Live From Circulation Day: Hard Offers, Vouchers Growing

Magazine circulators are relying increasingly on hard offers and vouchers and self-mailers in their subscription-building mailings, said Paul Masse, vice president of account management at ParadyszMatera at the Direct Marketing Association’s Circulation Day in New York Wednesday.

To a lesser extent, some magazines are also using online-based editorial premiums to boost sales.

“One of the big trends in 2006 was the steady movement toward hard offers and away from soft offers,” he said, noting this movement has been growing for at least the past three years, if not the past decade.

The use of hard offers has been increasing along with a rise in the use of vouchers as a sub-building device, he told the audience at the Marriott Marquis Hotel here, he said, citing research put together by his list management and brokerage company.

For their voucher mailings, magazines are using number 10, number nine and six-by-nine-inch envelopes, said Massa.

Even though vouchers tend to be very spare and look dry, some magazines have started doing more with the format, said Massa. For example, in the middle of 2006, Good Housekeeping added four inserts to a voucher mailing–a record number.

“Another trend we’ve seen is the emergence of premium online content,” said Massa.

“Other formats aren’t dead,” he cautioned. “Magalogs, polybags and self-mailers are all out there but seem to be shrinking a little bit.”