When the magazine is the premium: Amex card division taps magazines

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Jan 1, 1992 by Susan Hovey

American Express Travel Related Services Inc. is offering free copies of Food & Wine and Travel & Leisure, both published by Amex's magazine division, in an effort to encourage charge card holders to purchase restaurant gift certificates.

With the purchase of four "Be My Guest" certificates (each with a minimum value of $25), card holders are eligible to receive six free issues of either magazine or to give them as gifts. The promotion, which began November 1 and runs through January 15, also extends current subscriptions for six months.

Amex's cardmember services arm says it is purchasing the mini-subs from the magazines. But the publishing unit's circulation director, Ken Gordon, says he is still considering whether and how to include the copies on publisher's statements filed with the Audit Bureau of Circulations. (Food & Wine has a rate base of 800,000; Travel & Leisure's is 1.1 million.)

"It does present some interesting auditing questions," notes ABC spokesman Ray Chalmers, adding that the offer would most likely fall under ABC's premium rules. That being the case, in order for Amex to count the copies as paid circulation, it would have to collect at least half the basic price (either subscriptions or single-copy) plus the full value of the certificates--which, for the purposes of ABC, would be viewed as premiums. Given their $100 value, such a scenario seems unlikely.

"This is not part of our new business or renewal strategy," says Gordon, noting that the program is being driven by the card promotion side and not the publishing arm. "They were looking for an incentive of high perceived value to stimulate sales of the certificates."

The "Be My Guest" program is now in its 26th year. This is the firt time, however, that the offer has used a magazine tie-in. "The early indication is that card members are ordering the certificates in multiples of four," comments Lynn Green, manager, Gold Card marketing member services. "We will certainly use this as a barometer to determine just how successful magazine tie-ins might be in encouraging multiple purchases."