His media experience has also subsequently included working in the golf, tennis, travel and medical markets and in B2B media where he has demonstrated consistent ability to serve different audiences and to make money doing it.
Premier's explosive growth and innovative approach to content delivery resulted in Peter being named to
2009's Folio Forty, an honor bestowed on the media industry's most accomplished and successful innovators.
Interview
Q: Your career is impressive. Did you have a mentor at an early age that helped you acquire your business savvy?
A: The Wall Street Journal (before Murdoch acquired it) was a place where great journalism was practiced. It helped me learn to be "reader first" and reader centric in all things. I was taught at an early age how content and readers do, and should, interact.
Many publishers today are advertising centric, where advertisers subtly (and not so subtly) guide editorial content. At The Wall Street Journal this was never practiced, nor tolerated. If you are going to build an audience you need to provide content that is straight up and isn't marginalized by commercial influence. If you understand this and the benefit of multiple distribution channels, the readers will come to, and stay with, you.
Q: Why did you start a publishing company for the musical instrument market considering your very diverse business background?
A: First is my life-long love of music. I was a drummer and played in bands when I was younger like a lot of people. Second, guitarists are tremendously passionate about what they do. I haven't seen another industry where the readers we serve demonstrate such interest, knowledge, passion and enthusiasm, which is to say there is a large and engaged reader market to serve, most of whom were not, and are not, reading guitar magazines.
I did a lot of research and had many conversations with people in the industry about their interests and needs. I soon realized many manufacturers just didn't have the large budgets for wide scale advertising at the inflated rates that print centric media companies were/are charging. If we could offer a large and engaged reading audience at reasonable prices everyone would benefit, so that is what we did. If you look at our multimedia rates, they are very affordable. In challenging economic times, the largest audience coupled with the lowest rates seems to be a model that provides real value for budget challenged manufacturers.
Q: PremierGuitar.Com is extremely popular and your Premier Guitar's magazine print circulation is growing too. What factors do you think contribute to the company's success?
A: Quality and reader centric content is where it all starts. Having freely accessible content also allows the readers to decide how, when, and where to consume the information. You charge accordingly for the delivery mechanism they prefer whether it's online, print, a digital magazine, iPhone, smart phone or video. It costs money to cut down trees but if people prefer it that way then we can serve them. Our magazines are fully available online for free and this, paradoxically to some, has actually increased our print subscription and single copy print sales.
Another key aspect of our business is relentless customer support. So many businesses have just completely abandoned customer listening and customer service, but for us it's a major commitment. We have no more than a 24 hour turnaround for anyone with a problem. I personally take calls like the rest of our staff and whether a reader or an advertiser has a problem we are committed to fixing the problem and doing it promptly. Real customer service is a very viral force these days. Ever call an airline; a utility; or a credit card company? They just don't give a damn. Even if we were a regulated monopoly, we wouldn't ever behave like one.
Q: How does the process work of choosing the right content for your readers?
A: It is part art; part science; and all about quality editors. Our entire editorial staff is made up of accomplished musicians. They mirror, for the most part, the demographics of our audience. The "art" lies in our editors who have really great instincts about what people want. We have a saying, "no dead guys on the cover" ... might help single copy sales but retreaded artist content just isn't very high on reader's "want" list so we don't do it.
The "science" involves constant research. We have reader panels, focus groups, surveys, and stay in constant contact with our readers. The alchemy is in mixing the "art" and the "science" until we "get it right". The readers are the only judges that matter and they vote continually with their time, attention, money and eyeballs.
Q: You have a very large amount of content including interviews, videos, reviews and even podcasts about all kinds of subjects. How do you create so much content and not overwhelm your staff?
A: I know it sounds provincial, but operating in Iowa is a big part of our success. The work ethic of Iowans is incredible. Our people are highly educated (the Iowa Basic Skills Test is still American education's gold standard) and they work very hard. The school systems all the way through college are some of the best in the country.
People in the Midwest also seem more inclined to live by traditional values that work well in all aspects of life. The work ethic in Iowan's DNA consistently blows me away. It's almost like slackers and entitled brats are turned away at the borders. We are employee owned, which also has a huge impact on productivity; effort; and just plain giving a damn. We're certainly well organized, but not hierarchical. We all answer phones, clean the galley, and work hard. Further, we have comparatively low operating costs, which allows us to keep prices down. Our customers don't have to pay for us having expensive overhead, nor do we waste money and paper by flooding news stands with copies that don't sell.
Q: Your YouTube channel is very popular with musicians and receives over 7 million views a year. Was a YouTube strategy part of your plan from the beginning?
