Fashion magazine plus kawaii freebie. This is the way how fashion magazines are sold nowadays in Japan. The feebies are getting better and something very nice with collaboration with well-known fashion brands.
Those who buy the fashion magazines can be more attracted by the freebie than the magazine itself. In that sense, we cannot deny that the sales of fashion magazines are up to the freebie: what freebie from which brand is offered by the fashion magazine.
There are actually people who buy 4 copies of the same fashion magazine because she wanted to have 4 freebie bags from the magazine. She is not reading the magazine any more, she buys the freebie. This makes us wonder which is the main, the fashion magazine or the freebie?
2 hours before the opening hour, at a book store in Tokyo, there are shop assistants combining the fashion magazines and the freebies with bands. In Japan, nowadays 50% of fashion magazines throw in kawaii tempting freebies. It’s not too much to say that the likability rating of the freebies could affect the sales of the fashion magazines. It’s not surprising that the sales go up by 150% just because of the freebie from popular brand.
Sweet, the best selling fashion magazine in Japan was the starter. Watanaba-san, the chief editor of Sweet magazine has increased its sales from 200,000 copies in 2007 to 700,000 copies in 2009, thanks to the freebie strategy.
“We call it ‘brand item’ instead of ‘freebie’ as it’s part of our content.” according to the Sweet magazine. They once thought that “brand item” made it impossible for potential customers to browse their magazine because it had to be tied with strings not to be away from the magazine. They worried that the sales might drop when their customers could not even take a casual look at what they might want to purchase. But the result was opposite. Without freebies, the sales of the magazine dropped badly. Since this experience, they decided to offer “brand item” at every issue of their magazine. Actually in Japan, freebie and magazine has been a long-term combination. It’s nothing new.
Freebie is not only good for the magazine. It’s also a great chance for the brand to prompote their image. That’s why even subtle things, patterns, colors, etc. need to be discussed very well before decided. It’s possible for the brand to appeal to the layer of people who they have not targeted, only when the magazine targets them. For example, Anna Sui is a brand of which the main target is late teens to 20s, while subscribers of Sweet magazine include a bit more aged people. This means Anna Sui, by collaborating with Sweet, makes it possible to reach out the people in their 30s and they possibly get to like Anna Sui in the future from this freebie as a start.
How is the price of the magazine that comes with freebie? Sweet magazine changes prices according to the quality and brand of the freebie, and there is a maximum of 160 yen difference between the cheapest and the most expensive. They take a long time to decide what the most understandable and best-buy price is for their subscribers very seriously every time.
There are also fashion catalogue plus freebie combinations available from such brands as cher or Marc by Marc Jacobs.
Mr.Kurita, a professor of sociology to Musashi university, has been analyzing fashion magazines for 30 years and he found out behavioral patterns of young people from them. “Fashion magazines reflect society. Japanese fashion magazines = Japanese society. Fashion magazines tell us live and honest opinions or desires of people.” says Mr. Kurita.
He questions some way of sayings used in specific fashion magazines, and Beni-chan and Mr. Ikki answers them. “Puri-tsu”, as abbreviation of “Princess tsukin (=commuting)”, means dressing office-based Hime way at their works. “BQB coordination” refers to “Bon Q Bon” (this is a sort of slang that expresses ample busts, small waist, and again big hips.). “Nikoichi” means 2 girls wearing the same-looking clothes.
There’s a unique modeling office that issues local fashion magazine titled “PINDOM“. The chief editor is 17 years old high school girl and she is also a model to the magazine. Actually all the models of the magazine take part in the creation of the magazine. Their age is from 16 to 23.
The most selling fashion magazines in China are Japanese ones.
From the best selling to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, they are all Japanese fashion magazines that are translated into Chinese. Japanese fashion magazine publishers and Chinese local publishers cooperated each other. This Japanese fashion magazine boom gave birth to “mini Shibuya” at a department store in Shanghai where 110 stores are Japanese brands.
“Our customers like to read Japanese fashion magazines, and they come here to buy what they saw on the magazines.”
Bishojo zukan is a free magazine that was started in Niigata, Japan. It gathers beautiful Japanese girls of local areas, and so, it’s available at 46 prefectures except Tokyo.
There is actually another factor besides freebie that changes how well the magazine sells. It’s cover design of the magazine. When Sweet magazine changed its cover design 2 years ago, its sales increased dramatically. The point is, to locate the logo or the title of the magazine, a face of the cover girl, what’s inside as a freebie, and price within 12cm from the top.
In this way, the magazine will stand out from various other magazines.
Kirin’s opinion:
I have noticed most of the fashion magazines these days are available with kawaii bag or something as a freebie. I feel like buying some magazines because I am attracted by cute and nice freebies, but when I saw many girls have the same freebie bag of Marc Jacobs’ or cher’s, I just lost interests. When everyone has it, why should I have it, too? I want something else. Maybe it’s good if I can modify it as I like. :p
How the fashion magazines are in your country? Do they also try to attract us with kawaii freebies like here in Japan?
Posted by: kirin on 
Jan 7th, 2010 | 
Filed under: Fashion, Tokyo Kawaii TV
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