As magazines continue to struggle with reduced print ad pages and readership, it's more crucial that ever that PR get out the word about a magazine's rebranding and/or redesign efforts. Lori Rosen, president of the Rosen PR Group, is well-qualified to offer tips on maximizing PR’s value when repositioning or rebranding a magazine. Her agency currently counts Prevention, PC Magazine and STACK, among others, as clients. Here’s Rosen’s advice on how to best use PR in the magazine world:
• Maximize a brand’s internal efforts. “My feeling is that if magazines are going to put forth the effort into reshaping their brand and create a new design and retooled edit, they should showcase their efforts for the readers as much as possible,” Rosen says.
• Actively seek press coverage for a rebranding effort. “[Publishers] can use it as an excuse to go to the key media outlets—both b2b and b2c—and talk about the strategy behind it,” she says. “It’s also an excuse to do special mailings, a cocktail party or reception.”
• Don’t be gun-shy. “Often in rebranding, publishers and editors get nervous or concerned about offending the current readership. We always say, ‘It’s OK [to rebrand].’ It’s often the only way to enhance what you’re doing,” she says.
To get the full story subscribe to PR NEWS.