Rebranding Feat: Reader's Digest Considering Name Change
In publishing, naming magazines, articles and columns is an art in itself. My mentor is a master copyeditor from newspapers and she is a natural at that kind of thing. I love the challenge of writing headlines, cover blurbs and call-outs that say a lot in few words.
The New York Times recently reported that Reader's Digest Assn.'s chief executive officer Mary Berner is considering changing the name of the corporation to encompass everything that her company has become. RDA doesn't just publish magazines, it has a huge direct marketing arm too,"claiming data on 100 million American consumers," and it is forging full force into multimedia platform ventures including a newly signed deal with a megachurch in California, according to FolioMag.com.
Changing this company's 86-year-old name and re-branding the company will be a challenging feat and if it isn't done right, could go badly. Branding is a hot topic in publishing these days as media companies struggle to establish their identities across new media platforms. One of my favorite books on branding is The Culting of Brands: When Customers Become True Believers by Douglas Atkin. In it Atkins draws parallels between religion and consumerism, beliefs and buying instincts, and says that companies' best bets for profitable branding is to create cult-like following.
So after reading Atkin's book, I'm not sure RDA should mess too much with a good thing, after all they have the largest consumer magazine circulation in the U.S., and there may be a big risk in alienating readers already fiercely loyal to their brand.
But just for fun, all you clever OS writers, what are your suggestions for Ms. Berner?
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Dr. Ayala
SVCinNYC
Tim4change
Bernadine Spitzsnogel
Trudge164
Catherine Forsythe
Salon.com
Comments
So, redline that word and just call it The Digest.
Also works better with convergence of text, video, audio, and interactive content on their web site(s).
No, probably not sexy enough.
I agree with everyone here. Reader's Digest isn't supposed to be sexy. That's crazy talk.
You made me laugh and I think it's a great re-name.
Somehow changing the name would make it difficult for me to identify with the brand.
The second point, is that they are not located in Pleasantville, NY but rather Chappaqua, NY, the same town as the Clintons live in. That seemed like an ongoing kind of deception to me. The company was in the process of selling the large Chappaqua campus where "Reader's Digest" has been for decades, and for all I know they may have already sold it and moved.
I'm surprised they would change such a well known name as the "Reader's Digest." I suppose they could change to a magazine featuring stories and pics of supermodels and call it "Looker's Digest."
Have some fun. It looks like that is what you are going to do. Good luck.
the brand just screams old people magazine
I used to read it and love it, especially for the short snippets and vocabulary quiz, but it seems to have taken a pretty right-ward, faux news sort of slant the last few times I've picked one up. I'm not sure they know who their audience is OR
they have found it in the mega-church deal
and want to more reliably be associated with this part of the culture.
I don't mean to sound so negative, but it's sort of got that Oprah/the Notebook kind of feel to it these days
maybe they just need a new tag line
smaltzy shit in quick bites
New names that would fit its current editorial direction:
The Magazine For People Who Look Like You and Think Like You
We Value Families Just Like Ours, The Rest Are No Good
In seriousness, Verbal Remedy's idea is the most workable one for them. Or maybe they could spice it up a little, with a version that reflects the paternalistic authoritarianism that pervades the mag, e.g. call it Digest This
The little magazines were in a red basket in front of the toilet, below the tissue. They were pretty handy.
That bathroom is where I learned to smoke. My cousin and I would sneak a Moore from our Nanny's little leather cigarette pouch and puff away under the fan vent.
Those were the days.
Cinnamon potpourri and cigarette smoke is still one of my strongest and favorite memory scents.
I don't think they should change the name. I like my red bathroom image just the way it is.
OLD People
The PBS Companion
The word "reader" is no longer fashionable because there are about 50% fewer readers now than there were 10 years ago, and there will be 50% fewer readers next year.
So how about Non-Readers Digest? Or Skimmer's Digest? Or Looker's Digest?