Magazine Publishers of America
Rodale Harvests a Bumper Crop of Fruitful Ideas from Within Its Ranks
MPA REPORTS By Tony Case
When Rodale CEO Steven Pleshette Murphy sent out an e-mail back in January— challenging all his employees, from assistants to top-ranking executives, to submit their ideas for making the producer of health and wellness media even more competitive—he expected to get a few good proposals. What he did not expect was that he would be literally swamped with bright ideas: 766 of them, in fact, from 224 employees of the 900-person company, ranging from concepts for new magazines and books to online and video products to suggestions for licensed merchandise.
Already a standard bearer when it comes to smart magazine extensions (its Men’s Health gave way to the super-successful spinoff Women’s Health and editor in chief David Zinczenko’s best-selling book series Eat This, Not That, as well as other sidelines), Rodale remains on the hunt for ways to leverage its powerful media brands. As Murphy puts it: “We’re in a recession, but that does not mean it’s time to sit back and hold off on ideas—quite the opposite.”
This initiative, by all accounts, has been near and dear to Murphy, who in recent years has guided Rodale through the most profitable and most expansive period in its 80-year history and who, on July 30, announced he was stepping down to take on other pursuits. Assuming the role of CEO will be Maria Rodale, the company’s chairman and the granddaughter of its founder (J.I. Rodale.), as well as editor in chief of the health and wellness news site Rodale.com.
A team of staffers from across all parts of the company, from Rodale’s home base in Emmaus, Pa., as well as its New York City offices, was assembled to select the best of the ideas submitted to Murphy. On July 28, the finalists were unveiled in a room packed with the 45 staffers whose ideas were chosen—over an all-organic lunch, naturally—at the company’s Pennsylvania headquarters. On the menu: meats (roast beef, chicken), veggies (new potatoes, green salad) and a fresh-baked selection of desserts, all straight from the famous Rodale farm, laid out on a generous buffet. One Rodale staffer pointed out that one of the perks of working at the company was that employees never go wanting for a delicious, organic meal: and from lamb to just-baked apple pie, you never know what you're going to get at these working lunches, but you always know it's going to be something special.
Among the winning ideas that can be revealed at this early date: an iPhone application and “tiered subscriptions” featuring premium online content, both of which are expected to roll out before the end of this year or early next year.
The iPhone app will be a spinoff of the wildly successful book series Eat This, Not That (more than 3.5 million copies sold to date), which compares the nutritional content of national packaged-foods brands and menu items from leading restaurant chains. (Here’s one that caught our eye: the Grilled Cajun Lime Tilapia from Applebee’s has one-fourth the calories and nearly one-eighth the fat content of the eatery’s Fiesta Lime Chicken. Thanks for the tip!) Here’s how the ETNT app will work: When a user selects a healthy food option from a database of ETNT content, the app then calls upon iPhone’s GPS function to present him/her with a list of relevant restaurants or stores in the immediate area. Not only will the user get directions via Google Maps but he/she also may even receive coupons for discounted ETNT products and Men’s Health subscriptions. As the company sees it, the genius of this product is that it builds upon existing content as well as a proven hit franchise, and also gives Rodale a platform to promote forthcoming ETNT extensions. The idea was already underway, but also was presented by Gregg Obst, who, naturally enough, is an apps developer at Rodale.
Meantime, another finalist, the tiered subscription idea, will have each of Rodale’s magazine brands—which, besides Men’s Health and Women’s Health, include Prevention, Organic Gardening, Runner’s World and Bicycling—offering, with each paid sub, a range of premium online content emphasizing service and personalization. As the company pointed out in its presentation to employees of the winning idea: “No one has cracked the code on charging for online content, but it’s clearly the direction our industry is heading. Creating tiered subscription levels, and pairing premium content with discounts and other offers, [presents] opportunities to generate revenue while offering value to our most engaged customers.” A number of employees suggested a similar approach, including Chris Lambiase, VP/Publisher, Running and Cycling, and Steve Madden, VP of Rodale International , Todd Leiser, VP, Database Marketing, Sean Nolan, VP, Online Operations and External Marketing, and WH Copy Editor Meg Ryan.
Of the hundreds of ideas presented to Murphy and then vetted by his team, a majority of proposals (23 percent) involved online projects, followed by book ideas (20 percent) and cost-savings suggestions (17 percent). And the philosophy “content is king” apparently is top of mind with Rodale employees, as nearly half of all ideas were related to content.
Of course, the iPhone app and tiered subscriptions are only the beginning, with other proposed extensions—content-based and otherwise—also in development. But don’t let the wholesome, family-run company that was at the forefront of America’s organic-farming and pro-environment movements fool you: while it may seem laid back, it’s clear that no moss is about to grow under its feet. As Murphy put it in his initial e-mail, inviting employees to share their ideas: “As always, creativity and innovation are key. But so, too, is speed to market, and we should be introducing these many offerings with as much alacrity as possible.”
The CEO added that last year, Rodale achieved “strong results in tough times, and I know we will continue to do what we do best: bring as many great new products to as many people as possible.”
