The Economist must attract readers in smaller markets

Marketwatch media columnist Jon Friedman writes Friday that for The Economist to continue growing in the United States, it must find readers in markets other than New York, San Francisco and Washington.

Friedman wrote, “Rossi frets that a big challenge for the Economist is getting prospective readers to shake off suspicions that it is a wonky periodical that’s more of a homework assignment than a day at the beach.

“While the Economist tailors its city-by-city marketing in the U.S. to the tastes of each market — it had a tie-in with Chicago’s Second City comedy troupe, for instance — Rossi and his troops invariably hammer home the same general point.

“‘The common thread in terms of the execution of the campaign is to think differently about us,’ Rossi told me in an interview last week.

“Anyone who has read the magazine could back up that assertion. Although I view Time and Newsweek (not to mention U.S. News & World Report and the Week) as sophisticated and worthwhile in their own right, the Economist is the smartest weekly magazine around.”

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