Custom Publishing Review: Fidelity Mag Redesign (An Update)

Getting better all the time

The new, redesigned Fidelity magazine (dated May 2007) just arrived in my mail. In an earlier article (Fidelity Magazine: Could Be Great), I noted four areas in which the magazine could be improved:

  1. Customer focus. I suggested that putting customer-focused content (not pitching Fidelity products) first would result in deeper engagement with the brand, and ultimately greater receptiveness to Fidelity messages.
  2. Human face. The magazine could improve in personalizing Fidelity face by increasing the editor’s profile.
  3. Performance data. Dense mutual fund performance tables seem to be an anachronism, considering that readers can view up-to-the-minute performance data on the Web.
  4. Diversity. The magazine lacks ethnic and gender diversity in representing its stakeholders.

On points 1 and, the magazine has improved, but only slightly.

Instead of starting with a president’s letter on cover 2, the magazine now starts with a note from the editor and reader letters. (The president’s letter appears on the last page next to cover 3.)

After the TOC, the magazine jumps right back into Fidelity-focused content with Fidelity news, and then a feature on a Fidelity fund family. The subsequent features, on investment strategy, sector analyses (e.g., health care and leisure), and market and fund performance, take a more educational approach.

The back of the book still harbors the best of the customer-focused content: features on Real Estate, the basics of stock market investing, and planning for college (a first-person customer story).

With regard to point 3, the magazine continues with its obligatory performance tables. No improvement there.

And finally with regard to diversity (point 4), the magazine contains photos or illustrations of 20 individuals. Of the 20, one appears to be black. 19 appear to be white. 6 out of the 20 are women. This is an improvement from the issue I reviewed previously.

Fidelity MagazineOverall, the redesigned Fidelity magazine does not seem to address the issues I raised in my earlier article. The magazine does have a new logo and tagline (“Investor’s Quarterly”), a different color scheme and slightly different type treatment but I can’t say one way or the other whether these changes constitute a significant improvement. In terms of engagement and customer focus, Fidelity could still do better.END

 

David M. Kalman is the president of Terrella Media, Inc. and editor of BrandMagnet.

Related Content:
Click for the original article Fidelity Magazine: Could Be Great