November Newsletter

November has been the most active month in the trading history of Eight Point Distribution. We have attended the Bell Awards in Sydney and congratulations to all the winners in each category - see end of newsletter.

November is also "Movember" and a lot of my mates are growing a moustache to support research into prostate cancer. Recently a friend was diagnosed with prostate cancer and has endured major surgery to remove the tumor - we think of him constantly and wish him well (you know who you are!). Here is a photo of Eugene Varricchio - 3 weeks into Movember!

Warning: Please do not show this photo to your children it may cause them to have bad dreams!

Recently Graham Jowett and Michelle LaForest of Harlequin Enterprises wore their pajamas to work to raise funds for charity in August. Another picture for all to view is attached - "Looking good Michelle!"

Now for work:
We have secured expansion into New Caledonia with our new partner NMCP - (thank you and welcome Marie Claire). We have again expanded our range in the UAE through the tireless efforts of Maissa and Karl at Levant International and Andrew NG at Jashanmal.

In South Africa both Butch and Luisa continue to grow the outlet base for the Australian exported titles, with the recent highlight being the opening of distribution into new Spar Supermarkets in this market. This is evident of MCS' innovative approach to our portfolio and the brands that we represent. Erol at DIP (and his team) continue to find new opportunities in Japan and we are excited about the forthcoming plans for Japanese Fashion Week. Adrian's efforts with Eslite in Taiwan have also allowed 8Pt to expand the range of Mills & Boon novels and ACP brands, coupled with testing of Australian Classic Car, Collecting Bears & Dolls, DMAG, Insight, Jeep Action, Performance Ford, Post Modern Ink, Recipes +, Tarmac, Ultrafit, Way2Go and Your Investment Property .

Kerrie in the UK has developed and assisted in the expansion into Borders for The Australian Women's Weekly, Australian Gourmet Traveller and Ralph. As always, the team at Asia Books in Thailand have focused on outlet by outlet marketing in this region and both Pichit and Nisana continue to allow 8Pt to test and grow our portfolio of titles. Thailand offers great opportunity to grow sales in holiday locations and at Suvarnabhum Airport in Bangkok.
We have focused particular attention on special issues of both Dolly and Harper's BAZAAR that we were delighted to be able to provide with cover mounts. These issues were supported by posters, premium positioning in stores and banners. See the great photo of the banner in Periplus in Bali (thanks Ezra).

Our marketing ideas have been strongly supported by Richard and his team (Jaime and Patrick) at Allscript Establishment in Singapore and Malaysia as well as Doreen and her team (Toey Mei) at Carkit. Shonee (as always) continues to grow the expansion of our portfolio through the Bookazine outlets in Hong Kong. Ezra has been working hard to promote the Women's Lifestyle range from ACP in Indonesia with a special focus on Bali.

In Fiji (Bula Rakesh & Ashreen) we have exciting plans about to unfold in the forthcoming Australian Christmas school holidays. Our friends from SpeedImpex in both Canada and the US continue to drive the sales of Australian magazines through both the chain stores and independents. The attached photo shows our partners at a recent dinner attended by me and my Dad.

Our friends at SASS have expanded their country base in Europe to develop both Harper's BAZAAR and Acclaim, Street Lifestyle Magazine. In a major coup, Francesca has also launched Contact, AIR LAND SEA into the US for our friend Brian Hartigan. Alberto continues to grow his portfolio in Brazil and "even though it is a few years away" we are starting to think about both the World Cup and the Olympics! Eugenio and his team (Grace and Frank) are forging forward and the September launch of the three ACP weekly titles (OK! Weekly, NW and Woman's Day) into Canada has proven to be a great success.

To add to our export portfolio we welcome Bound, Published by LOTL, Jaguar Magazine, Rugby League Player, Art Monthly Australia, Art & Australia and Jeep Action. We thank Silke, Les, Gil, Maurice, Marni and Michael for their support and confidence in using 8Pt for their overseas sales and marketing needs.

Here's to an exciting December and New Year.
Cheers
Andrew

PS you may notice that there is no "Marketing News" section this month - our entire newsletter content focuses on our marketing activities...

