Al McWilliams: Not a Magazine

This was a really cool interview because before I chose management I was really interested in any kind of writing: especially short stories and journalism. I thought Found was one of the most creative ideas I’d ever heard of. I admit, I’m a little put off on the idea of people making money off of other people’s personal stuff that they tried to dispose of – just because you find it on the street doesn’t mean that the person didn’t properly dispose of the material. Nonetheless, I think it is a fun read that would draw some laughs and probably some emotions. I like that Al McWilliams embraced the comical value of the book and used it as a marketing tool. The frequency of the publication was a big obstacle to overcome because it looked like a magazine as they said. The absence of funding from advertising was another major cost passed on to the consumer through the “Always 5 Bucks” mark up. It was interesting however that they did advertise with some independent advertisers. The fact that most “magazines” make their money back through advertising of their product made the attractiveness of the product an issue for McWilliams. The idea of renegotiating deals with retailers to market the product more as a book over a magazine was bold since the product didn’t look like a book and had previously been marketed as a magazine before McWilliams took over. He used the word anthology that I think is a great way to market the book since it’s only printed annually. His point about making sure vendors see the value in keeping the first and the fifth volume are equally as desirable to consumers because McWilliams believes his product is timeless and can be read a number of times – not a quality of a magazine.