“The magazine that boasts countless attempts at imitation” and “The first puzzle magazine foundation and diffusion”.
Two statements that immediately bring to mind the queen of Italian summers, the most widespread pastime under the umbrella, in waiting rooms and in moments of relaxation …
I’m obviously talking about Puzzle Week.
Published for the first time in 1932, it was the first ever magazine in Italy to propose the game of crosswords, taking inspiration from a similar Austrian magazine.
At the time of its first release, the print run was six thousand copies. Today it is very difficult to obtain sales figures – since the editorial staff lives in complete privacy – but the estimates speak of record runs of between 800,000 and one million weekly copies.
Considering that the competitors stand on significantly lower figures (we are talking about 100 thousand weekly copies), you can easily understand how strong the positioning of Puzzle Week is in people’s minds as THE magazine of puzzles.
A positioning also reinforced by the fact that the Puzzle Week has been practically the same for 87 years.
The structure of the magazine has crystallized over time. Each type of game is always found on the same page and in the same place, as well as the headings of cartoons and curious news. Each enigma is numbered and cataloged in a precise manner, so as to facilitate the verification of the solutions in the following issue.
On the cover there is always a crossword pattern with a picture of a famous person. Color was only introduced starting in the 90s, but always in a very cautious and gradual way to avoid distorting the image of the magazine. The heading can only take on three colors (blue, green and red) that alternate in this order.
Some puzzles and their authors have even entered the common vocabulary, such as Bartezzaghi or “the last famous words”.
All this makes Puzzle Week immediately recognizable to anyone, while all other publications of the same kind seem to be copies of the original (and in fact they are, because only after did they spring up like mushrooms).
Puzzle Week doesn’t limit itself to being the first and the original, but it says and reaffirms its positioning in every single issue (“The magazine that boasts countless attempts of imitation” and “The first puzzle magazine foundation and diffusion”).
Moreover, considering that it has no debt with banks and that it is one of the rarest newspapers not to be financed by advertising … it is an excellent example of the power and authority that being the first in a given category allows you to reach.
But how do you get the same results for your company? How do you almost automatically become the authority to turn to in your sector?
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Rock ’n’ Roll!
Frank