Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to show how a reader panel is being used by the editorial teams of Family Circle and Living as part of a circulation building strategy. We begin by reviewing the background of declining circulations, new management, and new editors. We discuss why a reader-panel was needed and how it was set up. At a technical level, the panel is operating well, with good response levels. The second half of the paper discusses how the month-by-month data is used by the editors of the two magazines, by giving a series of varied examples. The panel acts as a "headlamp" and a "rear-view mirror".