The Metamorphosis of a Magazine
Franz Kafka’s 1915 novella ‘The Metamorphosis’ is the story of a man, Gregor Samsa, struggling to find his identity in a demanding world. He goes through multiple stages of emotional upheaval before making peace with his fate which left him an unrecognisable, and diminutive version of his former self. Much like Gregor, the magazine industry has found itself in an imperious media atmosphere ruled by digital dominance, changing consumer behaviour, as advertisers keep looking for greener pastures. Once the beacon of socio-cultural renaissance – fostering freedom movements, igniting cultural awareness, and championing social change – magazines today struggle to deal with the transforming media landscape. However, unlike Gregor, the magazine industry doesn’t need to give in to circumstances. It can adapt a fresh perspective and reimagine its structure to attract the contemporary audience and advertisers alike. Keeping The Gilded Frame Don’t Hide Under the White Couch Embrace The Apple Rent Out The Apartment Balance The Shock In Bloom
In the story when Samsa’s sister insists on taking his belongings out of the room, he throws all his weight on saving a gilded picture frame, a cut-out from an illustrated magazine featuring a lady dressed in copious fur. Perhaps, Samsa wanted to hold on to something familiar, much like the magazine industry, whose gilded frame is its commitment to honest journalism.
We indeed live in times of attention deficit where there is more content than what can be accessed by the audience. People are dedicated to watching short-form content, while the interest in long-form media is slowly fading. But in such times, it is even more important to invest in quality – research-backed, in-depth journalism that defines a magazine.
do that.”
He further suggested that publishers should cater to the ‘masses’ and ‘classes’ by curating relevant content across media, wherein, Print is the force and Digital, the multiplier, to get improved revenues.
Once everything but a white couch is removed from his room, Gregor finds an uncomfortable yet familiar warmth as he sleeps under it. Gregor’s instinctual drive is to find solace in the white couch, despite its confining nature. Just as Gregor, publishers too must repurpose their content to meet the audience’s diverse needs. While some readers may prefer in-depth, long-form journalism driven by research, others may seek shorter, more digestible content.
The magazine content can also be used to create movies, as Ponniyin Selvan emerged from the pages of Tamil magazine Kalki and TV series like Pam & Tommy that was based on ‘The Untold Story of the World’s Most Famous Sex Tape,’ a Rolling Stone article by Amanda Chicago Lewis.
At one point in the story, Gregor’s father attacks his vermin form with a red apple that gets lodged in his back. This causes great pain and agony. The apple in the story is a metaphor for the familial discord and emotional turmoil that Gregor experiences due to his transformation. For magazine publishers, this apple in the story is the rapidly changing technological world, now defined by artificial intelligence (AI) and influencers.
While Gregor gives in to the pain caused by the apple, magazine publishers can, on the other hand, choose to use it for their benefit. Opportunities can open up with the marriage of Print and Digital, as proven over time. From partnering with influencers to promoting their content to even using AI for repurposing content, the possibilities are far and wide.
Further, Lewis notes that AI can facilitate the archiving process for publishers. “They can also consider having chatbots on their platforms where people can search for a query and the responses can be from within the vast repository of articles on the publisher’s website, along with the source link. Nursing Times in the UK is already doing it and seeing some great results,” he mentions.
Elaborating on the partnership, Rati Chaudhary said, “I approached Girish during the COVID lockdown with an intent to work on The Ideal Home and Garden magazine which was shut because of the challenges at that time. I wanted to revive it and hence we collaborated. Now we take up three-way brand deals, which is a win-win for all of us. The brand gets double the eyeballs on my page and also the magazine. We will soon plan to monetise it as well.”
Once the sole breadwinner of the Samsa family, Gregor, lost his skills to earn bread for his family, they looked at alternate solutions. While his sister started working, they rented their apartment to a few gentlemen. Magazine publishers should also invest in multiple revenue streams to maximise their profits. Circulation, subscription, events, advertising, and creating IPs that can be sold to other content creators – a mix of strategies can work wonders for magazine publishers that have been struggling with revenues for quite some time.
To elaborate, Chengappa noted that India Today has been running various successful event IPs like India Today Conclave and The India Today Woman Summit and Awards to generate alternate revenue streams. He also spoke about expanding beyond the niche of general interest magazines to create properties for various age and target groups to make them relevant for a larger customer base.
The conference also hosted a chat on putting out magazines on platforms like the Open Network of Digital Commerce (ONDC) and also India Post.
The events of Gregor’s life impacted not just him but others around him as well. His mother was shattered and the whole family was reeling under financial uncertainty. The advertiser fraternity is dealing with something similar when it comes to magazines. Advertisers who were once fans of the magazines for the sheer liberty and creativity of expression that spreads allowed them are now conscious of partnering with the industry. The lack of IRS data, lower volumetric return, compared to other media, and a lack of understanding of the power of the work that magazines produce are some factors that contributed to this.
Sharma, on the other hand tells us that advertisers, when approached directly, are keen to partner with them based on their combined numbers. However, he agrees that the industry needs to take a united stand to make things better. He tells IMPACT that the industry will soon be holding closed-door talks between the publishers and agency folks to find a collaborative solution to this problem. “I agree with Mr. Sinha that the onus of conversation lies on us. Advertisers do not realise the power we have, and the solution to this must come from us. We are not a high-volume industry but have a strong affinity and trust factor among the audience. We need to communicate that to the advertisers.”
Kafka’s story, originally, tells a tale of internal turmoils and challenges that he faced while dealing with familial and societal expectations. In the end, Gregor Samsa breaks down completely because of the apathy he gets from his family. The magazine industry deals with a similar situation, wherein they want to stay committed to their journalistic ethos, creating content that resonates with the audience as the media landscape transforms quickly. A fresh vision backed by technology, the power of multimedia, and a revamped approach to earning better revenues can completely transform the game for them. But they can’t give up on the journalism they have been hailing for centuries.
Tags : #e4m #advertisers #PrintMedia #magazines #magazinepublishers #IndianMagazineConference #MagazineAdvertising #featurestory