Perceptions of print

[Western Scottish]

"As an aside, "balanced" content is different things to different people and depending on what market you are after may not be a good thing. If I am a steam modeller then I may not be interested in balance if that balance means diesels then I may not want balanced content (modelling techniques that are era/prototype irrelevant are different)."Red Death

 

I think this is why mags that concentate on Continental railways are in a particular difficult position. I may be interested in German or Swiss railways but not French, Portugese , African or USA railways which means that large parts of the mag are of limited interest. Again this highlights one of the major plusses of RMWeb, you simply home in on the subjects of interest to you.

[Kenton]

 

It seems to me that it is the 'perceiver' who perpetuates these views and causes frustration if he ignores information that clearly contradicts and requires him to modify his perceived view, e.g 'Magazine X is all modern image', 'But the last three issues have been mainly steam'.

 

Anyway let's calm down please and not get diverted from the main subject.

But Mod6 isn't this the whole basis of Andy's OP request?

 

We all have our own reasons for selecting one magazine over another and much of those are based on our experiences reading those magazines and our perception of the content of other magazines. Not purchasing one mag because we believe its content covers techniques beyond our capabilities or is too basic and repetitive is not really any different from not purchasing a magazine because it doesn't cover my scale or region of interest. Too steam or too diesel orientated, too narrow gauge, too much outdoor railways, too much prototype, too much RTR, we could all probably pick and chose on one or other of these. If all the magazines covered everything then they still probably would not please everyone and if their style pleased everyone they would all be the same.

 

It is, perhaps, because we have so many to chose from that we can be fussy and be able to make such perceptions. Perhaps the magazines need to play to these perceptions of the readers as a whole and not try to please everyone. If the general view of MR is that it is focused more on later eras then perhaps they need to concentrate on keeping that perception alive to cater for those who buy it just for that same reason.

[The Stationmaster]

We all have our own reasons for selecting one magazine over another and much of those are based on our experiences reading those magazines and our perception of the content of other magazines. Not purchasing one mag because we believe its content covers techniques beyond our capabilities or is too basic and repetitive is not really any different from not purchasing a magazine because it doesn't cover my scale or region of interest. Too steam or too diesel orientated, too narrow gauge, too much outdoor railways, too much prototype, too much RTR, we could all probably pick and chose on one or other of these. If all the magazines covered everything then they still probably would not please everyone and if their style pleased everyone they would all be the same.

 

I didn't intend to comment on what others had written as I didn't think it's what Andy is looking for but this post by Kenton leads to what I think is an important factor overall - don't get lost in perceptions of the era etc you think a magazine might cover, that's not just what they are about. I also think the big message with some of the magazines is don't judge the thrust of its content on a single issue but take it as a whole over a period - unless of course you are so single minded determined as to stick with one period or one company or one colour scheme or whatever.

 

Look at MI and the spread of eras and traction mix in that then look at it (and the print magazines) from a slightly different viewpoint and consider the consistency of application and what you might learn from it - 100ton RTCs are right out of my era but that article contains ideas & info about techniques that I can apply to earlier designs of tank car. I know MI's not a print magazine as such but what I'm coming back to is that the era and steam vs diesel or whatever angle isn't necessarily what might count for many readers - it's what they might come across which is of modelling interest or use. That sort of consistency comes in MRJ and, in different ways, it comes in the 'style' and editorial approach of several of the others - whatever the railway subject

[dibber25]

 

Sorry, but that sort of attitude is commercial suicide! As I said, Chris doesn't have to agree with someone's perceptions/views but if they are ignored or told they are wrong etc then there is a risk that perceptions will never be changed/corrected (if indeed they are wrong).

 

As an aside, "balanced" content is different things to different people and depending on what market you are after may not be a good thing. If I am a steam modeller then I may not be interested in balance if that balance means diesels then I may not want balanced content (modelling techniques that are era/prototype irrelevant are different).

 

Sorry, but the statement that 'Model Rail is for post-steam era modellers' implies that the content is entirely modern image and that is not correct. If the post had said that 'Model Rail can't teach those who date from the steam era anything new' then that is a different matter. The content isn't 'post steam era' but the readers may very well be (in the main) 'post steam era' - that is, born after about 1960 and too young to remember steam. The current issue has a 'T9' and a Midland Compound on the cover, Compound and 3F reviews and three steam era layouts, yet just because Model Rail began as a supplement in RAIL magazine, the myth that it is a 'modern image' magazine lives on, 15 years after we changed it. That's why I'm frustrated by perceptions. Not commercial suicide, just the question "what do we have to do to convince people?"

