Prints Role as an Experience Product

Print magazines, newspapers and books are what can be classified as an “experience good.” And by “good” we mean product, not the feeling, although most elicit good feelings. For magazines and newspapers especially, it may be helpful to not just look at content, but to better understand how readers experience your product.
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Magazines are longer life products and are also very personal. Newspapers are personal, but have an extremely short life, which has been part of their challenge in relating to the always-on, hyperactive world of today. Through understanding how consumers experience the product in their daily lives, newspapers and magazines can apply design thinking to further improving both content and the overall product.
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Magazines

For the most part a magazine is an intensely personal experience. While they can be a social product, that’s secondary to the intent of why a person buys a magazine. They are most likely not just looking at the content, though that’s critical, they are also thinking about when, where and how they want to experience the magazine.
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They may be about to spend time on a plane or train, commuting or otherwise. Perhaps to sit with a coffee or tea in a cafe and have some quiet time. By understanding how an audience will engage with your magazine, you can identify more relevant advertising partners or build relationships with various places to promote distribution of your publication. People read magazines to get their heads out of life for a moment.
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Newspapers

This is more challenging for newspapers, because it is a short life span for the most part. But newspapers are more shared in a short time space than magazines. Aside from a Sunday morning sit down with a plump weekend edition, newspapers have to fit within a short time span of a consumers daily life.
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Like magazines, newspapers too can seek more in-depth advertiser and distribution options. Tabloid formats do well for example, in a commuting environment such as trains and buses. Such a format is easier to handle in a crowded environment whereas broadsheet is harder. Newspapers have some unique opportunities ahead with the rise of Augmented Reality and leveraging the experience locations of their readers.
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Either way, looking at how your readers experience your publication can open up interesting new avenues of exploration for advertising revenue and audience development.