Just Ask!

So what’s it all about? Hopefully by now, some three years since its inception, you will have heard talk of Just Ask!. Most likely, not in hushed reverential tones, but perhaps someone you know has seen the sunny logo in magazines or newsagents and said, "So what’s this all about then?". Well, Just Ask! is a hook for shop save schemes, a means of raising awareness among the general public that they have the option of asking their local newsagent to reserve copies of their favourite magazine, in addition to encouraging them to actively find out what a massive range of wild and wonderful titles there are to choose from.

It’s not a new shopsave system, but a focus on how we as an industry can pull together to motivate readers to order copies or seek a home delivery. Publishers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers can all play a part in making this happen.

The concept provides a common brand recognised throughout the industry and with readers. It represents the advertising platform for the existing home delivery and ordering processes in place and a real opportunity for raising awareness of this often forgotten option of purchasing magazines. Partworks and specialist magazines are the major beneficiaries of shop save and should be the first in line to champion the concept, however in this increasingly challenging marketplace, all titles would be wise to take advantage of additional ways to positively affect their sales.

Such a simple idea and yet an incredibly effective one, Just Ask! is an easy way to unite all areas of the industry towards a common goal.

It starts with publishers

Just Ask! is open to all publishers and the more who choose to get involved, the more effectively the message will be spread. Picture the Coke ad, "I’d like to teach the world to sing" and you get the idea. Let’s face it, magazines represent the obvious method for communicating to readers and publishers have a number of options they can use. They can display the logo within the magazine (preferably on the front cover to capture the casual browser and tie-in with any PoS) and show support via the editor’s letter or other editorial content. The insertion of a newsagent order form is key and the Just Ask! logo can easily be incorporated within an existing design. Elsewhere, details of Just Ask! can be added to all forms of relevant advertising being undertaken and, last but by no means least, inclusion on websites is ever more relevant in this internet obsessed age.

From humble beginnings

Launched as a COMAG initiative in February 2004, Just Ask! was the direct result of concern over reduced shelf space on the newsstand and a proactive approach to driving sales. The intention was to create a universal brand that would be of benefit to all throughout the industry and we actively encouraged publishers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers alike to get on board.

The PPA (Periodical Publishers Association), through its Retail Marketing Group, was fully supportive of the concept and principles from the start, as it aligned with the group’s focus on range retailing and on raising awareness of the vast array of magazines available to consumers. Together, we were able to extend our reach and spread the word more effectively, providing information to our clients and all PPA members, in addition to taking part in discussions with key wholesalers, the NFRN (National Federation of Retail Newsagents) and all of the multiple retail groups with a shop save offer.

2005 proved a busy year for Just Ask!. We produced the first batch of point of sale material for use at retail, including window stickers, shelftalkers and posters. Our stand at the CTN World show displayed Just Ask! advertising and both of the independent promotional clubs, Superleague and Premier Club, gave out our point of sale packs to retailers visiting their stands. NFRN-owned promotional club Blockbuster sent Just Ask! point of sale packs to each of their members throughout March.

The same year we took out an advert on the inside front page of the 40th edition of MDB (Magazine Distribution Book), reaching all retailers in the country. CTN retailer Northcliffe incorporated the Just Ask! logo on each page of its shop save brochure, which was distributed to 75,000 homes across Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. An additional 50,000 brochures went to stores for customer pickup and to 250 managed independent stores located across the country. Further to the North, all staff working for Mills newsagents were given Just Ask! badges to wear and an instruction from head office to explain their use.

Also in 2005, COMAG and the PPA worked with the NFRN to define a shop save Best Practice, for use by the NFRN’s field team and posted on the NFRN website for retailer reference. All wholesale groups committed to discussing shop saves with all change of ownership retailers – an estimated 3,000 per year – and Smiths News gave its support by highlighting Just Ask! on the shop save section of its customer portal, Connect2U, giving retailers the opportunity to download PoS direct. Today, Menzies is working on a similar initiative. Smiths News also provided the top 1,000 Premier Group retailers with category ‘flags’ to separate 23 magazine market sectors within their display of titles; each plastic flag wearing publishers’ leading brands for each category and the Just Ask! logo. Due to the success of this initiative (a sales increase of around 3% in participating stores), Smiths News repeated the exercise in May this year.

In 2006, Just Ask! gained industry recognition at the ACE Press Awards, picking up the ACE Award for Outstanding Circulation Innovation. The same year, ownership of the scheme passed over to the PPA as an industry-wide initiative, to maximise its usage amongst all publishers and increase exposure throughout the newstrade.

Current activity

COMAG remains a highly active supporter of Just Ask!. In March, we were involved in a Just Ask! awareness campaign targeting the wholesaler T Cox’s independent retail base. A questionnaire was devised and to encourage response, replies were put into a prize draw to win a bottle of champagne. The promise of bubbly did the trick and we were rewarded with a strong response rate, which gave us very positive feedback: 84% already offered a shop save scheme, 44% were already aware of Just Ask!, 75% were interested in hearing more about how to develop their shop save business and 84% requested Just Ask! point of sale material. A number of the respondents were identified as potential ‘centres of excellence’, with whom we could assess consumer reaction to Just Ask! displays and test shop save initiatives.

Following the questionnaire, Just Ask! packs - including the Best Practice document and guidelines - were sent to all customers requesting point of sale material or asking for further information. As a result of this activity, 70% of retailers using the PoS saw new and increased shop save orders, 90% felt that the initiative had been successful and had increased customer awareness of the shop save process, while all of the retailers were keen to receive new PoS on a more regular basis.

We are currently developing the ‘centres of excellence’, by establishing a group of Just Ask! branded retailers. We continue to find ways to support Just Ask! with a number of developments in the pipeline, including plans for incorporating the logo on all distribution vehicles.

Joining forces with Magazine Week

Magazine Week 2007 is a unique event for the magazine industry and will be a high profile platform for Just Ask!, which by association will benefit from the increasing amount of exposure generated over the coming weeks.

Taking place 17 to 23 September this year, Magazine Week has much in common with Just Ask!, being a major national cross-industry drive to raise the profile of the magazine category to consumers. Set to be an annual event, the campaign will be a shot in the arm for a medium that can be taken for granted. Through a series of promotions and events amalgamated under the Magazine Week banner, we can bring magazines into the spotlight - get people talking, generate some excitement and in doing so, encourage sampling or prompt readers to go into stores and ask retailers for a magazine they might not normally stock.

The PPA is providing a central framework of resources including branding, a website (www.magazineweek.net) and a heavyweight national PR campaign. Each industry group has the potential to make a massive impact - publishers can ensure editorial mentions and branding, retailers can use PoS and in-store promotions, while wholesalers can highlight Magazine Week and Just Ask! via their retail promotions clubs.

Get on board

For such a low cost activity, the benefits of supporting Just Ask! are far reaching. It is a reminder to consumers of the extensive choice of titles available, while alleviating the pressure on shelf space for retailers. A shop save is essentially the newsstand equivalent of a subscription, spreading the cost more affordably for readers, increasing regular footfall into stores for retailers and protecting sales for publishers.

Magazines are increasingly incorporating the logo and a shop save order form within their pages, however the effectiveness of Just Ask! relies heavily on continued support from all areas of the newstrade, establishing the brand and reinforcing the message. Just Ask! is an innovative approach to the long established principle of shop save and an acknowledgement of what we can all do to affect the changing marketplace we are working within. So who’s with me? "I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony…"