Delivery still matters
As use of the internet has grown and print advertising volume has declined, some weeklies have gone biweekly. Others have gone monthly. My subscription to Mediaweek suggests a new strategy: just deliver occasionally.
Reader neglect is the unfortunate byproduct of a struggling media model. Nielsen is said to be considering consolidating its three trade weeklies (Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek), a move that hardly surprises me. The company lost me last fall. Here’s why.
I have read Mediaweek in print for several years, and my current two-year subscription runs through March 2010. Although my chosen field is essentially magazines and books, I LIKE reading about other media (television, cable, radio and out-of-home, to name a few). It makes me smarter, gives me reasons to think and makes me look good at certain cocktail parties.
That would all be true today if Mediaweek actually came to me. Unfortunately, I have spent about as much time waiting for my copies as I have reading them. The problem became acute last fall, when my subscription just vanished. I called, I wrote, but here’s what I got:
Oct 13
Dec 1
Feb 2
Feb 16
Feb 23
Mar 2
Mar 9
You’d think after receiving four issues in a row, I’d be a lock to finish out through 2010. Alas, no. I’m back in print limbo. No issues have come since the beginning of March.
For those of you who write your own checks, Mediaweek costs $149 a year. Will I renew my subscription in March 2010? Hell, no. Is it because I’d rather get my news online? Not in the least. It’s because I’d rather pay for a product I actually get. Any magazine publisher should understand that.
Edited April 13 to add: After posting this piece, MediaWeek e-mailed me an offer to get “print plus digital” access for a single price. I pointed the magazine to this post, and I heard back from a circulation staffer who took steps to help. Last week (April 6), I got a copy by USPS and a copy hand-delivered in an envelope. It will be interesting to see what happens this week.
Having a similar situation with Strand magazine (a quarterly that promotes upcoming mystery titles). Subscribed, received initial issue. Then nothing. Finally e-mailed and they sent a copy in an envelope with vague language about me not being on their circ list. Double checked my amex statement, all paid. Another six months and nothing. E-mailed again and got another in an envelope. Not bothering following up on the final issue and will not be renewing and not much interested in mystery writing any longer either.
Posted by
Dave Ross on 04/01 at 12:05 PM
Some smaller magazines (including ones with quarterly frequency) may handle their own fulfillment. That’s not a reason to do it badly, and yours is an example of “badly”.
In late January, I subscribed to a well-known monthly that delivered three back-dated issues (January, February and March) in a single day in early March. The April issue arrived less than two weeks after.
Whether it’s sporadic delivery, lumpy delivery or just plain no delivery, the point is the same: delivery matters (or, it should).
Posted by
Brian O'Leary on 04/01 at 11:43 PM
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