Uso De Celulares

Emerge Magazine: The Business of Ethnic Publishing
Case Analysis

Summary:
Emerge is a general-interest ethnic magazine that targets the upscale, well-educated African American audience. The magazine was launched in 1989 with the financial assistance of Time Inc., BET and Syndicated Communications. Emerge is positioned as a source for national and international news from the perspectives ofAfrican Americans and it addresses the impact that several issues have on the lives of Blacks in the United States. Throughout the years, the magazine’s demographics have evolved in terms of age groups and income levels, going from customers on the $25,000 average household income to customers with an average household income of $55,200 a year.
Emerge is characterized for featuring stimulatingtopics that cover in-depth social issues affecting the African American population. The magazine has won awards from the National Association of Black Journalists and from the Lincoln University Unity Awards. Due to the nature of the topics featured on the magazine, Emerge executives do not consider other mainstream general interest or ethnic magazines as competitors. Furthermore, Emerge has someof the best writers in the United States for creating headlines and filling the pages. In addition to having a reputation for producing high-impact articles, the readability of the magazine is a unique differentiator. The magazine caters its writing style to a highly educated readership.
In spite of its uniqueness and highly educated audience, Emerge is facing several challenges. Totalsubscriptions are decreasing and newsstand sales are declining. Furthermore, the magazine enjoys poor consumer awareness and ethnic magazines (including Emerge) lack funding and advertising sales. With such levels of funding, there is not much money to invest in marketing and promotional activities to increase the magazine’s levels of awareness. Currently, the magazine employs low-budget promotions andleverages from BET’s brand equity by featuring a special evening program that highlights the issues addressed in the current Emerge.
In 1997, the Emerge editorial staff and marketing personnel are faced with the task of creating a blueprint for an initial marketing plan that aims to increase consumer awareness, newsstand sales and customer subscriptions. Some ideas include conducting a consumerindex analysis, looking at the components of the marketing mix and to continue to leverage BET’s brand equity. What are the options?
 
Options:
Based on the analysis of the current situation; Emerge magazine has the following options:
1) Analyze its marketing mix and make adjustments to the product offerings. Conduct additional research to identify the magazine’s target audience needs and wants.This will allow Emerge to understand what attracts the newsstands’ buyers. Adapt the product to increase stand visibility and spark interest in the minds of these transactional buyers. In addition, Emerge can take a closer look at the down falls of the editorial features such as the complex writing style and the nature of the topics covered
2) Analyze its marketing mix and make adjustments to thedistribution strategy. Increase understanding of the buying behavior of its customers and align its distribution strategy to meet the needs. If 30% of the customers who read the magazine become subscribers, then the company must exploit this terrain and distribute the magazine to places where potential consumers will have the opportunity to read the magazine. In addition, Emerge can look into thepossibility of expanding its distribution strategy to include an online subscription. Based on the characteristics of its customer base, the online delivery of the magazine can be advantageous for Emerge. In addition, Emerge can set up a special archive for consumers who want to retrieve past articles of interest
3) Increase funding by forming a strategic alliance with a company interested in...