Brand Failures

286 Brand failures
The cycle of launches and closures may have speeded up but then so
has society. Forty-four percent of revenue is currently generated by
magazines that did not exist 10 years ago. People still like magazines,
in fact 84 percent still believe that magazines are worth spending money
on, according to Henley Centre research. The magazines that people
enjoy buying however, are not guaranteed to remain the same.
Commentating on Nova and other magazine closures, Nicholas Coleridge,
managing director of Conde Nast Publications, said magazine closures are a
fact of life for the industry. ‘It is not surprising nor horrific when magazines
open and close,’ he said. ‘It’s completely predictable, and it’s been that way
for hundreds of years, otherwise we would still be reading cave-man magazines.’
According to this logic the failure of Nova version two can be attributed to
the natural order of magazine publishing. However, many have said that if
Nova had been given more time to carve its niche, it would still be here today.
One thing though, seems certain. Having already been given a second
chance, it is unlikely to be allowed a third. But then again. . .
Lessons from Nova
Recognize that brands have their time. Just because Nova worked in the
1960s didn’t mean that the same formula would still be relevant in the 21st
century.
Account for brand failures. Magazine publishers take a pragmatic approach
to failure. Indeed, most factor in a couple of annual ‘misses’ into their
budgets. ‘Of every six magazines launched, two will fail,’ says Conde Nast’s
Nicholas Coleridge.