The Art and Science Behind Winning Magazine Coversby Karlene Lukovitz Adapted from an article in Circulation Management‘s May issue. Even retail executives experienced in managing the magazine category may sometimes wonder how publishers go about creating covers that compell consumers to buy, issue after issue. Not surprising, because there never has been, and probably never will be, an exact “formula” for covers that blow magazines out of stores. What goes on behind the covers? Cover development is a complex combination of artistry and marketing savvy, simultaneously demanding a fresh approach to each issue’s fresh content and respect for the realities of retail display and consumer dynamics. And it’s an art form/discipline that increasingly involves research and cross-department collaboration. Of course, editors and art directors very much continue to have ultimate cover authority at virtually all publishers—and most consumer marketers and newsstand pros wouldn’t have it any other way. “Research can’t edit a magazine,” sums up Tom Masterson, senior VP, consumer marketing & manufacturing for Hachette Filipacchi Media (HFM) U.S. “The editor has to do that. And the editors know their audiences best.” Still, given the cover’s make-or-break role in sales, and today’s more-competitive-than-ever retail environment, even highly intuitive editors with stellar cover batting averages welcome tools and input that may provide an extra edge. And that’s made consumer marketing a natural ally. Just how much difference can a cover make? “By and large, a magazine’s number of retail stores and dealer coverage don’t change that much from issue to issue, so the cover is the most critical factor influencing sales,” says one newsstand distribution executive. All other things being equal, sales can swing up or down by 10% or even 20% based on a cover’s strength or weakness, while an “extraordinary” cover can lift sales by as much as 50%, particularly for celebrity-oriented titles, he points out. As a result, support and input from consumer marketers and newsstand executives, both pre- and post-issue, are now de rigueur at major consumer publishers. Knowledgeable circulators need to be part of the cover development process to help editors maximize opportunities and avoid worst-case covers, says publishing consultant Baird Davis, formerly chief circulation executive at Ziff-Davis. “Every publisher competes in different categories and different classes of trade, but we now have access to data that allows us to identify what’s working and not working for our own magazines and our competitors much more quickly,” points out Richard Rhodes of the newsstand consultancy Publishing Management Services, Inc. “Newsstand people are trained to analyze the data and convey the results to editors. It’s then up to editors to use the data in making their decisions.” At HFM, a two-person research team that is part of consumer marketing generates regular newsstand sales reports and keeps indexed archives of cover data, which editors use as they see fit. And the team spends much of their time conducting cover research for each issue of the major newsstand titles (Woman’s Day and its special interest spin-off issues, Elle, Elle Décor, Car and Driver, Road & Track, Home and Metropolitan Home), according to Masterson. Occasional cover research is also conducted on special interest titles like Popular Photography and Boating, which tend to run equipment-oriented covers because these have been shown to sell best. “Our researchers bond with the editors, and so do I,” Masterson says. “We encourage the editors to view the department as their research department. Research is not meant to create an overly formulaic approach. We don’t tell editors what to do. If they ask for research, we supply it. Every editor uses testing and research differently. Many use it to test out-of-the-box cover images and cover lines.” For last year’s critical holiday issue, for instance, Woman’s Day’s editorial and design team tested 35 to 40 different covers and used the results to narrow the field down to a handful. Their ultimate choice—a bunch of candy canes tied together with a red ribbon, on a white background—was a distinct departure from the traditional wreath cover, and it “performed very well,” Masterson reports. Indeed, while most magazines shouldn’t see huge sales variations from issue to issue, a degree of swing is actually an indicator that the editorial team is taking appropriate risks in order to push the envelope. “Any editor worth his or her salt wants to break new ground, innovate, keep up with the market and changing demographics,” points out one newsstand distribution executive. Editors of special interest magazines, in particular, also need to be aware of the need to create a mix of articles and covers that not only appeals to a magazine’s habitual newsstand buyers, but also includes some offerings/selling points for the more peripheral buyer—content that has a bit broader appeal, points out Ralph Monti, president and CEO of publishing consultancy Special Interest Media, Inc. Field or Web, Regular Cover Testing Pays In addition, many publishers of all sizes are employing online cover tests because of their timeliness and cost-effectiveness, although these require some precautions to ensure that the results are not misleading. Rodale has used both field and Web testing, according to senior VP, retail sales, Rich Alleger. One title conducted regular, single-weekend cover field tests for a year and a half. Three wholesalers each received overnighted copies with a different