The Hungarian Edition Of Cosmopolitan Essay Example For Students

The Hungarian Edition Of Cosmopolitan Essay TABLE OF CONTENTSABSTRACT 3OVERVIEW OF THE HUNGARIAN MARKET 3BACKGROUND 4DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCT 4THE CONCEPT OF THE PRODUCT 4PROFILE OF THE TARGET CONSUMERS 5CURRENT MARKET SITUATION 5SWOT ANALYSIS 5PEST ANALYSIS 6STRUCTURE OF THE MAGAZINE 6PRICING STRATEGY 7PROMOTION MIX 7ADVERTISING 7SALES PROMOTION 8PUBLIC RELATIONS 9CONCLUSIONS 9APPENDIX 10LIST OF SOURCES 17ABSTRACTPrimarily based on an interview with Ms. Eniko Horvath, marketing manager of Cosmopolitan Hungary, this case study outlines the historical background of Cosmopolitan international editions and the peculiarities of the Hungarian version. The first issue brought about a revolution in the general approach of womens magazines in Hungary; Cosmopolitan immediately reached a leading market position that it still holds today. The paper discusses the layout and content of the magazine in an attempt to thoroughly describe this product. It illustrates some patterns of the magazine in terms of sales, number of subscribers and number of copies given out freely for promotional purposes. The pricing policy and the promotion mix adopted by Cosmopolitan as parts of its overall marketing strategy, are presented as well. We conclude that Cosmopolitan is a successful business in todays glossy magazines market in Hungary, since each upcoming issue is impatiently awaited by thousands of readers each month. OVERVIEW OF THE HUNGARIAN MARKETIn Hungary the first magazines for women were published in the middle of the 19th Century. In the name of emancipation, Hungarian women demanded more womens magazines, fashion and beauty-care products. At that moment there were around 1,500 magazines on the market and their advertisements were mainly done through first-class fashion salons. After World War I, the so-called feminine press started to fade away and cultural magazines slowly took over. During the socialist era, a new type of magazines appeared on the Hungarian market and remained dominant for 40 years. One of them is still among the leading Hungarian magazines for women and is called Nok Lapja. After its very first issue in 1949, it was declared to be a good, useful and essential magazine for honest, hard-working Hungarian women and remained so until the 1960s, when it also incorporated some elements of the Western culture. The economical and political changes which occurred in the past 10 years deeply affected the magazines market. The feminine press made a tremendous comeback, giving birth to newcomers and forcing old magazines to change. At present one can find more than 50 magazines dedicated to women readers. Some of them deal with so-called women issues in general, whereas some specialize in fashion, cooking, needlework and home decorating. In a market economy, magazines are like any other product, says Andrea Eszes, editor of Cosmopolitan. And products targeting women can make big profits in Hungary. If we just compare how much is spent on advertising each year in Hungary with the budget of the Ministry of Culture or that of the Ministry of National Defense, there is no wonder that this market is a primary business target for investors. The future holds fine prospects to these international glossy magazines that are published all over the world and combine some common characteristics with specific cultural elements of the host countries. But as they emerge and leave cultural magazines behind, they will bear the increasing responsibility of correcting the language usage and promoting visual culture to the public. BACKGROUND Cosmopolitan was founded in 1886 as a magazine for first-class families in the U.S. William Randolph Hearst acquired the magazine in 1905. In the middle of the century sales dropped and the management decided to change the concept of the magazine. Ever since, the Cosmopolitan concept the magazine is for young women interested in fashion, beauty, career and sex has been alive. Helen Gurley Brown, who was appointed Editor in Chief in 1965, approached the idea of Cosmopolitan as a magazine for ambitious, career-conscious young women and even wrote a feminist best-seller. Today there are 37 international editions, making Cosmopolitan the largest selling young womens magazine in the whole world. It has an average of nearly 7 million buyers universally and more than 33 million readers per month. This gives Cosmopolitan the status of the first international first-class magazine. The Hungarian edition of Cosmopolitan was launched in November 1997, in accordance with the agreement between Hearst Corporation/VNU and Erasmus Press Publishing House. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCTCONCEPT OF THE PRODUCTCosmopolitan is a glossy monthly magazine for women. It has a strong and internationally approved concept, which is tailored for each edition based on specific national characteristics. A visually stimulating magazine, Cosmopolitan speaks the universal language of women everywhere. Cosmopolitan envisions itself as a friend, thus informing, giving advice and offering support to young women in a friendly and personal manner. Its impossible dream is to become a lifestyl e, to inspire readers to enhance their living patterns and the relationships they enjoy. Cosmopolitan adopts a positive attitude; it is supportive, trendy and imaginative. The Hungarian edition is based on the original U.S. concept bearing in mind the special interests of Hungarian readers. Overpopulation is Not the Problem EssayPROMOTION MIXADVERTISINGCosmopolitan heavily relies on advertising: 60% of all promotional activities are above-the-line activities, whereas 40% take the form of sales promotion and public relations. Due to special characteristics of the target group, it is necessary that in addition to traditional communication channels (TV, radio, billboards), the product is promoted in cinema multiplexes, fitness clubs, beauty salons, hairdressers and restaurants. During an advertising campaign, the feedback from the target audience is evaluated in terms of increases in sales volume, above-the-line GRPs and through panel research. A successful advertising campaign is one that boosts demand and, in turn, sales. Difficulties were encountered in the launch advertising campaign. The Consumers Protection Office sued Cosmopolitan for the outrageousness of its launch advertising posters; however, the magazine was exempted from paying a penalty fee in the end. This conflict came to the advantage of Cosmopolitan which demonstrates the validity of the old saying negative publicity is good publicity. Business-to-business marketing is an area of main concern for Cosmopolitan, which is also challenged with creating a favorable image to its business customers. The advantages offered by Cosmopolitan as an advertising medium itself are as follows:it fills the existing gap of the glossy magazines in the advertising market;its quality is guaranteed by the international background;it has a well-defined target audience who tend to spend a lot of money and can afford the magazine;its readers believe in Cosmopolitan;it fits to premium quality products;it has quality content, layout, paper and printing;it offers the possibility for various creative units. Cosmopolitan offers discounts on its advertising rates to important business customers, as well as creative possibilities for them to realize their advertisements, such as binding, sticking on a page, inserting, foiling and double covers (for more technical details about business-to-business marketing, see appendix). SALES PROMOTIONCosmopolitan organized a host promotion after its launch, whereby young men offered leaflets and brochures about Cosmopolitan to young women, with the purpose of convincing them to buy the magazine. Additionally, a certain numbers of issues is given out for free to readers on a monthly bases. This also aims at increasing demand. The chart below reveals the patterns of free issues offered to potential readers as a promotional activity:Persuading readers to subscribe and keeping current subscribers are also areas of major concern for Cosmopolitan. At this moment, the magazine has some 1,200 subscribers. Cosmopolitan always has special offers for potential subscribers (they are either able to order a product through the magazine or buy it cheaper from the stores, they are offered extra gifts etc.). Readers do not seem to be very responsive to these initiatives, though . Yet, products advertised in Cosmopolitan are highly successful because of the powerfulness and persuasi veness the magazine emanates to its target consumers. PUBLIC RELATIONSIn accordance with other international glossy magazines, Cosmopolitan has organized a fashion show; on that occasion, it invited the TV stations, newspapers and numerous magazines in an attempt to get exposure in these specific channels. However, it is rather difficult for Cosmopolitan to get favorable reviews in other communication media, since all publications and audio-visual instruments are actually competing with each other for an ever-increasing number of consumers. Cosmopolitan is considering sponsoring some beauty and modeling contests next year; it has not done it so far because of the negative image attached to this type of events in Hungary. Unlike other companies such as Coca~Cola and ProcterGamble, Cosmopolitan has decided not to associate its name with these events yet. CONCLUSIONS An internationally famous glossy magazine, Cosmopolitan is a high-quality product with a clearly-defined brand image and a competitive pricing strategy. Its promotion mix is adequately tailored to persuade and maintain the loyalty of its customers. Our findings once again demonstrate that Cosmopolitan is a highly successful product with a well-defined target group and an increasing market share in Hungary as elsewhere in the world. APPENDIX:BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETINGTechnical details of the magazine:FREQUENCY: monthlyFORMAT: 205 * 276 mmPRINT TECHNIQUE: 4 color offsetPAPER QUALITY: 70 gr WC and 170 gr ARTTOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES: between 132 and 164 pagesCOVER PRICE: 395 HUFINTRODUCTION COVER PRICE (1st and 2nd issue): 350 HUFESTIMATE SOLD COPIES/ISSUE: 60,000ESTIMATED PRINTRUN/ISSUE: 75,000Advertising rates:SIZE FULL COLORCover IV HUF 800,000Cover II HUF 770,000Cover III HUF 715,0001/1 page HUF 550,0001/2 page HUF 350,000Discounts:2-3 pages 2%4-5 pages 4%6-8 pages 6%9-1 1 pages 8%12-17 pages 10%The above prices do not include 25%VAT. Information: Erasmus Press Kiadoi Kft. Advertising departmentAddress: 1134 Dosza Gyorgy ut 150Phone: 361 2703457Fax: 361 1403709LIST OF SOURCES1) INTERVIEW WITH MS. ENIKO HORVATH, MARKETING MANAGER OF COSMOPOLITAN HUNGARY 2) COSMOPOLITAN ISSUES: NOV. 1997 NOV. 19983) SANDOR ZSUZSANNA HOLGYVALASZ IN: 168 ORA 1998/94) MATESZ SUCCINCT PRESENTATION 19985) INTERNETBusiness Essays