CHRIS LEIGH

[edcayton]

Chris, I can understand your frustration, but surely your efforts would be better spent on looking at WHY red death (and he's not alone) has this perception rather than shouting at him, when he is merely responding to Andy's OP, which actually asks for "perceptions".

 

Ed

[Kenton]

 

That's why I'm frustrated by perceptions. Not commercial suicide, just the question "what do we have to do to convince people?"

CHRIS LEIGH

An issue devoted to pre-grouping steam - sorry Chis I'm being silly.

 

You HAVE to do nothing. You will upset your existing readership by changing. Especially if you are making significant changes just to please those with the supposed mis-guided perception. Those with that perception no matter where it originates are going to be very difficult to convince and even then may have other reasons for not selecting MR off the shelf more to do with loyalties (maybe misplaced) to other magazines.

 

Railway Modelling covers a very wide variety of choices. We are lucky to have a choice of so many magazines in the UK that cover nearly every aspect of this plus RMWeb which does cover every aspect and a few esoteric ones in Wheeltappers as well. I do believe that they do need to differentiate themselves from each other and if that is based on perception so be it. You win some, you lose some. :shrug:My point

[Beacon]

I had the odd copy of various magazines in the early to mid 90s as I was starting to become interested in the hobby (mainly BRM and Model Railway Enthusiast, occasionally RM).

 

When Model Rail came along it was exactly what I had been missing! It appealed to me as a young and inexperienced modeller in its step-by-step and take nothing for granted approach as well as covering more modern topics regularly and I bought every issue for a good few years. I subscribed for a while as this was given to me as a Christmas present. I found then that not every issue was appealing to me so when it expired went back to browsing in Smiths first. I have just set up a new subscription again mainly due to a good offer on cost which is a significant factor at the moment as is the convenience of delivery when life is so busy! I agree with many of the comments already expressed about it currently - good reviews, great photography, interesting range of themes/topics/layouts featured with plenty of modern image but a broad range of eras too, the bad points probably the paper quality and the overemphasis on pushing its own products at times. Still the best modelling magazine available all-round.

 

My second choice tends to be Rail Express (Modeller) as it always has a modern image focus and I enjoy the prototype magazine too although not every month. Again the photography is good and the paper quality excellent. Sadly the modelling content is often minimal and I think there is much more scope for a magazine that balances prototype and model much better.

 

After that I tend to go for Hornby magazine which has a good quality feel and a modern fresh look and style. Generally it focuses on an era that is not of great interest to me so I'd only pick it up if there are several general articles that appeal as well as a layout focus that attracts my attention. The same can be said for Railway Modeller although I get that even less as it does seem old-fashioned and the reviews are poor. It used to be helpful for the adverts before the internet became so commonly used so now that seems less of a positive.

 

I never buy BRM any more as I find there to be very little of interest to me and I certainly won't buy anything without being able to flick through it first, regardless of what's on the cover. I'd agree that the threads on here can be helpful though to see if the odd issue might be worth getting. I haven't ever bought the Journal either as to me it seems overly text-based and I prefer something that I can flick through easily after a long day at work rather than something I feel like I'd need to 'study'. This is all based on perception though, never having actually bought or read it!

 

- Just to add in light of the conversation going on - I originally found Model Rail to cover more (but not exclusively) modern image hence my initial interest and then my interest dropped off as I found this declined for a while and became more steam focussed. I have to say now that I generally find it has picked up again and is quite balanced but the key thing being that whether or not the theme of a layout appeals to me I find Model Rail to be the best at picking out gerenal points, tips etc. that would be useful or interesting to anyone so I'd say keep focussing on that and not worrying too much about other perceptions.

[Andy Y]

This is all based on perception though, never having actually bought or read it!

 

Which brings this back around to the topic title neatly; peoples' perceptions are what largely drive their buying habits at the point of sale and there has to be some motivator for people to buy against their perception.

 

So; moving the topic along if peoples' perceptions don't match with reality what can a mag do to change that perception? Obviously there are promotions or inducements which may result in an impulse decision but are there other ways to do it?

