RICE - A NOT-SO-NICE FREE GIFT
Covermounts - the free gifts that come with magazines - are pretty rare in Thailand. At any one time you might only find three or four of the hundreds of Thai magazines on the news stands offering free gifts. I think cost is probably a key factor because most magazines sell no more than 40% of the copies they supply to shops. And with pretty low cover prices (60 - 80 baht is about the average) the cost of covermounts must come out of the already small profit margins.
This month the Thai edition of Readers Digest has a covermount that, in my opinion, is a little tasteless. Given the current worldwide shortage of rice I was a little surprised to see this magazine offering a free packet of rice with the current edition. I am wrong to think this is a serious lack of judgment?
2 comments:
Since you work in the magazine publishing industry, why not explain it in a little more detail?
For example, what happens to all the unsold magazines?
Please - no one-word explanations, such as 'recycling'. Tell me where a magazine goes after it leaves the shop.
Tell me about margins, who's involved...you know, the 5Ws.
In your post above about the pay gap, you say the highest paid at your firm get five times as much as the lowest-paid, but then give us no idea how much that involves.
What are these skills that are so special that 'ordinary' Thais do not possess them?
You could do much more with these posts. Opportunities are going begging.
All good ideas for a future blog. I guess giving those sorts of details may help and provide an understanding of one magazine and how it works here.
We're slightly different because we're a licensed title and not a home-grown Thai magazine but sure, I will write posts on those topics in the coming days. Thanks for the suggestions.
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