Who says size doesn’t matter?

The arrival of new magazines into the market is always cause for some excitement in the industry, but to existing magazines, it can also be the cause for some trepidation.

Loss of readership and consequently marketshare that can erode the bottomline is an ever present possibility and when faced with competition, it's time to up the stakes, if only for a bit of flag waving.

Gunning down that path is MediaCorp which this month launches one of the biggest marketing blitzes for two of its magazines, 8 Days and mandarin publication I-Weekly. After a lull of a few years without any major advertising and promotional campaigns for the two magazines, the publishing company is splashing out on a no-holds-barred campaign that's expected to run into the $2 to $2.5 million range in a bid to reinvigorate the entertainment weeklies.

This could be due in part to the changes in the local magazine scene. Last year, I-Weekly's rival publication, Singapore Press Holdings' UW launched a rebranding exercise (it used to be known as You Weekly) and resized the magazine into a larger format publication. This year saw the launch of Ink Publishing's Time Out magazine, which was described by Joseph Dorall, senior manager, marketing, MediaCorp Publishing as 8 Days' biggest competitor.

MediaCorp's marketing campaign for 8 Days and I-Weekly is in line with subtle changes that the two magazines will be going through - for one, the magazines will be launched in a smaller size and there will also be slight changes made to the content of the magazines.  

"The general consensus was that the bigger tabloid-size format for a magazine is too cumbersome while the A5 format was deemed too small. Hence, both entertainment weeklies have been resized to 255mm by 177mm (similar to the size of a National Geographic magazine)," Dorall said.

Time Out marketing director Julian Peterson said while his publication does not view 8 Days as competition at all since content of both publications are mutually exclusive, a change in magazine size might be a good strategy for 8 Days.

"Any change in brand values should only be made after extensive research with readers and advertisers - not as a knee jerk reaction to another publication. Resizing was started by magazines such as Glamour in the UK. It was very successful for them and has now been copied by other magazines such as Marie Claire. A magazine resize can be helpful for celebrity gossip magazines such as 8 Days as the smaller size means that the magazine easily fits in a ladies handbag (or the bin!)," Peterson said.

While Dorall sidestepped the question on whether there was a possibility that the 8 Days and I-Weekly magazines were going through a decline due to increased competition and hence the changes, he said the new initiatives were not meant to be a rebranding of the two products, but were to reinforce and strengthen the position of 8 Days and I-Weekly.

"In today's fast-paced world, if you stand still, you are left behind," Dorall said. "Both magazines have been a part of Singaporeans' lives for so long, that at times they may have become a little ‘taken for granted', especially when readers know the magazines are released week after week."

The marketing campaign for the new look magazine will encompass above-the-line and below-the-line elements over various media platforms such as TV, radio, print, outdoor, and e-DM initiatives.

MediaCorp claims a weekly readership figure increase of 42,000 readers for 8 Days and 33,000 for I-Weekly as compared to five years ago, which translates to a 39% and 17% rise respectively -8 DAYS also claims last year, it registered an increase of 11,000 readers compared to the previous year, bringing its current total weekly readers to 150,000. Both publications are unaudited.