuvel explains, “is a way of trying to connect with consumers.”

How well does your publication create this sense of personal connection?

2) The best publications are designed to meet the needs of their target readers. In studying the market, Time Inc. realized that a segment of consumers were underserved: Women from Middle America who shop in discount stores and who seek practical, down-to-earth information. All You will not feature supermodels or clothes from Bloomingdale’s; the magazine intends to reflect its real-life readers. Even the price is approachable: $1.47.

Does your publication reflect the needs of your readers? Can employees see themselves in your publication?

3) Distribution matters. Time Inc. decided to distribute in Wal-Mart because that’s where the shoppers are: 138 million people visit one of Wal-Mart’s 3,084 outlets each week. Time Inc. not only saves money launching its new publication through the store, it also creates a sense of exclusivity: You simply can’t buy All You anywhere else.

Is your publication being distributed where your employees spend their time?

Hope this gives you food for thought. Enjoy your Thanksgiving feast!

Posted by Alison Davis at 09:51 AM

November 16, 2004

Two print publications you should know about

The freshest and most innovative best practices in print publications can’t be found through IABC or The Ragan Report—they’re on a newsstand near you.

That’s because external newspapers and magazines have to use every trick and technique they can come up with to fight for readers’ money, time and attention. (Only by doing so do they sell the ads that keep them in business.)

If you’re managing an internal print publication, you simply must learn what the best external publications are up to. Why? A) External media set employees’ expectations for timeliness, relevancy and appeal. B) For a few bucks (the cost of an issue), you can benchmark proven techniques from the brightest talent in the business.

In this entry, I’ll share one example of a newspaper that’s changing the business in Europe, and next time I’ll provide information on a new magazine from Time, Inc.

Maverick Metro
Nine years ago, an upstart company started giving away a new kind of newspaper in a subway in Stockholm. Called Metro, the paper’s contents, which include local and international news, were designed to be scanned, cover to cover, in just over 15 minutes. Today, the concept of a free newspaper that is easy to digest has proven so successful that Metro has 38 editions (mostly in Europe, although it is also available in New York City) published in 15 languages in 16 countries.

The most exciting attribute for advertisers is the demographics: While newspaper readers are mostly older and mostly male, two-thirds of Metro readers are under 45 and half are women.

Metro has proven so successful, in fact, that even established media companies are trying to imitate it: the French newspaper, Figaro, has announced it will launch a free paper, and Spanish and German companies are introducing their own tabloids.

What can we learn from Metro?

Have you pushed the boundaries in your print publication? I’d love to hear about it.

Posted by Alison Davis at 04:11 PM

November 09, 2004

Is everything about communication?

I took a little ribbing last week after posting two holiday-themed web logs in a row—one on Halloween and the second on Election Day—describing how these events relate to employee communication.

“Does every holiday pertain to communication?” asked a reader. “And if so, what are you going to write about next? How Veteran’s Day makes you think about communicating serious topics? What Thanksgiving teaches us about face-to-face communication? How to create some communication fireworks on Guy Fawkes Day?”*

Funny, very funny. Although, come to think of it, the Thanksgiving idea has possibilities . . .

So here I am on no particular holiday, pondering the serious question behind my reader’s joking: “Is everything about communication?”

Actually, yes. Many of my colleagues take a narrow view of communication: it’s about crafting and delivering messages. They act on their belief that the scope of employee communication is limited to disseminating information.

This is an extremely parochial idea of what we do. More importantly, it’s not the way people experience communication in organizations. Even when it comes to information, they don’t differentiate between a message sent from an official source (a professional communicator working on behalf of management) or one sent from an unauthorized source, such as IT or Safety. To employees, this is all “communication,” so when there are too many messages, or the messages aren’t relevant, they say, “communication needs improvement.”

Employees at every level also recognize the fact that “communication” also includes a lot of informal experiences: How visible senior leaders are. Whether a manager spends time with his team. How freely colleagues share information. Whether issues are candidly shared or “spun” so they no longer resemble reality.

Communication is complicated and it’s pervasive. And while I wouldn’t suggest that you take it all on as part of your job, I do recommend that you look at the big picture when thinking about how to improve communication. The more expansive and ecumenical you can be, the more you can make a significant difference in how people communicate in your organization.

* If you’re wondering why you didn’t see the above comment on this blog, it’s because Insights readers are responding in an interesting and old-fashioned way. Rather than posting their thoughts for all to see, readers are contacting me directly, e-mailing or even calling. Maybe it’s a generational thing? (Baby boomers still haven’t gotten comfortable on line?) Or are you all just shy?

Posted by Alison Davis at 08:39 AM | Comments (1)

November 02, 2004

Democracy (at its best) is messy; so is communication

Here we are on Election Day, waiting in line to vote, worried about voting irregularities, watching to see if there are early returns, and wondering if by the time we go to bed tonight (or wake up tomorrow), we’ll know who won.

Isn’t democracy wonderful? For as long as I’ve been voting, I never remember a presidential election as passionate as this one. We’ve got millions of engaged voters—some new, some experienced, some polarized, some on the fence—and they’re all out there participating.

It’s not a neat process or a pretty one, but it sure is lively.

Contrast this with the way employee communication works in most organizations. Communicators are usually so worried about getting things right that they often sacrifice the very qualities that make communication compelling—timeliness, drama, human feeling, conflict—for accuracy. The result is communication that is extremely correct but entirely irrelevant.

I can hear you protesting: “The lawyers make me squeeze the life out of everything!” “Senior management is completely risk-averse.” “This company doesn’t understand communication at all.”

Sorry, but that’s not good enough. Communicators have a duty to not only satisfy the demands of our internal clients (management, lawyers et. al.) but also to meet the needs of our customers (employees).

During this election year, those employees have been out there watching debates, viewing blogs about politics, learning about the issues, and involved in vigorous, sometimes heated discussions. They know what good communication feels like, and they certainly know if communication is stagnant in your organization. You owe it to employees to stand up for their communication rights.

I’m Alison Davis and I approved this message.

Posted by Alison Davis at 04:09 PM