As the transition process begins because the Y13 students are moving into the examination period in IB, I look to take over managerial and editor in chief positions in Ethos and Civilization respectively. This post outlines my philosophy behind the changes I want to make in the business side of both magazines. In this I must evaluate the state of both magazines as of now.
Quality of Content:
The content of the two magazines are similar in quality, but quality should not really matter in comparison since the magazines are appealing to two different markets, as the humanities group and the arts group are very distinct. While the content in Civilization is very serious and analytical, Ethos may be more creative and satirical. People look to Ethos for visual and artistic stimulation, whereas in Civilization, the content is argumentative and speaks of current and past affairs.
Design Process:
The design for Ethos is undoubtedly better than Civilization. It adopts a more simplistic and minimalistic style that appeals to many people, including me. I have yet to have seen the design for the print version of Civilization but the website design is not streamlined. Additionally, whereas Ethos covers a variety of media: images, text and art, Civilization only has articles. This means that a lot of the content on civilization may not be original, or they might be from the designers own stock, which detracts from the fact that it is supposed to be based on student submissions.
Distribution:
As Ethos is one issue ahead of civilization, it has more resources and money, so while Civilization is only printing ~30 copies, Ethos may be printing up to 50 copies. Additionally, Ethos has wider distribution because English is a required subject in all levels of West Island School, and while I may be wrong, humanities is only required in the early years. However, this disparity is marginal, and does not need to be accounted for when I am considering steps for change.
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These two magazines allow advertisers to access to a massive student and parent body in school, which has high spending power. I believe this will generate enough interest from tutoring agencies and other businesses geared towards students and / or international expatriates. This leads to my consideration of an advertisement revenue based model, and generating even more revenue through a pay-what-you-want pricing strategy. While we should have enough revenue from advertising to continue the operation of the magazine, the revenue from the pay-what-you-want scheme will be able to be reinvested into the magazine to expand for the next issue.
I will write up a full business model in the next week, allowing me to practice my skills in business management and also give the editor-in-chiefs right now confidence that it will lead to the expansion of each magazine.
Slice of Brain 