[edcayton]

I'm not at all sure that there are. You couldn't do much more that BRM with the shows they organise, and the generous deals they offer to new subscribers, but I don't subscribe and am not really tempted to. I'd have thought that the "themed" approach would work but it didn't for MRM.

I can't really see a place in the market for another "general" modelling mag. MRJ seems to work and is held in high esteem even by those like me who don't reach the standards it seems to stand for (which, to me, is "built rather than bought" and to fine scale standards),

 

Ed

[Welly]

I just had a thought - some may think Railway = Steam, Rail = Diesel / Electric just because of British Railways shortening to British Rail in the 1960s?

 

Not suggesting a change of title, Chris, but perhaps that's why some perceive Model Rail to be mainly diesel / electric? I know for a fact that Model Rail is NOT mainly modern trains - the S&D issue is one that I will keep!

[Brinkly]

So; moving the topic along if peoples' perceptions don't match with reality what can a mag do to change that perception? Obviously there are promotions or inducements which may result in an impulse decision but are there other ways to do it?

 

I would suggest that a really good website, all singing and dancing with examples of the types of articles that the magazine produces might be a way of getting new readers to actually purchase the publication. That way you don't have to part with your hard earned money if what is on offer isn't for you. And if it is, you could then go and buy the mag.

 

The only other way would be to go for a complete relaunch, but I certainly don't think that is needed. After all it has been proved that it is easier to sell a product with a know name, rather than a completely new one. This was one of the reasons why Skoda remain Skoda and not being swallowed up into VW when they were bought out. The Skoda name was already established in the market place and was simply re-branded.

 

Regards,

 

Nick.

[coachmann]

I can't really see a place in the market for another "general" modelling mag.

I can and its right under our noses!

[The Stationmaster]

So; moving the topic along if peoples' perceptions don't match with reality what can a mag do to change that perception? Obviously there are promotions or inducements which may result in an impulse decision but are there other ways to do it?

That is always assuming that it suits the mag to change that perception of course - and presumably in this day & age that will largely be about sales & readership numbers? As far as attracting totally new readers is concerned it must be about standing out on the newsagent's shelf - attractive cover, colour and all that sort of thing which lurks under the heading 'design'.

 

 

I think the only answer is that you have to look at the magazine to be attracted in the first place and perhaps find out more about it on the 'net - and you can't force anybody to do that. But I reckon the really critical stage comes when the impulse buyer has got his first copy in his hands and starts to read it - that is when the real impression will be made on him/her and that is when the modeller will, or won't commit to that title.

 

And attracting the modeller, especially weaning one away from another title is - I think - a different thing and how on earth do you get through to those who don't look at your ads or even the 'latest issue' items that appear here regularly? For example how many people know Model Rail's slogan 'Every scale, every era, every four weeks', and even more importantly how many are likely to be attracted by it? In contrast Hornby Magazine has carved itself a niche in the marketplace quite brilliantly by a different approach - deciding what it was going to concentrate on and then doing it consistently. O.K so each month's cover and list of contents give the clue (pretty clearly usually) but that's always within a fairly consistent theme model/era-wise with a clearly targetted readership; buy the mag and you know what to expect, and that shows in its circulation figures. Maybe that sort of consistency is the answer?

[bmthtrains - David]

So; moving the topic along if peoples' perceptions don't match with reality what can a mag do to change that perception?

 

Its purely down to the cover. Its the same in the book industry. The old adage of 'never judge a book by its cover' is completely wrong - people DO judge a book by its cover, as they do with magazines - but by cover I also mean the style and typeface, not just the image.

 

Model Rail I think is perceived as a 'modern magazine' rather than a modern image mag, as it has a very up to date modern style, logo and layout. Hornby Mag cleverly goes for a middle ground, while BRM, RM and MRJ all go for a more 'traditional' style. If a magazine wants to change its perceptions to match its content, it has to look at its style. Model Rail looks modern, so you associate it with modern image modelling. If it wanted to change that perception (there's actually been a lack of modern layouts in my mind recently, rather than an overflow!) to better reflect its content, it could go for a softer, simpler cover style, and drop the bold fonts. Why it would do this when its circulation is doing so well is another matter, but sticking simply to the theoretical discussion, changing the design of the cover is the best way to do this, forget all the competitions, open days, events etc. In reality, I think Model Rail actually gets its style just right - it appeals to its market and definitely reflects the contents effectively.

