THE MOST POINTLESS MAGAZINE EVER?
New on the shelves this week is ForRent Magazine, a Thai language publication that contains very little besides advertising.
Could this be the most pointless magazine ever, but then again have the publishers hit on a brilliant concept - a mag with little content and loads of ads?
The magazine contains ads for real estate (renting and buying), home furnishings, fast food delivery, home security, garden furniture. .. the list is endless although things for the home seem to be a common factor. I honestly cannot think of any other magazine like this.
ForRent Magazine is good value at 35 baht for 80 pages, but I am not convinced there is enough content alongside the advertising it make it a worthwhile purchase.
5 comments:
Exchange & Mart, the weekly classified ads magazine in the UK...but there again that ceased publication earlier this year and went online.
You leave the country for five minutes and one of your favourite publications disappears. I have many a fond memory reading E&M sitting on the toilet ... sorry, too much info.
In all seriousness E&M was expensive the last time I saw it 3½ years ago. Moving it online, I guess, was a natural step.
Which brings me back to ForRent Magazine. Can an ad-mag like this really make money in print?
But what else would you put in a magazine that is all about real estate rentals apart from adverts for real estate?
It would be the first thing I would buy If I was thinking of moving house.
You forget that, for many, the ads are content. Think of the Sunday paper? How many people buy it simply for the ads? In many cases, magazines and newspapers are failing because of a misunderstanding of why people buy them: Advertising. People lay money out for what they think will get them something in return. In most cases, content doesn't do that. Content is merely something the writers and editors think is important.
@ Memock - I take your point, but what I don't understand is why the same cannot be achieved online for a fraction of the cost?
@ David - You do expect a certain proportion of ads when you buy a newspaper or magazine, but I cannot think of another magazine that has virtually no content and is only about ads. And a mish-mash of ads too.
Your point about content is crucial. Content must have value. It must provide the reader with something. Insight and knowledge come to mind. That's true online as well as in print. I will agree to a certain extent that "in most cases" publishers fail to give their readers that all important something.
You raise an important question. How many people do buy a print publication merely for the advertising?
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