Behind Bloomberg's ambitions with BusinessWeek

Katie Benner of Fortune writes about why Bloomberg is so interested in turning around the performance of BusinessWeek and changing its content.

Benner writes, “Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who started the eponymous company in 1983 and still own two thirds of its stock, has told people that he wants to make the magazine into the American version of the Economist. In doing so, the company would also introduce the Bloomberg brand to millions of people who have never heard of its terminals and don’t knowingly read its wire copy.

“Bloomberg Businesweek is brand new, so it’s impossible to declare whether or not it will rival the Economist, a profitable newsweekly with a significant subscriber base and devoted, elite following. But as a marketing tool the magazine will have an immediate impact on Bloomberg as a company and institution.

“‘The acquisition of Businessweek gives Bloomberg a promotional and advertising platform, as well as a branding tool,’ says Peter Appert, a media analyst at Piper Jaffray. ‘Bloomberg isn’t a household name. By putting the word Bloomberg on the cover what you have really is a marketing investment, and that is effective immediately.’

“The magazine’s 4.5 million readers were a big draw for Bloomberg. That’s 4.5 million more impressions of Bloomberg as a brand name provider of business content. Its own Bloomberg Markets print title is distributed to only its roughly 300,000 terminal users. And while 80 million people may read Bloomberg wire copy, most read it syndicated in newspapers worldwide.”

Read more here.