Marketing and all things related

Marketing Blurb used to love Life magazine. We loved the oversized format, the glossy pages and photo essays. We are old enough to remember when the majority of the content black and white (except for the advertising.) Our father appeared in Life magazine photos, and we knew one of their greatest photographers. But the magazine has died and been resuscitated so many times since then, we haven’t given Life much thought. But the latest update on Life magazine is not good news. First, Life is no longer a magazine, but a newspaper insert which competes with Parade and USA Weekend. Next, parent Time Incorporated is shedding magazines like there is no tomorrow (which in their case may be true.) The Life insert has no circulation revenue, and advertising pages are dramatically below their competitive inserts. So, word on the street has it that Time will pull the plug on the Life yet again—even before it reaches its two year anniversary as a newspaper insert. This will be a colossal pain for those newspapers which have contracted to insert Life for two to ten years out. Marketing Blurb believes Time Incorporated will kill Life yet again, but we will not shed a tear for death number umpteen. Who the heck is Rachel Ray on the cover, anyway?