Reader's Digest binds book business to magazine
Next month, the U.S.-magazine publisher is releasing what it said is the first of many books it will soon release in Polish.
"The magazine is our front door to other products," said Barbara Morgan, senior vice president and editor-in-chief of Reader's Digest's home and entertainment division.
Reader's Digest, a $3 billion-a-year company with a presence in 48 countries, first launched its weekly magazine in Poland with an initial circulation of 70,000. The magazine is distributed primarily by direct mail, bypassing normally complicated distribution networks. The company estimates that it now has about one million readers in Poland.
With a loyal readership base, it's only natural that the company wants to get books and other products into readers' homes, executives said.
"We know what people want, what people can afford," said Andrzej Miekus, business manager with Reader's Digest in Poland. He said the company asked its readers what books they are interested in and what price they would be willing to pay. "We can do the research on our real customers," he said.
The answer? A book called Jak to Jest?, a translation of a book with bite-sized, curiosity snippets - from how magicians saw people in half, to how to build a skyscraper. The company printed 125,000 copies of the textbook-sized volume, which it will sell to readers next month for zl. 85 ($32.70). The company hopes to release a second book in November, and is shooting for four or five new titles in 1997.
But that's not the end of the shelf for the company.
Beginning in June, Reader's Digest expects to have a Polish Web page up and running through Internet Securities. It will feature article summaries and information on subscribing. The company also hopes to release its first compact-disc collection by the end of the year, and videos by 1997.
The moves are not surprising, considering that books and home-entertainment products account for roughly two-thirds of the parent company's annual revenues.
While piggybacking the new products on the magazine's recent circulation surge, the company is hoping to tap an even deeper pool of name recognition. Although the company only started a Polish magazine a year ago, its name has been known in Poland since World War II. Following the war, employees at the British embassy in Warsaw published a translation of the magazine for Poles, although it was banned during Communist times.
Buy now, save later
Coupons may be still a novelty in Poland, but the trick is distributing them to the right people.
That's the thinking behind The Coupon Book, the country's first of its kind, which hit the Warsaw streets last week.
The booklet, which contains 13 coupons worth zl. 100 ($38) in savings, targets young people aged 18 to 25. Last week, 10,000 copies went on sale for zl. 5 ($1.92) at Empik and other bookstores throughout the city.
"Coupon books seem to work in most countries," said Craig Smith, 29, a former California restaurateur and managing partner of Business Services International, the book's publisher. "I think the market here is ready for it. They're more than happy to use a coupon to save a little bit of money and still go to their favorite places."
Smith noted that while coupons are not exactly a household word in Poland, market research shows that Polish-Americans are among the highest coupon users in the United States.
And in the case of The Coupon Book, Smith is betting that young folk will put their money where their mouths are.
Many of the coupons are for food, from places such as Burger King, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and BarBula sandwich shop and catering services. Also featured in the book are coupons for the Target School of English, Ground Zero nightclub and Internet Technologies.
Smith said he hopes to publish about six issues a year, and plans to expand to the Gdansk and Krak-w areas as well.
Joe O'Connor, marketing director for PepsiCo Poland - which owns the franchise rights to KFC and Pizza Hut - said his company had tried coupons several times unsuccessfully. Door-to-door leaflets, coupons on the back of Warsaw tram tickets and newspaper coupons all didn't work, O'Connor said.
But O'Connor is confident that The Coupon Book may be a winner. "It is targeted to one of our core user groups," he said. "We decided we would give it a try. We're looking to it as a test."
And he's not even upset that Pizza Hut rival Domino's is offering a coupon in the same issue. "There was no exclusivity agreement," he said.
Silent screen
Don't count on hearing anything from Wieslaw Walendziak, former chairman of the board of Telewizja Polska (TVP), for a long time.
As part of his severance agreement with TVP, Walendziak agreed not to speak to the press about public television - or even about television in general - for six months following his resignation.
"They (TVP executives) are afraid about my knowledge of television," Walendziak said when declining an interview request from the Warsaw Business Journal.
Rolling along
Warsaw advertising agency ITI McCann-Erickson has landed a $1 million-a-year account for Polish tire maker Debica, which was acquired late last year by U.S. giant Goodyear.
"This is a Polish brand that needs to be developed," said Marek Janicki, managing director of ITI McCann-Erickson. The first campaign should be ready by late fall, he added. The agency is also gearing up to do work for new clients Dunkin' Donuts and yogurt maker Yoplait, both reportedly on the verge of entering the Polish market.
