COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES FOR REPOSITIONING YOUR JOURNAL

1
COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES FOR
REPOSITIONING YOUR JOURNAL

• Diana L. Pesek
• Journals Manager
• April 9, 2013

2
PSUP JOURNAL PROGRAM

• In 2011, PSUP published 13 journals
• In 2013, PSUP will publish 30 journals

3
REVIEW OF JOURNAL PROGRAM

• Journals Publishing On Time
• Journals Not Publishing On Time
• Reasons
• Consequences

4
REPOSITIONING CASE STUDY

• History
• 1946 Journal started by State University of
  Iowa
• 1949 Acquired by The University of Chicago
  Press
• 1961 Acquired by Penn State University Press

5
REPOSITIONING CASE STUDY

• Journal Characteristics
• Respected journal in the field of higher
  education
• Good subscriber retention
• On time publication
• 10 acceptance rate attracted submissions from
  senior faculty

6
REPOSITIONING CASE STUDY

• Changes in the Journal
• Started publishing erratically
• No longer attracted appropriate submissions
• Focus of articles too narrow
• Where junior faculty published
• Subscriber base started to erode
• Older articles accessed more frequently

7
REPOSITIONING CASE STUDY

• Questions
• Why didnt the journal publish on time?
• Was late publication attracting the wrong type of
  manuscripts?
• Did lateness cause the journal to have too many
  rejections and not enough acceptances?
• Was the editor contributing to the problem?

8
REPOSITIONING CASE STUDY

• Process
• 2011 PSUP Co-sponsored a Colloquium
• Invited thought leaders in the field of higher
  education from around the country
• Day 1 devoted to general discussions of the field
  of higher education current and future trends
• Day 2 devoted to analyzing the Journal
• Mission
• Strategy to attract appropriate content
• Suggestions for new editor and editorial board

9
REPOSITIONING CASE STUDY

• Next Steps
• Appointed new editor and editorial board
• Updated Mission Statement
• Editor prepared to invite content for 18 months

10
REPOSITIONING CASE STUDY

• Branding
• New Cover Design
• New Text Design
• Designed Editor Business Cards
• Updated Website and Editorial Manager with new
  Design
• New Marketing Promotional Materials

11
REPOSITIONING CASE STUDY

• Publicity
• News Release
• NewsWise
• Chronicle of Higher Education
• Mailing List
• Future Contributors
• Advisory Board
• Department Heads
• University Presidents, Provosts, Deans, Assistant
  Deans, Administrators
• Association Presidents and Executive Directors
• Political Personnel
• Media Personnel

12
REPOSITIONING CASE STUDY

• Marketing
• Mail Hard Copy included press release
• Exchange Ads
• Ads in PSUP print journals
• Ads on JSTOR
• Conference Exhibits