Dragon covers and sensationalism

[Mark]

I think that all of the additional type on the covers gets confused and detracts from the attention grabbing purpose of a cover. I think they need to add a small box in one corner (mybe 2" x 2") with a run down of the major pieces inside and let the artwork do its job.

 

[haiiro]

Yeah, the sensationalism bugs me too.

But you can't please everyone all the time, and it only bugs me a little. I'd rather have Dragon keep going with lame covers than die a nasty death, that's for sure.

Agreed. If it had a plain white cover with a picture of a kobold turd on it, I'd still subscribe.

 

[Daredevill]

I don't like the taglines on the cover of Dragon at all. I'm glad there are others out there that feel the same. I have a sub too, and mine's coming up for renewal soon, and I'm probably going to renew, but I wish they would drop those stupid taglines. (or save 'em for the April fools issue?)

Maybe someone from Paizo will see this thread and think about it!

 

[Henry]

Re: Jesus Saves... the rest of you take full damage...

Soon we're going to see a cover along the lines of "WARNING! Batboy strikes again!"

You DO know he recently led police on a 3-State Interstate car chase, don't you? That crazy batboy - always a headline stealer.

I agree to an extent. I don't mind sensationalistic taglines once in a while, but every issue seems a bit much. I'd like to know two things:

1) Why do they need headline grabbers? Just WHAT is Dragon Competing against? Vogue or Newsweek? Hardly. Overdone tag lines that don't even get into what you will see in the issue is counterproductive, because there really isn't that much competition in their market segment.

2) Who do misleading taglines serve? Not the casual magazine-rack browser, who gets used to thinking that the cover has nothing to do with the issue. And, not the subscriber, who begins to take a jaded attitude with what he's gonna find. Either you will or won't like the contents - it's pretty clear. So pop that table of contents on the front - kind of like Reader's Digest does with their's - and see what it does for you!

Then, be sure to put one full page inside dedicated to the cover art, just so that people who love the cover art don't miss out with overcrowded covers that obscure all that work the artist put into the cover.

 

[Psion]

Magazines add taglines to compete on the newstand. I have a subscription -- I've never seen Dragon on a news stand except at a game store where it was the only magazine on the newstand. Are there so many D&D/d20 magazines in print that Dragon needs the taglines to be competitive? I guess so, but I have a hard time buying it.

That's an outstanding point. I suspect that most people looking to get Dragon are specifically looking to get Dragon. It's not like some idle purchase at the grocer where you have to promise a quiz that will give you deeper understanding of your mate in order to sell a copt of a magazine.

Most likely, whoever puts these things together got their training in more conventional magazine jobs and/or schools with ciriculum assuming such, and are blindly applying the same formula.

 

[Mark]

Re: Re: Jesus Saves... the rest of you take full damage...

1) Why do they need headline grabbers? Just WHAT is Dragon Competing against? Vogue or Newsweek? Hardly. Overdone tag lines that don't even get into what you will see in the issue is counterproductive, because there really isn't that much competition in their market segment.

2) Who do misleading taglines serve? Not the casual magazine-rack browser, who gets used to thinking that the cover has nothing to do with the issue. And, not the subscriber, who begins to take a jaded attitude with what he's gonna find. Either you will or won't like the contents - it's pretty clear. So pop that table of contents on the front - kind of like Reader's Digest does with their's - and see what it does for you!

It has very little to do with traditional newsstands or other magazines, though there are a few.

They're competing against themselves for the people who don't yet subscribe or buy, either at all or on a regular basis. They're competing against a hundred other gaming products in a game store that all have the advantage of being "heftier" and "more solid", thus perceived a better purchase because they are more likely to last (and therefore possibly useful longer.)

Nonetheless, I still say a cover with less clutter and more emphasis on their outstanding artwork would do the job better...

 

[Mark]

That's an outstanding point. I suspect that most people looking to get Dragon are specifically looking to get Dragon. It's not like some idle purchase at the grocer where you have to promise a quiz that will give you deeper understanding of your mate in order to sell a copt of a magazine.

Read above...

Most likely, whoever puts these things together got their training in more conventional magazine jobs and/or schools with ciriculum assuming such (snip)

I certainly hope so...

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Yes, but I prefer my gaming magazine to look like the 25+ year old, respectable publication it is, rather than another issue of Cosmo. I remember the days of yore, when all Dragon had on the cover was the title and great artwork.

Magazines add taglines to compete on the newstand. I have a subscription -- I've never seen Dragon on a news stand except at a game store where it was the only magazine on the newstand. Are there so many D&D/d20 magazines in print that Dragon needs the taglines to be competitive? I guess so, but I have a hard time buying it.

The covers of Dragon used to rock. Nearly every month you got a great painting or drawing with hardly any text to cover it up. Does the Dragon CD-ROM have all the covers on it so you can print the killer ones?

Now I try to pick the artwork out of the mess of text. It looks like any other magazine.

 

[haiiro]

They're competing against themselves for the people who don't yet subscribe or buy, either at all or on a regular basis. They're competing against a hundred other gaming products in a game store that all have the advantage of being "heftier" and "more solid", thus perceived a better purchase because they are more likely to last (and therefore possibly useful longer.)

These are all good points, but I still feel like Dragon's current approach to cover copy is just as likely to alienate potential customers/subscribers as it is to draw them in.

Once you've picked up a copy of Dragon for the first time, you pretty much know what to expect from future issues. If the quality of the content is good, then having a cluttered and uninformative cover isn't going to have a positive influence on the reader's opinion of the magazine as a whole.

The advantage Dragon has over other d20 products is that it can stay current, and I think most D&D players are aware of that. Sure, I could buy a gaming book instead of the next 3 issues of Dragon, but those 3 issues will also provide me with a very different experience than the one gaming book. With limited funds, I might pass up the 3 issues in favor of the book -- but a flashier cover isn't going to change that.

Edit: boy I'm sloppy today. Sloppy at my writing, that is -- not sloppy drunk.

 

[haiiro]

Now I try to pick the artwork out of the mess of text. It looks like any other magazine.

Very succinctly put. I miss the days when Dragon covers carved out their own stylistic niche -- they stood out because of their simplicity and the quality of the cover art.