Consumer magazines spent most of the past two decades managing decline. The more confident publishers have stopped doing that. Newsstand sales and print advertising are still shrinking, but well-made titles with loyal readers are raising cover prices and growing.
Scale matters less than it did. Bauer has made Grazia a more premium product and charged more for it, while independents such as Anthem have put print back at the centre of the business and grown their export sales. Stylist has changed format several times without losing its readers. Others have gone the other way, and Gay Times dropped print entirely to build a global audience online.
For most consumer publishers, print is our USP. It’s the anchor that makes advertisers trust us and the very thing that readers want from us.
Jon Bickley Our print strategy: Anthem
Behind the confidence sits some hard arithmetic. Newstrade is now a small share of revenue and events and ecommerce are growing from a low base. Trust has become a selling point as AI fills the web with content of uncertain origin, but the paid-for consumer model that works at scale is still being worked out.
Below you'll find some of our best feature articles on consumer magazines, from premium print and cover pricing to brand extensions, membership and the future of specialist titles, alongside our latest news and industry commentary.
For a while now, magazine publishers have been on the defensive, unsure about the viability of their traditional business model in a fast-changing world. Katie Vanneck-Smith wants to change all that.
We asked Tamar Riley, portfolio managing director at Immediate, what does best practice publishing look like in consumer media? This is what she said…
For premium titles like Grazia, Mojo and Empire, growth is increasingly coming not from extending reach but from deepening engagement with existing passionate audiences, as Lauren Holleyoake tells Ciar Byrne.
The printed magazine will be a cherished part of people’s lives for years to come, says Jon Bickley, co-founder and CEO. That is why it’s the key component in Anthem’s publishing strategy.
With the arrival of AI and the widespread availability of unattributable content, specialist publishers need to ensure that their titles are the trusted go-to brands in their sectors, Our Media’s Andy Marshall tells Ciar Byrne.
Stylist’s mission has been clear from day one: to engage with its female audience in an intelligent, positive and non-exploitative way. 16 years on, and current PPA Media Brand of the Year, they are staying true to those values, says Lisa Smosarski.
Gay Times was stuck in a rut, tied to its traditional publishing model and reaching only a small part of the LGBTQ+ community. Under the editorship of Lewis Corner, that began to change, as he explains to Ciar Byrne.
Whatever the rest of 2024 holds, two things are certain. Firstly, the bumpy economic ride will continue. Secondly, the need for media companies to have a broad base of revenue streams has never been more important or more challenging to achieve.
How do you create a specialist consumer media business that is fit for the future? What steps do you need to take to be resilient and flexible as audiences and technology evolve? Carolyn Morgan researched 20 innovators from across Europe to find out.
For many publishers, circulation is all about chasing volume, but they would be much better off chasing profitability, says Natalie Smith, client relationship manager at Warners.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced new legislation which would force social media groups to publicly identify anonymous trolls if they refuse to take down abusive posts.
Online safety resembles a game of whack-a-mole with “far too many moles to whack”, interim Ofcom chair Maggie Carver said.
IPSO has announced the appointment of Matt Brown, Director of News and External Relations at TfL, and Michaela McAleer, of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman, to its lay-majority Board.
Today, O2 and The Big Issue have announced a partnership which will set up over 200 of the magazine’s vendors each month with free data plans.
On Friday, the winners of the PPA Independent Publisher Awards were announced at a ceremony in London hosted by comedian Maisie Adam.
The climate crisis is forcing every industry to examine its carbon footprint. We grab five minutes with Andy Webster, supply chain director at Marketforce, to find out what steps the magazine supply chain is taking to make itself more sustainable.
IPSO yesterday published ‘The Covid Report: How the British Press is Reporting on the Pandemic’, an analysis of press reporting during the height of the Covid period.
Hearst UK yesterday announced the appointment of Kelly Warnell as Head of Technology and Entertainment in its Commercial Client Team.
InterDirect Magazines, a trading division of the InterGo Holdings Group, has announced the launch of their latest venture, MagazineSupermarket.
Digital magazine and newspaper subscription app Readly has boosted its content portfolio with the addition of a number of popular titles across its markets over the last month.
FIPP has announced that Jamie Gavin will take up the position of Acting Editor, starting this week.
Prince Harry called online misinformation a “global humanitarian issue” which must be addressed by cracking down on 'super-spreaders' of false content.
In a special two-part themed issue, Vanity Fair is unifying its European editions across Italy, France and Spain to explore the concept of European memory.
BandLab Technologies has announced the strategic formation of NME Networks – a new media proposition to unite its media titles, NME, Uncut, Guitar.com and MusicTech.
Forbes, in partnership with Mika Brzezinski, has announced the global expansion of its 50 Over 50 list, which spotlights women over 50 who are leaving a positive and lasting impact on the world.
