If you look in your mailbox this week, dear subscribers, you’re in for a big surprise. It’s Marketing but not as you’ve seen it before. 

 

What’s new

Design: Marketing in print has been re-designed from the ground up to play to the strengths of the physical reading experience. With art direction by Keely Atkins, the new-look magazine looks nice, feels nice and even smells nice.

Content: The content has been pushed and pulled to arrive at, I hope, a great mix of long and short-form pieces and snackable bits. There are still the features, interviews, columnists and case studies you expect, plus now there are also contributions from our Content Partners, who’ll be having even more value to add through collaborations for our Marketing Advantage members (preregistration for which is still open for a little while).

Themes: Each issue, and online while that issue is current, we’ll be running themes. They’re deliberately vague, yet provide some focus. For example, the first theme is ‘Connect’. Inside the magazine and online during February and March, you’ll find topics from the internet of things, marketing automation, brands with connection at their heart, marketers who’ve connected people, businesses and countries… and so on. Basically, any way you can interpret the theme word in a marketing context is fair game. (If you’ve got a unique interpretation of the theme, send me an email: peter.roper at niche.com.au.)

 

The Connect Issue

February-March is all about connection. With cover design by Tribal’s Mark Seabridge, The Connect Issue delves into a lot of different things. Here’s a list:

• Feature: How the internet of things is going to disrupt your marketing world. (Plus an infographic with a cartoon cow but a serious message.)
• Interview: One-on-one with Philip Kotler – he challenges upstarts to go ahead and mess with the four Ps!
• Marketer profile: Nick Baker – the exit interview.
• Brand story: How Telstra found its one direction.
• Feature: A feast of screens as emerging media and mobility collide.
• Case studies: The world’s first robot lobbyist; VB reconnects with ex-loyalists; STA makes domestic travel cool; and, Optus fights off sharks.
• Columns: Sergio Brodsky joins Karl Treacher, Steve Sammartino, Christine Khor and Con Stavros as a regular.
• Michael Valos: kicks off a new series with a cracking piece on turning CMOs into CEOs.
• Content partners: Their first contributions throw up some fascinating deviations on ‘Connect’.
• Brain Trust: What’s the future of customer connection?

 

Question: I’m not subscribed but can I get The Connect Issue?

Answer: Maybe. Give our friendly subscriptions department a call to subscribe (freecall in Australia 1800 804 160) and ask them nicely if there are any copies left. I’ll tell them to expect your call. Otherwise, a limited number will be available in selected newsagents, and you can always get the digital version from Zinio, Apple’s iTunes Store or Google Play.

 

Take a look inside the new Marketing magazine