Title update

This month sees a summary of the exciting marketing initiatives we have executed on a selection of titles.

Harper's BAZAAR - December '09

10 issues per year - A$7.95

The December issue of Harper's BAZAAR was supported by ACP with a Mascara tip-on. To add value 8pt produced marketing collaterals to drive awareness in store. Promotions were secured in

• Brazil - Euromag
• Canada - SpeedImpex
• Dubai - Jashanmal Distribution Company
• France - NEW MARKET LAUNCH - S.A.S.S.
• Hong Kong - Far East Media
• Indonesia - PT Java Books
• Italy - S.A.S.S.
• Malaysia - Allscript Establishment
• Singapore - CARKIT Far East
• South Africa - MCS Caxton
• Taiwan - Multi-Arts
• Thailand - Asia Books
• United States - SpeedImpex

 

Dolly - November '09

10 issues per year - A$5.70

The November issue of Dolly was supported by ACP with a Fedora Sunhat and Sunglasses tip-on. To add value 8pt produced marketing collaterals to drive awareness in store. Promotions were secured in:

• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Indonesia
• Hong Kong
• Thailand
• Fiji
• South Africa

 

The Australian Women's Weekly - December '09

12 issues per year - A$6.80

The December issue of The Australian Women's Weekly is always the flag ship issue for this major iconic brand. To support strong sales opportunities 8Pt has secured a range of ACP Mini Cookbooks which will be supported with the issue using our promotional tool "Free Gift Inside" bags.

We have very excited about this promotion. We look forward to strong sales in all territories, especially those listed below utilizing the marketing collateral -

• Singapore
• Mauritius
• Malaysia
• Indonesia
• Hong Kong
• Thailand
• Fiji

 

Additionally in Bali PT Java Books are working on a promotion with us - Buy Australian Women's Weekly PLUS a weekly title and receive a free mini-cookbook.

 

 

 

 

 

Bound - December '09 - Volume 1#1

12 issues per year - A$7.95

Eight Point is proud to be the launch partner of Bound, published by LOTL. We congratulate Silke and her team on producing a great first issue and to Butch and Luisa for their support in launching the magazine in South Africa. We anticipate strong sales for this new magazine and please feel free to contact Andrew for more updated information. The publishing schedule for the next five issues is listed below:

1. Jan 10 - On sale in Australia on December 10th
2. Feb - On sale Jan 14th
3. Mar - On sale Feb 11th
4. Apr - On sale Mar 11th
5. May - On sale Apr 8th

Final Distripress comments

To all our friends who attended Distripress, I trust you arrived home safely and have settled back into work. We thought it pertinent to summarise below the key successes and innovation that has transpired out of this annual networking conference:

1. We have secured the launch of Contact, AIR LAND SEA and Post Modern Ink into the United States through Francesca's hard work.
2. We have expanded our portfolio to include DMAG, FHM, Good Health, Motor, Real Living and Street Machine into Dubai through Andrew NG's focus and commitment and agreed with Maissa and Karl's from Levant.
3. We have expanded Harper's BAZAAR through Europe with Stefano and Piero's tireless efforts.
4. Shonee has confirmed additional marketing plans in Hong Kong through the Bookazine outlets, especially for DMAG, Woman's Day, NW, OK! Weekly, Grazia and The Australian Women's Weekly.
5. Ezra has identified and launched sales and marketing plans, over and above those initially discussed in October, to accommodate the thousands of Aussies who will travel to Bali in December for their holidays.
6. Richard and his team have secured promotional space in Borders in Malaysia and we have utilized this area to promote both Harper's BAZAAR and Dolly this month.
7. Doreen and Andy undertook the same plan in Borders in Singapore for the two above promoted brands.
8. Karl and Andrew have agreed terms to test a range of titles in the emerging Indian market - details in our December newsletter along with the launch portfolio!

"More stands to promote Mills & Boon"

During Andrew's visit to Singapore in August it was agreed to roll out the expansion of an additional 30 display stands to promote the Mills & Boon Series range in Malaysia. We are pleased to announce that 15 have been manufactured and are in store. The header card is shown. The remaining stands will be launched in the new year with dedicated outlet penetration through this market.

