This is a copy of the letter that was inserted in with the WJS this past Saturday. Please give it a read and then we’ll follow with some analysis.
August 30, 2008
Dear Wall Street Journal Reader:
On Saturday, September 6, you will receive a new magazine from the Journal, appropriately called WSJ. – the masthead’s punctuation mirrors that of the newspaper, but the content of the magazine will highlight a
different side of our and your personalities.
WSJ. will blend the best of Journal writing with a design aesthetic that is quite unique. It will examine style with real substance, profiling individuals whose influence on fashion, collecting and philanthropy is profound, and assessing whether that influence is justified. We will not be suspending our critical faculties, and we will certainly be exercising our wit.
Whether it be an insight into the art market or an account of an international journey that goes far beyond the borders of the pedestrian, the Editor-in-Chief, Tina Gaudoin, and her team of Journal journalists will provide you with a magazine that is distinctive and distinguished. Look for WSJ. in your September 6 issue
of Weekend Edition. Once you’ve had a chance to read it, please send me
your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Robert Thomson
Managing Editor
The Wall Street Journal
Editor-in-Chief
Dow Jones & Company
r.thomson@dowjones.com
In super tiny print at the bottom of the letter head it read: “A second issue of WSJ. will appear in December 2008. WSJ. is available in select geographic markets to subscribers who receive Saturday delivery of The Wall Street Journal and on newsstands.”
On page A7 on the Saturday/Sunday issue there was a small 1.5″ high box two columns wide.
The copy read: WSJ. Magazine Preview: Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain’s pick for the Republican vice-president spot, talks about her workout and fitness routine. Go to WSJ.com/Lifestyle”. There’s also a square photo of what one would assume is Ms. Palin running along a lake.
While reading this letter over my morning coffee a series of machine gun thoughts began to ricochet around the kitchen:
1 – For those of you who didn’t already notice, this new publication is called WSJ. Not sure if that’s “WSJ period” or “WSJ dot” or “WSJ something else”. Shouldn’t that be clear?
2 – Why would the brand widely known as WSJ – even their web address is WSJ.com – start a new brand called WSJ.? What overpaid genius decided that the best way to establish a new brand is to begin with a cloud of instant confusion?
3 – “…but the content of the magazine will highlight a different side of our and your personalities.” LOL, so different that the name is different too, eh? By a dot/period.
4 – What exactly does “masthead’s punctuation mirrors that of the newspaper” mean? Why is Mr. Thomson speaking in publishing industry jargon? How is that going to help this communication?
5 – “We will not be suspending our critical faculties, and we will certainly be exercising our wit.” Joke #2? Or is interviewing the woman who could very well end up being one heartbeat away from being Commander-in-Chief about her workout and fitness routine considered to be “critical”?
6 – In the letter there’s no mention of an specific web site or sub-portal within the established WSJ site. We’re coming up on 2009 and they’re rolling out an information/entertainment source and don’t make any mention of web presence?
7 – Why the ultra small print? Why hide those details? Why not just say, “For more details please check out www.WJS.com/WJDdot”?
8 – While we certainly realize the WSJ is about as business as business gets, and that Mr. Thomson is an editor but can this letter get any more dull? If there’s something to be interested in and/or excited about – like Ms. Palin views on Iraq, the falling dollar, etc? – it’s not coming through in this copy. With a debut like this will the advertisers really care?