cover on a Friday, and the actual cover was chosen for the full press run on Monday, based on scanned sales in the test stores over the weekend. “The editors would state, pre-test, which cover they would have picked,” Alleger notes. The results were “great”--incremental gains of 4% to 5% were not uncommon, he reports. However, rising distribution costs for such tests led the company to seek an accurate way to use the Web. For several issues, online cover tests of three covers were conducted, using subscribers who came in through blow-in cards, while field tests of the covers were simultaneously conducted in a representative sample of retail classes of trade. Comparisons of the results enabled identifying a variance level that provided a “pretty good confidence level,” Alleger says. Like newsstand and consumer marketing colleagues at other publishers, however, Alleger stresses that use of testing is at each editor’s discretion, and that editors’ cover methods vary. For instance, “Some chief editors write their own cover lines, others don’t,” he says. HFM has moved entirely to online cover testing. Magazine house ads with sweepstakes offers are used to attract newsstand buyers who supply their email addresses and participate in research—in HFM’s experience, testing actual newsstand buyers, as opposed to subscribers, is very important. Kristy Kaus, research director for Active Interest Media--publishers of Yoga Journal, Vegetarian Times, Backpacker and other special interest titles--says the company has had its best results with online cover research using opt-in email addresses. But at least for these niche titles, she observes, the cover preferences of those who identify themselves as newsstand buyers and those who are subscribers are indistinguishable. Kraus says that cover tests going on for nearly two years now have enabled the magazines to at minimum maintain sales versus the same issue in the previous year, have in many cases raised sales by 1% to 5%, and in a few cases helped produce up to a 30% lift. Basic “Grammar” Provides Foundation Yet, with all of the experimentation, honing and ventures into starkly different approaches (particularly with special issues), the most successful editors and art directors work from a core foundation of knowledge. “The editors and art directors at all magazines with significant newsstand sales at all of the major publishers are well-versed in the basic ‘grammar’ of newsstand covers, and what works for their own magazines,” says a newsstand executive. “The consumer has become accustomed to certain conventions about magazine covers over many years. And if a basic cover format works for a magazine, you generally don’t deviate from it a great deal.” “The first question that should be asked in developing a cover is, ‘What are we selling?,’” Scott Bullock, a Toronto-based consumer marketing consultant. “You’re selling a value proposition. Why should I, as a consumer, be willing to part with my money for this magazine?” “Newsstand buys are 80% impulse,” reminds Curtis’s Porti. “Nine times out of 10, if they pick it up, they’ll buy it—and it’s the cover that makes them pick it up. But they only scan covers for about 10 seconds, and usually from a distance of about six feet, so it’s critical to have the most visible and compelling cover possible.” * Focus on the left side, and on making the logo as visible as possible at the top. Precious few magazines (some estimate 10% or fewer) get full-cover facings at retail. Therefore, the rule of thumb is to make sure that each issue’s strongest selling points are visible on the cover’s left-hand side (starting at the spine and going out about 3” to 4”), and particularly the top left-hand side. At major publishers, even magazines with significant checkout presence design covers for maximum power in worst-case display scenarios, when perhaps three-quarters of the cover may be obscured. * Focus on a powerful, major headline…and image…within that critical left-side area. The magazine’s main cover line is always extremely critical and, for many magazines, it’s the single most important element. Kaus of Active Interest Media says that their testing has demonstrated that, for these niche titles, images are important, but content, as reflected in strong cover lines, is by far the dominant factor. But the power of cover lines versus image vary from market to market. “For example, illustrations and images don’t tend to work well for financial publications,” says Porti. “They tend to be more text-driven--strong cover lines, like ‘50 Best-Performing Stocks,’ work for them. Other categories, like fashion and bridal magazines, are largely image-driven.” Masterson notes that shelter magazines, too, tend to be more image-driven. He adds: “In general, I believe that the image attracts the customer’s eye and gets him or her to notice and the magazine, and the cover lines close the deal. Obviously, the two have to work closely together.” Positioning both the major headline and the major image toward the left, while not overly skewing or interfering with the visual balance and aesthetics of the overall cover, is an ideal guideline to keep in mind, say the pros. In all cases, with the “viewed from six feet” rule in mind, the key elements should be designed for maximum contrast and visibility. * Cover lines must sell. The major cover line needs to be closely tied to its graphic image, and all cover lines should be clear, readily understandable and designed to immediately convey a strong benefit or specific sell point.
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