the fink
Letters
to the Editor
Dear Fink,
I refer to your comment page last year
“Advertisers Beware”. I couldn’t agree with
your frustrations more. One thing I would like to
add to that comment is the fact that having an
ABC certificate also means absolutely ZERO.
You need to READ what the ABC certificate
says. I often get magazine reps throwing
their ABC logo at me, but once you request
the ABC certificate with all the findings on it
only then can you see the true audit results.
Having caught out a few by asking questions
pertaining to their ABC certificates, I now
cannot get the certificates out of them.
So I only ‘consider’ advertising in the one’s
that do, and have nothing to hide, and is
pertinent to my industry.
One case in point, my MD placed adverts at
a cost of R47 000-00 a shot in a VERY VERY
glossy well-known magazine that claimed
distribution to 10 000 subscribers – that was
before I was employed. However, when I took
over I requested the ABC stats - the post office
return rate of magazines was 43% - which
means 4 300 people returned the magazine
probably because they either do not exist, or
the address list is outdated.
More recently, I also caught out another
‘well-known’ magazine as I had over the years
requested copies to be sent to my colleagues
by post. I became puzzled when I only ever
received a ‘couriered’ copy delivered to my
front door, however nothing in my post box,
nothing in the post box of any of the other
colleagues who all work at different locations.
Then one month I didn’t place an ad, and I
got nothing. Turns out they only printed a
few copies and delivered them with a
song-and-dance to the doors of each
advertiser making them feel very
important receiving couriered
copies – smoke and mirrors to
distract you from what was really going on.
So beware when you are being bedazzled
by a gift and a couriered copy!
Thanks for a great magazine, not my
industry but I still enjoy reading it.
Kind regards
Yolanda de Lange
PORT ELIZABETH
Editor’s response:
Thanks Yolanda
And it’s even worse when it comes to digital claims. You won’t believe what
rubbish is being touted out there. The good news is that advertisers are
starting to wise up. And re the post office return rate, I must point out that
many of the returns emanate from the post office itself.
We post 13 500 magazines per month, and we receive on average about
200 returns per month, but when we investigate with the subscribers, a good
60 to 70% are not legitimate returns (the address is still correct and the
subscriber still wants the magazine) – it appears that the post office guys
just return for no real reason. But I agree that a 43% return rate is shocking.
And I have slowly but surely come to the realisation that the publishing
industry, whilst not rotten to the core, does have many bad apples.
Regards
| words in action
98
april 2014