"The magazine is our front door to other products," said Barbara Morgan, senior vice president and editor-in-chief of Reader's Digest's home and entertainment division.
Reader's Digest, a $3 billion-a-year company with a presence in 48 countries, first launched its weekly magazine in Poland with an initial circulation of 70,000. The magazine is distributed primarily by direct mail, bypassing normally complicated distribution networks. The company estimates that it now has about one million readers in Poland.
With a loyal readership base, it's only natural that the company wants to get books and other products into readers' homes, executives said.
"We know what people want, what people can afford," said Andrzej Miekus, business manager with Reader's Digest in Poland. He said the company asked its readers what books they are interested in and what price they would be willing to pay. "We can do the research on our real customers," he said.
The answer? A book called Jak to Jest?, a translation of a book with bite-sized, curiosity snippets - from how magicians saw people in half, to how to build a skyscraper. The company printed 125,000 copies of the textbook-sized volume, which it will sell to readers next month for zl. 85 ($32.70). The company hopes to release a second book in November, and is shooting for four or five new titles in 1997.
But that's not the end of the shelf for the company.
Beginning in June, Reader's Digest expects to have a Polish Web page up and running through Internet Securities. It will feature article summaries and information on subscribing. The company also hopes to release its first compact-disc collection by the end of the year, and videos by 1997.
The moves are not surprising, considering that books and home-entertainment products account for roughly two-thirds of the parent company's annual revenues.
While piggybacking the new products on the magazine's recent circulation surge, the company is hoping to tap an even deeper pool of name recognition. Although the company only started a Polish magazine a year ago, its name has been known in Poland since World War II. Following the war, employees at the British embassy in Warsaw published a translation of the magazine for Poles, although it was banned during Communist times.
Buy now, save later
Coupons may be still a novelty in Poland, but the trick is distributing them to the right people.
That's the thinking behind The Coupon Book, the country's first of its kind, which hit the Warsaw streets last week.
The booklet, which contains 13 coupons worth zl. 100 ($38) in savings, targets young people aged 18 to 25. Last week, 10,000 copies went on sale for zl. 5 ($1.92) at Empik and other bookstores throughout the city.
"Coupon books seem to work in most countries," said Craig Smith, 29, a former California restaurateur and managing partner of Business Services International, the book's publisher. "I think the market here is ready for it. They're more than happy to use a coupon to save a little bit of money and still go to their favorite places."
Smith noted that while coupons are not exactly a household word in Poland, market research shows that Polish-Americans are among the highest coupon users in the United States.
And in the case of The Coupon Book, Smith is betting that young folk will put their money where their mouths are.
Many of the coupons are for food, from places such as Burger King, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and BarBula sandwich shop and catering services. Also featured in the book are coupons for the Target School of English, Ground Zero nightclub and Internet Technologies.
Smith said he hopes to publish about six issues a year, and plans to expand to the Gdansk and Krak-w areas as well.
Joe O'Connor, marketing director for PepsiCo Poland - which owns the franchise rights to KFC and Pizza Hut - said his company had tried coupons several times unsuccessfully. Door-to-door leaflets, coupons on the back of Warsaw tram tickets and newspaper coupons all didn't work, O'Connor said.
But O'Connor is confident that The Coupon Book may be a winner. "It is targeted to one of our core user groups," he said. "We decided we would give it a try. We're looking to it as a test."
And he's not even upset that Pizza Hut rival Domino's is offering a coupon in the same issue. "There was no exclusivity agreement," he said.
Silent screen
Don't count on hearing anything from Wieslaw Walendziak, former chairman of the board of Telewizja Polska (TVP), for a long time.
As part of his severance agreement with TVP, Walendziak agreed not to speak to the press about public television - or even about television in general - for six months following his resignation.
"They (TVP executives) are afraid about my knowledge of television," Walendziak said when declining an interview request from the Warsaw Business Journal.
Rolling along
Warsaw advertising agency ITI McCann-Erickson has landed a $1 million-a-year account for Polish tire maker Debica, which was acquired late last year by U.S. giant Goodyear.
"This is a Polish brand that needs to be developed," said Marek Janicki, managing director of ITI McCann-Erickson. The first campaign should be ready by late fall, he added. The agency is also gearing up to do work for new clients Dunkin' Donuts and yogurt maker Yoplait, both reportedly on the verge of entering the Polish market.
