Fashion magazine market potential

The Client
Leading international magazine publishing company

The Challenge
The market for women’s fashion magazines in Europe has become increasingly competitive, crowded, and differentiated. The client sought to:

• understand the effectiveness of recent format changes in a flagship monthly fashion magazine;
• pinpoint their product’s appropriate price level; and
• determine potential for the publication based on increasing consumer awareness.

The challenge for MASMI Research was to define a testing approach that would clearly identify customers’ understanding of the this magazine despite competitors’ strong and better-established brand presence.

The Solution
MASMI proposed a three-step survey approach for 300 respondents, beginning with a shop imitation test, followed by a usage and awareness test, framed by several chip games in which respondents expressed preferences for products in question as they gained greater knowledge of the contents and appearance of the tested publication relative to competitors’ products.

The Business Result
Client received:

• Specific price point perceived by consumers as appropriate for this publication;
• Detailed information about readers’ likes and dislikes regarding content and format;
• Information about consumers reading competitors’ publications who could be attracted away to the client publication;
• Confirmation that new magazine format was success in terms of consumer comments and predicted purchasing preferences.