Mags need more than promotion
I write in response to Paul Simpson’s media comment, “Promotion is the key to failing football titles”, (MW May 14).
IPC has closed Goal magazine, however, this does not mark the end of the company’s adult soccer portfolio.
Long before FourFourTwo (a little matter of 24 years) a title called World Soccer was launched. The title has been in the IPC stable since 1990 and has the oldest age profile of any soccer title currently published in the UK.
It is also the most highly respected in its field, being essential reading for all major football associations and managing bodies.
The view that none of the existing titles has promoted continuously is inaccurate. From cover-mounted videos (Total Football and next month’s FourFourTwo) to Match of the Day’s 1 cover price, incentives to purchase are a con sistent and necessary part of the soccer publishing mix and are ultimately the reason why Goal was forced to close.
It is easy to incentivise purchase with trinkets and price offers; it is far harder to retain loyalty when the magazine is sold as a standalone product.
Keamus Setna
Advertisement manager
IPC Football Group
London SE1
