Guardian article: The Dandy Faces Closure

[Raven]

Then why is both The Dandy and The Beano both in the app store?

Because it naturally has to be - and should be - an option. They're trying out these new outlets. Testing the waters. But how successful are Dandy's digital subscriptions at this stage? If combined digital and newsstand sales unfortunately aren't enough to keep Dandy afloat, how would digital alone manage it?

[dandy mad]

Then why is both The Dandy and The Beano both in the app store?

Because it naturally has to be - and should be - an option. They're trying out these new outlets. Testing the waters. But how successful are Dandy's digital subscriptions at this stage? If combined digital and newsstand sales unfortunately aren't enough to keep Dandy afloat, how would digital alone manage it?

DCT didn't have to create the 2 apps they created them because they had too as any publisher worth it's salt will know only too well that print is in its twilight years now and will gradually cease it's printing operations. Digital subscription is still in its infancy but will grow and grow like the print version did it'll take a few years to get established as for subscription data only DCT can answer that question and if the figures aren't good after a few quarters then the Dandy will sadly cease to exist

[Digifiend]

So the annual has survived the chop which is excellent news So it's either a very clever marketing ploy on DCT's part to relaunch The Dandy in early December as I don't see the point of producing an annual without its weekly counterpart.

Lots of annuals carried on for years without their weekly counterparts; some IPC ones for over ten years. And didn't DCT's Bunty and Beezer annuals go on for years after the comics finished? They do well at Christmas time when parents choose them for presents. I could see the annual potentially continuing as long as that's the case.

Yeah, Beezer closed in 1993, the last annual was 2003. Bunty's gap was similar. The Dandy Annual is safe. Of course Buster was an aversion, as the annual ended before the comic.

[Raven]

it'll take a few years to get established as for subscription data only DCT can answer that question and if the figures aren't good after a few quarters then the Dandy will sadly cease to exist

But, realistically, they're not likely to either give it a few years to get established or run the comic at a loss for a further few quarters, are they?

[dandy mad]

it'll take a few years to get established as for subscription data only DCT can answer that question and if the figures aren't good after a few quarters then the Dandy will sadly cease to exist

But, realistically, they're not likely to either give it a few years to get established or run the comic at a loss for a further few quarters, are they?

If DCT isn't prepared to inject cash into it to prop it up for a couple of years which I think they've been doing for quite some time now with the print version then they'll just let it fold as its a pointless exercise as its massive circulation days are 5 decades behind it....

[dandy mad]

So the annual has survived the chop which is excellent news So it's either a very clever marketing ploy on DCT's part to relaunch The Dandy in early December as I don't see the point of producing an annual without its weekly counterpart.

Lots of annuals carried on for years without their weekly counterparts; some IPC ones for over ten years. And didn't DCT's Bunty and Beezer annuals go on for years after the comics finished? They do well at Christmas time when parents choose them for presents. I could see the annual potentially continuing as long as that's the case.

Yeah, Beezer closed in 1993, the last annual was 2003. Bunty's gap was similar. The Dandy Annual is safe. Of course Buster was an aversion, as the annual ended before the comic.

Didn't realise the Beezer annual lasted untill 2003 why keep it going for 10 years after the comic ended? Did it sell well? Nostalgia value?

[booksandcomics]

Hmm...for some reason my first comments didn't publish and I lost my ramblings!

Part of my job is marketing and I understand that, if sales drop then reviews need to happen. When selling, money needs to be made.

However, what I cannot understand is D C Thomson's marketing strategy for the Dandy since 2000. Just prior to the dreaded Xtreme years, Desperate Dan was ditched from the covers and replaced with Jak, a character and art work style I just didn't enjoy at all. It also went glossy and was priced more than the Beano.

Xtreme years followed which again didn't help things at all. Who thought it was a good idea to switch to giving away tons of free plastic gifts, have WCW wrestling on the cover, movie and game reviews? They should have done the same as the Beano, have the normal comic and then a BeanoMAX style Dandy as an experiment and see which one sold more.

For the past 7 months, around my home town of Stafford, I cannot guarantee a copy of the Dandy being on the shelf in Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Co-op, WH Smiths or newsagents. I dont even bother to look anymore. Is it no wonder that circulation is down so much?

WH Smiths has a section marked out "Beano", why has there not been a combined "Dandy / Beano" one? Although Beano is likely to sell more, Dandy would logically sell more just by the fact of being present in shops!

I will take my hat off to D C Thomson if indeed it is a marketing ruse, I remember vividly the whole "Desperate Dan quits the Dandy" frenzy prior to the 60th birthday. I love the issue where it just has Dan's boots on the cover and the comic title has DAN crossed out to simply say "DY"!

What I cannot abide though at all is if they ditch it before 4th December. Ignoring money, I think D C Thomson need to treat it with respect, something that has been around for nearly 75 years needs a proper send off. Ending it on the 4th December 2012, exactly 75 years since the Dandy launched is, for me, the ONLY acceptable and decent thing D C Thomson could do (along with sacking their marketing chaps for Dandy! ).

[Gilly]

I couldn't have put it better myself, DC Thomson needs to show some respect to a title that has a big part in getting them where they are today.

[dandy mad]

The Dandy has a marketing department? Really??

[dandy mad]

I couldn't have put it better myself, DC Thomson needs to show some respect to a title that has a big part in getting them where they are today.

The Beano gets all the attention all the respect all the marketing you can shake a stick at The Dandy just gets the crumbs that are left behind....

[Raven]

I couldn't have put it better myself, DC Thomson needs to show some respect to a title that has a big part in getting them where they are today.

I think there've been some misguided editorial decisions, but they've invested a lot of time, effort and money in the comic, really (if not on the online front). They could have pulled the plug after the Xtreme bombed, but they did a big revamp, paying for prominent placement in newsagents nationwide (places aren't stocking it now because it didn't sell, not the reverse), and filling it with new comic material. And well over a year after 50% of its readers left it, it's still here. I doubt many publishers would have stuck by a title with such loyalty.

[booksandcomics]

Good point Raven, I am very biased with my opinions as I still collect them! As they've gone through a rebrand again, ditching Harry Hill etc, they've gone full circle, back to have Dan on the cover.

I still think they can get by with having it next to Beano, even if printing fewer numbers.

[Lew Stringer]

I still think they can get by with having it next to Beano, even if printing fewer numbers.

I think it's down to each comic's budget vs shelf rent fees. As The Beano sells more copies I presume the budget can stretch to pay for the special box out displays it gets. (Even though shop staff put The Simpsons comics in them half the time.)

[Raven]

(Even though shop staff put The Simpsons comics in them half the time.)

... and they're out of children's eye line and reach anyway!

[Digifiend]

Xtreme years followed which again didn't help things at all. Who thought it was a good idea to switch to giving away tons of free plastic gifts, have WCW wrestling on the cover, movie and game reviews? They should have done the same as the Beano, have the normal comic and then a BeanoMAX style Dandy as an experiment and see which one sold more.

WCW got bought out by the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) in 2001. You must mean them. Incidentally, the Dandy editor also edits the WWE Kids magazine.