 

People pick up a magazine because they feel its look and brand matches their tastes, and they buy it because they like what they see inside. Driven naturally by advertising, almost all magazines make a terrible mistake - they neglect their first few pages and usually fill them with adverts. With a book, a reader likes the jacket, turns it over and reads the back, and then reads the first few lines on the first page, which is why editors will wrangle the first paragraph until the author is sick of it. Magazines could learn a lot by adopting the same focus.

 

Get a style that matches your target audience, and grab the reader with a 'hook' on the first few pages.

 

David

[tractionman]

Interesting stuff - I've downsized my mag-buying massively recently for cost reasons - and just last week had a major weed on my back issues of RM, Model Rail, BRM, and Hornby Magazine, that had been accumulating in piles on the floor of the spare room - soon to be changed into my daughter's bedroom, hence the clear-out...

 

What survived the big clear out? All my back issues of RM and Model Rail - why, because they contain many useful articles that I wish to refer to in the future, particularly the 'how to do it' type articles that Model Rail excels in, and the layout features that are such a staple of RM - the others I binned (recycled), somewhat depressingly when I calculated how much my monthly mag-buying was costing me!

 

Model Rail I continue to buy every month, not least because I like their reviews and also their practical features, which I have found really useful in developing my modelling over the past year or so. I like the D&E modelling content, though I don't see it as a "Modern Image" (yuk) mag.

 

RM I buy every months for its layout features and its generally fairly humble approach - it comes across as a grown-up magazine! I grew up with it too - as a young modeller in the late '70s and early '80s - and it covers a range of scales, and periods, of modelling, which I like to see (no just mainstream stuff).

 

Generally I steer away from BRM and Hornby Mag because they contain too much prototype content for a modelling magazine - if I want that I buy BRILL or refer to my pile of Traction issues... also preserved intact.

 

I also read RMWeb religiously too!

 

cheers,

 

Keith

[Beacon]

I think that changing a perception is very difficult to do! In some ways, the easy option is probably to work with it rather than against it as long as you can make a good business from that. I know Hornby Magazine was a new publication but it seems to have carved out a niche quite well as mentioned above. There are clearly enough people who like that to buy it and others might occasionally too (like me). I suppose that isn't very forward-thinking or likely to enlarge your market share though!

[westerner]

I hate to say this Chris but changing a readers perceptions (or prejudices) will be really difficult. A friend of mine who is a subscriber to Model Rail always says it has too many diesel articles in, even after I've pointed out that several issues are almost entirely devoted to steam, he agrees with me but if the next issue has a couple of diesel layouts in, he'll be off again.

 

You may wonder why he is a subscriber, I think there must have been a good subscriber offer.

[coachmann]

I dont think you can change people's perceptions once a product has created that perception. For starters, how is a magazine to make contact with its lost readers if they don't pick it up? And if it does change course to attract new readers, how many old readers wlll it lose in the process?

 

Folk who say people are wrong in their perception of Model Rail, or any other magazine for that matter, might care to consider what causes people to buy the Daily Mail, the Sun or the Mirror? Perception? The old saying of 'if it aint broke dont mend it' must apply to Model Rail, so why worry if it is enjoys high volume sales.

[Coombe Barton]

Whatever we think or say here all the magazines we've collectively mentioned must sell otherwise they'd already be out of business. What we have here are the collected views of a specialist community (one that likes model railways and the web).

 

But Andy asked for perceptions of this community - but given that the mags already have a market do they need to change?

[Edwin_m]

I agree with the general sentiment that the magazines have their own sectors of the market, and presumably they each have enough readers to survive. Attempting to move into a different market sector risks losing some of that readership - there's a well known marketing maxim that I can't remember, about how much easier it is to lose existing customers than to attract new ones (sellers of financial services please note!). Perhaps the problems only start if one of them starts getting greedy?

 

Another reason Model Rail is perceived as D+E era may be that it is was originally a spin-off from and still looks similar to Rail magazine, which concentrates exclusively on the current prototype scene. Or at least that's my own perception, as I never read Rail magazine...

[Brinkly]

The old saying of 'if it aint broke dont mend it' must apply to Model Rail, so why worry if it is enjoys high volume sales.

