Growing up in the 1960's & 70's, there was one magazine that we always subscribed to. And when I married in the 1980's, we would receive a subscription to "The Digest" as part of our Christmas from my parents.
I never thought much about it, a stack of Readers Digest on the back of the toilet was as natural as Kraft Mac & Cheese in the kitchen. (The kind you could get on sale for a dime or a quarter, with powdered cheese that you add your own milk and butter to.)
I don't have a subscription to Readers Digest anymore. I have my laptop where I can find a variety of articles that even Readers Digest can't match. As far as the bathroom, I have real books in there.
So, I hold myself (and others like me) responsible for the struggles that our old faithful friend the Readers Digest is going through.
Fortunately, the people running Readers Digest have a plan as explained in this story from Mediaweek:
Reader's Digest Revamps, Thinks Global
May 5, 2008
RD enters the next phase of dusting off its image.
The veteran print brand had updated its logo, fonts and column names with the January issue, when Jackie Leo was still editor. She was replaced after the parent company went private last year under CEO Mary Berner's leadership.
The pocket-sized magazine is still full of trademark uplifting stories. With the June issue, Peggy Northrop, who replaced Leo in November, is imparting more service and a global feel to the title that once bore the tagline "America in Your Pocket" (the new tagline is "Life Well Shared"). The idea is to drive home the attributes like heroes, community and inspiration that are core to the title's DNA but that haven't been strongly communicated to advertisers, executives said. "While being current, I want to get that word 'inspiring' on the cover with every single issue," said Northrop, who is credited with making Meredith Corp.'s More a big hit with over-40 women.
New service sections include The Digest, an aggregation of information from multiple news sources; how-to section 13 Things; and Quick Study, a four-page primer on a news subject. The June issue kicks off a series of surveys related to the presidential election, while a new regular feature, 4 Ways of Looking..., looks at everyday practices around the world.
"We need to realize how much we are part of a global community," Northrop said. In addition to running an international story in each issue, she plans to start picking up articles from RD's many overseas editions.
Along with the changes in the June issue, on stands May 20, the Web site will soft launch a new look May 5. The site will be organized around seven channels including humor, advice and health and feature daily content, video and more ways for readers to interact, via polls, and quizzes and cause-related challenges. Parlaying the changes into ad dollars remains a challenge. Through June, ad pages declined 14.1 percent to 475, per Mediaweek Monitor. Publisher Jeff Wellington said spending in food, toiletries, retail and auto is up this year, but not enough to offset a deep decline in pharma. The title's median age (52.7 per the fall MRI) also remains an issue, noted Bill Bell, group media strategy director, Lowe N.Y.: "Young moms are the ones who are making food and toiletries purchase decisions."
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