ACP title list review and forthcoming plans

We have some exciting plans for the ACP portfolio stretching into Christmas and early 2010. In alphabetical order we thought it best to list each title by frequency and highlight the forthcoming activity that is either close to execution or is currently "on the drawing board"!

1. ADB December will be bagged as a 2-4-1 in selected markets to identify new sales opportunities.
2. Australian House & Garden will be promoted in Dubai airport in a major title campaign. Further expansion will include cross promotion with Real Living and belle.
3. The Australian Women's Weekly has been bagged with a free mini Cookbook in Fiji, Thailand, Mauritius, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia this month. The campaign will kick off again with the January 2010 issue in both Singapore and Malaysia.
4. belle will be promoted through US airports and newsstands in New York city.
5. CLEO and Cosmopolitan - We are hoping to secure future GWP promotions with our partner ACP. Additionally the Cosmopolitan spin-off publishing schedule has been announced and will be writing to you under separate cover to identify marketing plans to cross reference with the monthly title. The first to hit the shelves is Cosmopolitan Pregnancy, the Summer 2010 issue which was despatched this month.
6. We will continue to supply specific point of sale materials for all promoted issues of Dolly .
7. FHM and Ralph will be promoted jointly in Dubai airport.
8. We are planning a big promotion in the US and Canada for Australian Gourmet Traveller after notification of the demise of the US title Gourmet.
9. Grazia, NW, OK! Weekly and Woman's Day will have dedicated in store positioning in Hong Kong to capture tourist numbers over Christmas - specifically the Bookazine outlets.
10. We anticipate a Motoring Category promotion to encompass all the brands exported by 8Pt into Asia.
11. The three "shopping" titles - Shop 'til you Drop, Shop Girl and Shop 4 Kids will be promoted as a bundle throughout the Asian and Pacific regions.
12. Wheels December comes with a free 2010 calendar for all readers.

Eight Point Independent Title review

Puzzler Media continues to trial in the US. The two titles are: Puzzler Logic Problems and Puzzler Collection. Sales are steady through Thailand and plans are in place for expansion into the Pacific Islands.

Lovatt's Publications has also been actively marketed to all our partners over the past three months and we are excited to announce that we will be undertaking a full sales and marketing plan for the forthcoming Australian holidays in Asia with both Puzzle portfolios.

Acclaim, Street Lifestyle Magazine - We have successfully launched and now distributed our second issue (#18) and we thank Frank in Canada, Francesca in the US, Patrick at Allscript, Nisana, Shonee, Ezra and Stefano for identifying current and future sales opportunities for this great title. 8Pt also manage the domestic clothing store distribution for this title and sales are strong.

Art & Australia is due "any day now" and we anticipate strong sales in the Asian region.

Australian Classic Car and Way2Go are selling well and we met the Publisher Charles Blackburn at the recent Australia Post "Survival of the Fastest" forum last week and promised a push for both titles.

Collecting Bears and Dolls is selling well in the US and Canada and also has a following in Kuwait.

As mentioned, Contact AIR LAND & SEA has "cracked" the US market recently and maintains strong sales in Singapore and Canada.

DMAG continues to strive forward and sales in Singapore and Malaysia are strong with additional distribution gained in Dubai and South Africa. Congratulations to DMAG on their category win at the 2009 Bell Awards (details below).

We have initial orders for Insight and Art Monthly Australia, Jaguar Magazine, Jeep Action and King Brown and we look forward to their distribution launches in December and the new year.

Our friends at Tappoo have finished the 13 week trial with Newsweek and based on the success have decided to continue distributing the brand. This is great news for Newsweek and great news for 8Pt.

Oxygen and Ultrafit have secured additional orders in the region and we look forward to promoting the titles within the health and beauty category in 2010.

Performance Ford and Performance Holden were launched in late October/early November and will become part of our motoring category promotion in 2010.

Again as mentioned, Post Modern Ink has also cracked the US market and additionally we have a 10 copy order for Culture + Shop + Gallery in QLD Australia, thanks Carmen.

