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.
Egmont Publishing, the specialist children’s publisher, announces the launch of DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls magazine. The first issue is set to hit newsstands on 19th October.
In our latest Top Tips webinar, held on Tuesday, Carolyn Morgan discussed examples of digital publishing and the ideas that might inspire other publishers. Here, Carolyn provides further information in response to some of the questions raised by publ
Glass, a pop-up limited edition magazine with what the publishers say is a new take on womanhood, launches this week.
The Internet Advertising Bureau UK is promoting a new portfolio of online ad formats as part of the industry-wide drive to improve people’s online experience and reduce ad blocking.
The PPA has announced the shortlists for its 2016 Digital Awards.
RAM, one of the world’s leading media research companies, is now launching a Big-Data tool.
Yesterday, Haymarket Media Group and DAX, the digital audio exchange created by Global, announced a pioneering collaboration to benefit advertisers.
Q Magazine, Bauer Media’s music magazine, has announced StubHub, the ticket marketplace which connects buyers to sellers, as the headline sponsor of the 2016 Q Awards.
RAM, one of the world’s leading media research companies, has launched a new Digital Advertising Receipt for online audience measurements to Publishers, Agencies and Marketers.
The AOP has confirmed that Jo Holdaway, Strategic & Commercial Data Director at ESi Media, will take up the role of Executive Chairman effective from 1st October 2016.
Keswick Enterprises Group company, Spatial Global, has been named 'Employer of the Year' for Derbyshire, in the East Midlands Chamber Business Awards 2016.
Haymarket Media Group has announced the appointment of David Langridge as its new Director of Management Accounts (UK).
The shortlist for the Comment Awards 2016 has been revealed after a record intake of nominations from readers, writers and editors all over the country, say the organisers.
Web design and digital agency CHC Digital is today launching Faraday, a quarterly print magazine which will be handed out for free in places where London’s technorati congregate.
Intermedia Solutions, the wholly owned print, production and logistical arm of Intermedia Brand Marketing, yesterday announced it has been appointed by Rebellion Developments, to manage the eCommerce storage and fulfilment of their extensive range of
