Fairy magic for the ‘ween market

Five teenage fairies, even as they study to improve their supernatural powers in the College of Alfea, defend the universe against three wicked witches.

This is the premise of Winx Club, an Italian concept which has its own weekly TV series, including one dubbed in Filipino, and a monthly Philippine-edition magazine as well as a whole slew of merchandise available in department stores and specialty stores nationwide.

"It is a total value proposition for both our target market and our advertisers as it is an integrated licensing effort, inclusive of the TV series," said Louie Ferrer, president of 4Kids Media, Inc., the exclusive Philippine licensee of the magazine. "There are about 23,000 active members of the Winx Club nationwide, fans of the TV series, providing a ready audience base."

Targeting the 7-13 age group, known as the ‘tween market, Winx Club is made up of fairies, each with a distinct personality type that young girls all over the world can relate to and each representing various races: Musa has a distinct Asian look, Tecna is patterned after a Latina, and the other fairies are Caucasians.

Magazine

The magazine’s Philippine edition was launched in June 2005, a year and a half after it was it was first published in Italy.

Initial circulation was set at 25,000 with an estimated pass-on readership of four.

The illustrations for the adventures of the fairies are centrally controlled from Europe. The graphics for the editorial pages as well as the articles are, however, all done by Filipinos.

"Children below 15 years old comprise 34% of the Philippine population. They are extremely fashion-forward, enjoy reading and listening to music, and are very media- and tech-savvy. They are sure of themselves, know exactly what they want, and are major influencers in their parents’ purchase decisions. They are really the market of the future," said Ferrer.

The magazine sells for P90. As a value added feature, each magazine comes with special Winx Club item like stickers, color sheets, accessories, and beauty kits not found in stores.

"We have had a 93% sell-through rate for our June and July issues. This means 93% of sales were achieved through store outlets, with hardly any promotion," said Ferrer. "The magazine design is edgy but attractive. The editorial content are intended to be information and fun at the same time."

As part of its strategy to increase readership, the magazine has started an aggressive campaign for subscriptions, including giving an Winx Club gift made exclusively for annual subscribers.