Very, very few Japanese publishers think of their books and magazines as “products” in the usual sense. As a result, they spend all of their time/energy on what to publish and none on how to sell it. They publish, but they do not market.

Seeking to break out of this rut, Takarajimasha has recently started marketing its publications as products. This has entailed two noteworthy initiatives:

One is our pricing. For most monthly magazines, the publisher sets the price based upon how much it costs to publish and how big the print run is -- and the magazine costs basically the same every month. When we realized that this pricing model is supply-driven, we changed it to try to price each issue in terms of what we think readers will think it is worth. Which means the cover price varies from issue to issue.

The other is promotion. Magazine promotions have traditionally been aimed at readers -- buyers. We changed this to add a focus on bookstores. For example, we invite the people who work at the bookstores to tour our printing plant, we arrange one-day outings including a chance to talk with the editor, and we have developed other ways to get the bookstore people to identify with the magazine.

These initiatives are both well off Japanese publishing’s beaten path, but they have contributed to improving our sales figures. And they are proof positive of how very important it is to break with industry traditions and lead, instead of always playing follow the leader.

Sakurada Keiko (Takarajimasha)