Summary
In early 2010 Reader’s Digest filed for administration. Rescued by a venture capitalist, the new management team was tasked with revitalising one of the world’s most famous media brands. Key to
achieving this was attracting new advertisers and commercial partners to the magazine.
Reader’s Digest had a tough challenge. It had to:
- Combat negative perceptions about the business.
- Rebuild brand recognition and value.
- Demonstrate financial stability.
- Prove digital competence.
- Ultimately inspire advertisers and media agencies to reinvest.
Before Readers Digest identified the need for a PR agency, Eulogy! proactively targeted them with a strategy that we were confident would quickly deliver the commercial success that Readers Digest required.
Eulogy!’s ‘shock and awe’ strategy centred on demonstrating the value of Reader’s Digest and its readers to advertisers. Through a sustained media relations campaign we showcased Readers Digests’ unique understanding and relationship with its readers, the development of the magazine and its evolution online, and highlighted the strength of the management team behind the business.
In just six months, Eulogy! delivered:
- 112 pieces of coverage – 45 per cent over target.
- OTS of 145,000,000 – (target 1m).
- Increased market-share position for advertising revenue by 50 per cent.
- Seven new big-brand advertisers.
- ROI of 50:1 (target 10:1).
Reader’s Digest is one of the UKs best-loved and most successful brands and boasts a portfolio of products which includes the hugely successful magazine, DVDs, CDs, books and enterprises. Published monthly and available via newsstand, subscription, online and on the iPad, the magazine’s core target is the affluent over-45 market.
Strategy
Reader’s Digest had a tough challenge ahead to rebuild a positive profile among the media and business community. It had to communicate its financial stability, the strength of the new management team, the evolution of the magazine, combat negative preconceptions and engage and excite advertisers and media planning and buying agencies about the brand.
Eulogy!’s strategy centred on demonstrating the value of Reader’s Digest to advertisers and commercial partners by showcasing the brand‘s inspiring and relevant new magazine content; engaged and loyal readership; in depth understanding of the 45-60 year old audience; and it’s unique, direct response offering.
Objectives of the campaign
Eulogy!developed a shock and awe approach to relaunch Reader’s Digest, that would:
- Rebuild a positive profile of the business among the media and wider business community.
- Communicate the financial stability of the business and the strength of the new management team.
- Communicate the positive evolution of the magazine and related platforms.
- Combat negative preconceptions that may exist.
- Engage and excite advertisers and media planning and buying agencies about the brand.
The team at Reader’s Digest set Eulogy!tough targets and demanded major column inches particularly in the national press:
- Achieve 25 pieces of coverage over a six month period with at least two major pieces in national press.
- OTS: 500,000.
- Show growth in advertising yield: attract one new, blue chip advertiser – out with the Stenna Stairlifts!
- Increase market share position for advertising revenue by 15 per cent.
- Attract £500k advertising revenue.
- ROI: 10:1.
The target audience
Blue chip organisations, media agencies, advertising agencies and the wider business community
Method deployed and techniques used
Eulogy!deployed a shock and awe approach to relaunch Reader’s Digest, releasing a sustained flow of high impact news stories highlighting commercial innovation and profiles of the CEO to demonstrate positive evolution of the business. The campaign was split into two distinct phases:
Phase 1: Rebuild – Laying the foundations
This phase focused on firmly re-establishing the Reader’s Digest reputation, communicating that the brand was still open for business and geared for growth with a compelling market offering.
A flow of impactful news stories were created and maximised in the media. The announcements included:
- Reader’s Digest ushers in a new era of growth with appointment of new management team.
- Reader’s Digest to launch £3m marketing drive.
- New Columnist James Brown joins Reader’s Digest.
Through a series of tactical media briefings with key trade and national media, high profile interviews were secured in key titles designed to tell the story of Reader’s Digest and raise the profile of key members of staff.
Phase 2: Relaunch – The new era of Reader’s Digest
The Relaunch phase focussed on positioning Reader’s Digest as a thought leader and authority on its core audience of 45-60 year olds and demonstrating positive change and evolution of the Reader’s Digest brand.
The thought leadership programme was underpinned by the most contemporary and comprehensive piece of audience insight conducted by a media owner in recent times and continues to provide extensive PR collateral for the PR programme.
This was combined with an ongoing series of news stories announcing new innovations and developments including:
- The launch of an iPad and smart phone version of the magazine.
- A raft of new 20 new columnists and contributors.
- A refreshed and redesigned magazine.
During this period, the magazine achieved its first uplift in circulation for seventeen years in the official Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) CCR report. A campaign to capitalise on this achievement was implemented which included the placement of news stories, opinion pieces, profiles and features to provide a platform for Readers Digest to discuss their success.
Timescales of the campaign
Months 1-3: Phase 1 – Rebuild
Months 4-6: Phase 2 – Re-launch
Client testimonial
“Eulogy!’s tenacity and desire to work with us won them our business and working with them has paid off for us in spades. Their campaign has radically improved our brand count, particularly among our key target audience of advertisers and agencies. Our media profile is significantly higher, leaving our competitors in the shade. It is never easy for a print media owner to secure coverage in another print title but Eulogy!achieved this time and time again throughout the campaign. The most important outcome however is the genuine uplift in our market share and the commercial success and direct sales of £1.5million we have seen, which we can absolutely attribute to the PR campaign. James Mallinson, publishing director.
