JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS, Volume 10, Number 4, 2010 24 CUSTOM MAGAZINES: WHERE DIGITAL PAGE-TURN EDITIONS FAIL* Jos M.C. Schijns, Open University, Heerlen, the Netherlands Edith G. Smit, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands ABSTRACT Threatened by the rise in paper, printing and postage costs, online custom magazines rejoice an increased interest. They are seen as a more efficient, but equivalent alternative to offline custom magazines. Most digital custom magazines, however, contain an electronic replica of the print version. Our study explores the question of whether online page-turn custom magazines are an equivalent alternative to offline custom magazines. Based on our survey results we conclude that custom magazines have a bright future online. Replicas of the print version, however, are not the future of the industry since the facsimile copy of the print edition in a digital page-turn format does not stand up to print. Paper still ‘feels’ good and holds a much stronger position, compared to online magazines, in terms of reach and average reading time. Another benefit of offline custom magazines is that customers in general, and women in particular, prefer offline, since it offers them something tangible and physical they can hold and engage with. In sum, there is still place for print content in the digital age and before we move to jettison the magazine, let us fully understand what it is we are possibly throwing away. Keywords: Custom Magazine, Customer Loyalty, digital/online/virtual/electronic page-turn replica of the print magazine 1. INTRODUCTION Due to rising costs and shrinking marketing budgets, especially during an economic downturn, direct marketers will continue shifting their budgets from traditional, offline media toward more efficient online media. Custom magazines have not been isolated from this shift. As a result, online custom magazines rejoice an increased interest. They are seen as a more efficient, but equivalent alternative to offline custom magazines. While the effectiveness of offline custom magazines has been empirically shown (e.g. APA, 2005; Mintel, 2006; Schijns, 2008; Sveriges Uppdragspublicister, 2009), the effectiveness of online custom magazines, has hardly been supported empirically. In other words: although shifting marketing communication budgets toward online communication, or even replacing offline custom magazines by a digital alternative, is seen as more efficient, it certainly bares the risk that marketers reject the good with the bad. In our research, we compare the performance of offline custom magazines and their online page-turn replicas. There are several reasons for this focus. First, momentarily most of the online custom magazines are nothing more than a non-interactive electronic replica of the print magazine. Second, the few digital custom magazines that contain rich media mostly do not have a printed version, excluding a comparison between the two. The third reason for this focus is a practical one. The database we used for selecting respondents contained customers of companies, which sponsored a virtual page-turning format next to a print edition. Companies sponsoring rich media custom magazines were not included in the database. In the Netherlands, the country of focus in this study, only two companies were identified as sponsoring rich media custom magazines, being: KLM (iFly) and Bol.com (Bomvol). Both issued a digital custom magazine only. And, at the end of 2009, Bol.com ended its magazine Bomvol leaving iFly the only real interactive custom magazine. Central question we aim to answer is: “Are online page-turn custom magazines an equivalent alternative to offline custom magazines?”