A: Yes. Digital delivery through various platforms was always part of our strategy. I could never understand having a guitar magazine and not offering sight and sound. We invest a lot of money in video production. We have HD cameras and have a very capable, dedicated video editor. Joe Coffey, our Editorial Director and former TV anchor, was and is leading us into even more cutting edge video publishing.
Q: It's a bit ironic that an industry focused on something as social as the creation of music has a tough time creating winning internet marketing strategies. Why is that?
A: I think one of the biggest problems is the retail structure. If you look at most industries they have a classic two step distribution and much of that process depends on the quality and business capabilities of the retailer. A lot of retailers got into this business because they love music and musical instruments - not because of their marketing skills. This is a problem and the credit crunch currently limiting retailers is another big part of the problem and inhibits retailers from being more aggressive.
There are many exceptions, of course, but many manufacturers don't give high marks to many retailers when it comes to promotion, marketing, etc. And of course on the other end, some manufacturers abuse retailers and under invest in their own marketing. It's often an unproductive situation that inhibits industry growth and more aggressive and effective marketing.
Moving forward it will be interesting to see whether or not some manufacturers start to test "direct to consumer" business models; company stores; and/or other developments that may be tried to serve considerable and unserved consumer demand. If you look at the dealers that run aggressive instructional programs, that are part of their communities and know how to use digital marketing, they get the job done really well. But, unfortunately, manufacturers will tell you there are not enough of these "best of breed" operators.
Big box retailers have their place to be sure but the bigger they get, the less control manufacturers seem to feel they have over margin and profitability. It's a tough situation for manufacturers and for big chain retailers alike and is an issue that requires some "win, win" thinking by all involved.
This industry must also address the mindless cutting of music curriculums in schools. We need to pay more attention to music education. If we don't encourage and educate our children about the joys and benefits of music, it will surely adversely impact the growth of our industry. Guitar Hero has brought many kids into music and motivated them to play. The trick lies in converting these kids into lifelong enthusiasts that play real instruments.
Q: What advice do you have for people who want to embrace digital marketing but are unsure where to start?
A: Find external help because real expertise won't often exist within your company, or your people will be too busy doing traditional marketing. If you want to be an effective digital marketer, engage people that understand it. Advances in digital marketing move so fast we, too, sometimes have a hard time keeping up so we regularly outsource coding. If you don't get expert counsel, it's like saying you are not feeling well and then operating on yourself.
If you are not building an opt-in electronic customer database you are missing a huge channel for promotion, sales and customer retention. If your website isn't updated regularly and doesn't contain really useful content, it's going to hurt you competitively. People judge your company these days, in part, by your website. We are not "entering" the age of digital marketing we are "in" the age of digital marketing. Most consumers research products online and then buy either in a store or online. Your website is your "pre-store" and/or your shopping cart.
Q: Do you have any final thoughts?
Today, there are many communication platforms. The trick is to be available on all platforms that musicians frequent. One must have multiple platforms and get the reader where they are, not force them to go where you are and, importantly, cross promote these platforms correctly. Today, too many media companies look at editorial content as a way to attract and separate advertising at rates that are, frankly, usurious and based on declining print audiences sustained by discount sub offers and/or by flooding the single copy channels. That model is, in my opinion, finished. Content is king and technology is the crown prince. 60% of our annual expenses are invested in content and technology. Today readers have proliferating choices, with multiple information sources, so you must have valuable content (not promotional swill) available wherever your readers are. If not, you are a promotional forum, not a media company!
This is the most viral industry I have ever seen. If you are good at what you do you will be rewarded both in terms of audience size and engagement, but also in terms of manufacturer trust and investment.
It is ironic since so many music enthusiasts are very early "gadget" adopters and very tech savvy. That said, in most industries what is supposed to be a "stampede" to digital is more like a "migration". Someone from the MIT Media Labs said, "With new technologies, readers lead; media follows; and marketers trail far behind." That is the way it has been in our industry, with a few but very notable exceptions. Lately, however, there is an acceleration toward multimedia vs. print centric marketing. The readers are already consuming information and promotion digitally and the marketers are now slowly starting to shift gears to catch up to reach their customers and prospects where they are. The familiar is easy; change is difficult and often scary since many marketers are only now learning how to take advantage of the benefits of digital marketing ... lower costs, measurability, combined brand building and direct marketing presence; and superior ROIs. The shift to multimedia is, in my respectful opinion, inevitable.
Peter F. Sprague
Managing Director
Premier Media Holdings, LLC
Three Research Center
Marion, IA 52302
