Internal Brand Competition
A Proposed First Step
Print magazines have faced great changes in the past decade as more and more nationally-distribute properties fold. Falling print revenues appear to be unrecoverable, and most have moved to online media to replace lost revenue if they wish to keep their brands alive.
Regional magazines – or books that target very specific niches – have fared better, but with digital media’s dominance now the standard, we’re in the twilight days of disposable print media.
While working with a regional publisher, I examined their print and web properties and saw them overlapping in competition with one another. While Where is licensed as part of an international network of print and web properties, the other two were created locally by the publisher.
InfoEdmonton is a strong web property with the higher profile than the annual City Guide.
The idea I proposed was to move the separate brands closer together over time. The first step was to rename the City Guide as the print version of InfoEdmonton – at the same time updating its design o live in the 21st century – and add a small label tying it to Where.
This would be carried through on the InfoEdmonton website in undramatic ways. Over time, the audience would begin to associate the brands as one family and further steps to speak with one voice and one message could be taken.