Recipes + is performing well and sales are strong with expansion planned in the UK and South Africa - Cheers Chris F.

Issue #6 of Tarmac is about to be distributed and we thank Dean for his commitment throughout 2009 and look forward to growing sales over the next twelve months.

Sales for Wild Deer & Hunting Adventures continue to grow in the US market and Daniel has supported 8Pt throughout the 2009 calendar year - thanks mate.

Your Investment Property is now "3 issues old" with Eight Point and we have penciled in plans to launch into Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We thank Danielle for placing her trust in 8Pt.

Domestic distribution

We are proud to announce that we have distributed our first issues of the high quality titles published by Architecture Media and the Indesign Group to the specialty stores here in Australia.

Architecture Media publish Architecture Australia, Landscape Architecture Australia, Artichoke and Houses. Indesign, DQ and Habitus are published by the Indesign Group. We thank Jacinta and Adele for their support of 8Pt and look forward to growing the outlet base for these prestigious titles.

Additionally we are excited to announce the following titles to our portfolio: ArtForum, Art News New Zealand and the Interweave portfolio of titles namely American Artist.

We have distribution into over eighty specialist outlets including some dozen clothing stores for Acclaim, Street Lifestyle Magazine (thanks for your support Andrew M).

We are doing some research for Graham at Art Guide Australia and continue to promote Sculpture + the enemies for Katherine.

Bell Awards - 2009

We are proud to convey our congratulations to all the winners at the recent Bell Awards held here in Sydney through Publishers Australia. Stefano Scuibba and I attended the luncheon on November 13th and congratulations to Alan Sarkissian and his team for throwing a great party!
The winners were:

Graphic Designer of the Year - Kelley Sheenan, Peppermint Magazine

Business-to-business magazine of the year - Sarah Bowing (Editor), Professional Beauty, The Intermedia Group

Consumer Magazine of the year - Kylie Ahern (Publisher), Cosmos, Luna Media

Custom Magazine of the Year - Shane Mitchell & Larry Bloch, Nett, He Said She Said Communications

Best Digital Only Publication of the Year - Nick Ross (Publisher), The Overclocker, Sproog Media

Best Magazine Launch - John Borger (General Manager), The Week, Dennis Publishing

Best Magazine Re-launch - Gwen O'Toole (Editor), Spice Magazine, The Intermedia Group

Best Small Publisher - Kylie Ahern (Publisher), Cosmos, Luna Media

Best Annual Printed Publication - Alan Kirk, UDIA National Awards for Excellence 2009, The Magazine Publishing Co.

Best Print + Digital Media Integration - Andy Jackson, FourFourTwo, Haymarket Media

Editor of the Year - Brett Winterford & Nat Cochrane, iTnews, Haymarket Media

Journalist of the Year - Zoe Lyon, Lawyers Weekly, LexisNexis Media

New Journalist of the Year - Paul Rodger (Writing/Sub Editor), Open Road & Australian Business Auto, NRMA Publishing Ltd

Best Analytical Writing - Wilson da Silva, Cosmos, Luna Media

Best Integrated Media Advertisement/Campaign - Dorothy Tonkin (Publisher & Editor), DMAG, SmartyPantz Communications

Best Digital Engagement Strategy - Wilson da Silva (Editor), Cosmos, Luna Media

Most Successful Subscriptions Campaign - Kerry Buckley (Marketing Acquisitions Manager), Road Rider's Cruiser & Trike, Universal Magazines

Best Designer - Business-to-business - Loni Parker, The Magazine Publishing Co.

Best Designer - Consumer - Kelley Sheenan, Peppermint Magazine

Best Designers - Custom - Peter Sewell (Creative Director), Open Road, NRMA Publishing Ltd

Best Magazine Cover - Craig Hodges, Georgina Armour, Private Word, Edge Custom Media

Innovation in Distribution - Nick Ross (Publisher), Burlesque Magazine, Sproog Media

Best Sustainability Program for Publishing - Kelley Sheenan, Peppermint Magazine