The Big Issue Industry Flashcards
Is The Big Issue LTD a part of a large conglomerate?
No
Who is the publishing company that works with The Big Issue to print the magazine?
Dennis Publishing
TRUE or FALSE
The magazine is on a not for profit basis
TRUE
They use the revenue to support homeless people
How much do street vendors purchase the magazines for? and how much do they sell them for?
They purchase them for £1.50 per copy and sell them on for £3
What the aim of The Big Issue?
To give homeless people a legal way of making money and helping to support themselves
When setting up The Big Issue they needed external funding - Which shop secured them a grant?
The Body Shop
TRUE or FALSE
John Bird (one of the founders of The Big Issue) was married to Anna Roddick (founder of the body shop)
FALSE
Gordon Roddick the other founder of The Big Issue was married to Anna Roddick before she unfortunately passed away
How much was the grant that The Body Shop gave to The Big Issue?
£50,000
How did The Big Issue diversify into more direct support for the homeless in 1995?
The Big Issue foundation was created which helped homeless people with housing, training, workshops, information and support
TRUE or FALSE
The money that The Big Issue makes off the magazine go straight to The Big Issue foundation
TRUE
It goes to the foundation which further goes into community projects
What was created in 2005?
The Big Issue Invest which provides funds for people who have good business ideas but aren’t very well off
In 2016 they diversified into retail with their own online shop selling various of things including merchandise - Is the shop still on a not for profit basis?
Yes, all the revenue goes back into the community helping the people
Because The Big Issue is on a non profit basis does that mean it subverts from typical magazines?
Yes
Due to readers being middle class (ABC1) many brands choose to to advertise on The Big Issue website and magazine, increasing revenue for TBI - Does TBI only advertise products and consumer items?
No, they make sure to leave space for charities and community projects
How does the use of celebrities on the front cover, special interviews and guest editors draw in audiences?
It brings in pre sold fans of celebrities
Who are some examples of celebrities featured in the set text?
The Dali Lama, David Bowe and Robert Downey Junior
TRUE or FALSE
There are special collectors editions of The Big Issue?
TRUE
It makes the magazine feel special and exclusive as well as this it also encourages readers to buy multiple copies to collect
TRUE or FALSE
The Big Issue is exclusively in the UK
FALSE
It worked so well as an not for profit magazine in the UK that many international versions were created in countries such as Australia, Ireland, Japan, South Korea and many more
What online news company distributor works with The Big Issue?
Zinio, The Big Issue had to do this as times were changing and print newspapers are slowly decreasing in popularity
TRUE or FALSE
Zinio has the option to try one issue for free
TRUE
It allows the audience to have a taste without having to commit long term. Zinio also allows customers to buy one edition or 12 month subscription upfront
What else in terms of digital distribution helps to target audiences?
It targets people who are regularly online and don’t have street vendors locally or are against print for environmental reasons
TRUE or FALSE
Zinio helps reach a global audience to over 200 countries
FALSE
It does reach global audience but only 174 countries
Does the revenue from digital sales still go to support vendors?
Yes
At the height of their success in the early 2000 how many copies were street vendors selling?
300,000 copies
By 2011 they were only selling 125,000 copies a week, so what did they decide to do?
They decided to redesign and relaunch The Big Issue in an attempt to boost sales
In their reform what did they start to focus more on?
Politics and Social reform as well as including more celebrities
The rebrand had a slightly higher cover price in an attempt to help vendors make a similar amount of money from potentially reduced sales
In a world where other magazine sales continued to drop, the sale of The Big Issue did eventually pick back up
