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Similar to The power of print: why magazines matter - An analysis of surveys, themes and trends in the higher education sector, Guy Collender, Communications Manager, Birkbeck, University of London
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The power of print: why magazines matter - An analysis of surveys, themes and trends in the higher education sector, Guy Collender, Communications Manager, Birkbeck, University of London
- 1. 1 The power of print: why magazines matter An analysis of surveys, themes and trends in the higher education sector Guy Collender, Communications Manager Birkbeck, University of London CASE Europe Annual Conference, Edinburgh Wednesday 27 August 2014
- 2. 2 Overview • Surveys and data • Frequency • Circulation • Audiences • Staffing • Etc.
- 3. 3 continued… • Examples • Engaging content • Themes • Integration of print and online content • Feedback and anecdotes
- 4. 4 Online survey for CASE Europe conference 61 responses, seven countries, three continents
- 5. 5 Survey results: popularity of print
- 6. 6 Frequency
- 10. 10 Themes Yes = 28% No = 72%
- 11. 11 Multi-media content Yes = 26% No = 74%
- 12. 12 Languages Yes = 15% No = 85%
- 13. 13 Formats
- 14. 14 Staffing
- 15. 15 Freelancers
- 16. 16 Findings about print magazines • Feedback proves magazines are valued by alumni and other stakeholders • Magazines epitomise high-quality content and design • Tangible format is ideal for handing out to visitors, promotion in public foyers, at international recruitment fairs etc. • Most effective way of communicating with alumni as postal databases more extensive and reliable than email databases
- 17. 17 continued… • Respondents reported budget pressures • Reduced frequency of some print magazines • Only digital: Lund University, Sweden • Different goals: Some prioritise alumni, others external stakeholders • Different means: Varied content, varied print formats, mixture of online formats/integration with multi-media content
- 18. 18 CASE member magazine readership survey • 252 institutions, mainly US-based universities • 45% of readers acquired all or most information about their alma mater from the magazine (35% from emails, 25% from website) • 17% spend more than one hour reading magazine • 66% prefer print only, 20% prefer print and online, 14% prefer online only Source: CASE member magazine readership survey 2013, sponsored by Qualtrics
- 19. 19 Additional surveys: Oxford and Kent • Regular surveys of Oxford Today: 2001,‘06,‘09,‘11,‘13 • Strong and unchanging desire from 85-90% of readers to retain print • Less than 10% of readers read Oxford Today print issue digitally • Survey of KENT Alumni 2013 • 40% in favour of print, 50% want to read online
- 20. 20 Engaging content: the key to success • Research • Innovative: Using smell to detect disease – Karolinska Institutet, Sweden • Important: Savings on sanity, focus on mental health – LSE • Timely: The Great War 100 years on: archives and impact of war – King’s College London
- 21. 21 continued… • Human interest (both Canterbury Christ Church) • Overcoming adversity – asylum seeker Jennifer • Celebrity stardust – Jo Brand interview • Quirky articles • Exploring tunnels beneath the campus – Imperial College, London • Images/graphics • Polar bear double-spread – Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
- 22. 22 Themed content • A theme creates focus, coherence and uniqueness • Online survey: 28% of magazines are thematic • Examples: Global challenges, emerging technologies, health, competition, 25th anniversary of student newspaper – University of Bristol
- 23. 23 Themed content at Birkbeck • Remembering Eric Hobsbawm • Tributes to a magnificent historian and colleague • Associated with Birkbeck for 65 years (lecturer & president) • BBK won 2014 CASE Silver Award for Annual Magazines • Next year’s theme: London – appropriate for London’s evening university
- 24. 24 Integration of print and online content • Complement rather than compete • Page-turning online reader Issuu • QR codes: D-Day’s ‘forgotten man’, Research Horizons University of Cambridge; KENT Alumni magazine
- 25. 25 continued… • Web links/short URLs to podcasts and videos • Interview with Baroness Joan Bakewell, BBK, Birkbeck • The sound of changing music, including South Pacific pop music, Oxford Today, University of Oxford
- 26. 26 continued… • 34% of readers visited Oxford Today website from print issue in 2013 • Opportunity to update online content between print issues • OT Weekly (Oxford Today’s email newsletter): 75,000 subscribers • Print circulation of Oxford Today: 165,000
- 27. 27 Feedback and anecdotes from online survey • “An honour” to write for the magazine – senior academic, University of East Anglia • Request for “light-hearted” content – alum, University of Kent • Scholarly expertise regarding Oxford’s orchards – alum, University of Oxford
- 28. 28 Conclusions • Printed magazines are often still the best way of contacting alumni and other stakeholders • There is a strong appetite for print content • No substitute for print • Particularly valued as rare in a digital age • Coffee table effect – always accessible and easily shareable • New opportunities to integrate print and online content, can complement and strengthen overall alumni/stakeholder communications
- 29. 29 continued… • Magazines never need electricity and are the perfect portable format
- 30. 30 So… …don’t throw the baby out with the bath water
- 31. 31 Thank you, and keep on printing g.collender@bbk.ac.uk +44 (0) 20 7380 3108 @guycollender Linkedin
Editor's Notes
- The online survey was sent out to participants from last year’s CASE conference, HEERA listserv, alumni listserv and contacts within the HE sector internationally. Pleasing Seven countries: UK, Holland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, US; Europe, Australasia, and North America Staff from all these publications submitted their responses – Oxford Today, Canterbury Christ Church with a timely front cover about the Scottish referendum on Independence, Princeton, Utrecht, and finally somewhere not far from here – Edinburgh Napier
- Survey results prove the popularity of print.
- - Institutions are investing significant time and resources in their magazines.
- - Large circulation of some university magazines. And the readership will be even greater as magazines are shared within families, with friends, and workplaces. As a reference point, The Independent – a major national newspaper in the UK – only prints 64,000 copies every day, Independent on Sunday prints 100,000 copies.
- - Alumni are by far the most important target audience. - Some magazines are devoted to research, such as Discovery magazine, with the subtitle “research at Princeton”, and Research Horizons, which is produced by the University of Cambridge. Such publications are dedicated to groundbreaking research. A recent article in Discovery, analysed the impact of the Southern Ocean upon global climate, and Research Horizons focused on the potential of advanced materials, including graphene. You won’t find any alumni reunion photos in these magazines as they serve a very different audience to many magazines.
- - Print is one format.
- Email newsletters are ephemeral, printed magazines are not. At Queen’s University Belfast, the magazine is the only form of communication with 66% of its alumni.
- - 17% read for an hour – either they read the whole magazine, or they are slow readers - This is the crucial stat.
- - Strong and unchanging desire from 85-90% of readers to retain print according to surveys in ‘09,’11,’13. KENT’s survey is unusual as it is the only survey I have come across where demand for online exceeds print. - Is there anyone in the room from KENT? It would be interesting to know if there was a print and online option?
- - How many of you found out about this session from the printed conference programme? How many of you found out about it from the online programme?