 

What's the current circulation of Model Rail? A few years ago it was around the 36,000 issues per month mark if memory serves me. Because whatever was being written then must have been working, perhaps that's an area to look at? Which year/s sold the most and why, what articles where being printed.

 

Regards,

 

Nick

[John B]

Late to this discussion, so I'll start with answering the OP:

 

I subscribe to:

 

MRJ - like some others, I have a full collection (started buying it every issue from around issue 25, IIRC) - it continues to inspire and innovate, there's much more "how to" than "look at" types of article, although I do agree with Rod and others' comments that the photography aspect could be ripe for a revamp;

 

Model Railroader - it's not the magazine it was when I started subscribing, but still (IMO) has the right balance for those of us interested in the US scene. The one downside is that any non-US prototype models featured (and I'll use the LMS-pastiche travesty that's in the new edition of Great Model Railroads 2012 as an example, it's nothing like great) tend to be bloomin' awful;

 

Loco Revue - Editor Yann Baude has, in my opinion, got this magazine spot on. Great photography, incisive reviews, lots of "how-to" stuff. Yes, it's in French, but it's still very readable. Extra bonus points recently for featuring a superb GWR branch line through station in P4, modelled by a Dutch chap, inspired by Vincent de Bode, naturellement.. ;

 

Occasional news stand purchases:

 

Model Rail is my most frequently-found and purchased over here. IMO it's the best of the "Mainstream" UK magazines. Great balance of articles, excellent photography, plenty of practical stuff. I would be most likely to add this to my subscriptions;

 

Hornby Magazine - falls into the "occasional" purchase category. Not so keen on the photography (IMO they tend towards overdoing the photoshoppery, to the extent of changing the character of some layouts completely) and some of the articles feel a lot like fillers to me - especially those penned by Evan Green Hughes, and the impractical and improbable track plans "designed" by Anthony New;

 

Railway Modeller - it's better now than it was 8-9 years ago (when I left the UK) - a reflection of Steve Flint's hand on the tiller, I feel. I'll buy it if there's articles of interest..;

 

Continental Modeller - see above comments (replace Steve Flint with Andrew Rayner);

 

BRM - can't really comment on this in the past 5-6 years as it never makes it to Barnes & Noble. I discontinued my overseas subs as a result of missing issues and patchy service back then, and also what I felt was a deteriorating level of content standard.

 

I do miss Morill, and Backtrack / MBT.

[Guest dilbert]

Pinching a theme from another thread, maybe the publishers of the regular monthly mags should do a serious risk assessment on what their market aspirations are ?

 

If they want to continue to fight for the common ground on magazine shelves, then they'll still be in a commodity war, similar to that of the mobile phone market (which is basically saturated in most European countries).

 

On the other hand, there are currently at least two generations of Internet users (and more on the way) - the numbers of PC/Tablets etc... owners/users and the speeds of Internet access will increase and the multi-media nature of this technology lends itself to this hobby - video-on-demand, collaborative exchange of ideas etc... which is poles apart from the printed magazine approach of centralising information and then pushing out product on a monthly basis and also using the Internet has a primary front for garnering potential new readers and subscriptions.

 

Those of you who have teenage children and/or grandchildren will have seen how they flock to the latest craze via social networking sites etc... Whether you like it or not, some of these kids in fifteen years or so will be in roles where their decisions will influence the way people work, communicate etc... some of them will also be in the hobby as well... dilbert

 

PS I'm glad I'll be retired by then.

[beast66606]

I buy MRJ without fail, to be honest I'm not sure why but I do, and have done since very early on, I own the complete set.

 

My interests are in signalling and prototypical operation and all (including MRJ) the magazines fall well short on these subjects so I no longer bother with them, I've seen too many layouts which are described as "exquisite" or "evocative" or ... which are as accurately signalled/operated as Big Brother* is popular so I have little to interest me.

I'm happy to be on here and share my knowledge and learn from others experiences and read about others layouts, kit builds, conversions etc, etc. I'm afraid the magazines don't cut it any more (FOR ME)

 

 

*Other boring TV shows are available.

[Edwin_m]

I've just noticed and downloaded MI2 for later perusal. I don't yet know what layout it is or whether the mist is Photoshopped, but I have to say the front cover photo knocks spots off any print magazine cover I remember seeing!