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.
RAM, one of the world's leading media research companies, has begun to collaborate with Cint, the platform for sharing and sourcing online insights.
The Printing Charity has confirmed Neil Lovell’s appointment as the charity’s permanent Chief Executive and Secretary. He was appointed to the role on an interim basis in February this year.
Gold Key Media have partnered with Harper’s Bazaar and Town & Country to create a tailored distribution strategy for Eroica Britannia – a cycling and family lifestyle festival.
Bauer Media has announced that Pandora has partnered with Grazia as the exclusive jewellery sponsor for Grazia’s first ever community issue, produced in conjunction with Facebook.
Channel 4 has made its fourth deal from its Commercial Growth Fund, striking an airtime-for-equity arrangement with digital magazine newsstand, Readly.
AOP, the Association of Online Publishers, on Friday announced that it has sold its premium publisher aggregated solution, Symmachia Ltd, for an undisclosed amount to programmatic experts Intrinsic Europe.
GQ has announced the launch of GQ Dads launches on GQ.co.uk.
IPSO published on Thursday, a full set of Annual Statements from all publishers who were members in 2015.
Independent retailers’ calls for improvements throughout the news supply chain will be strengthened through the NFRN’s membership of new lobby group, The News Retailer Group, said Chief Executive Paul Baxter.
On Thursday 12th May 2016, His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge invited Attitude magazine to bring members of the LGBT+ community to Kensington Palace to listen to their experience of bullying and the mental health impacts it can have.
Immediate Media Co yesterday unveiled Imagine, its new creative and content studio formed to deliver innovative, audience-led solutions for commercial partners.
Marketing technology business RadiumOne has appointed Craig Tuck to the newly created position of UK managing director.
Bauer Media has appointed Nicola Bates as Managing Director of a newly-created Hobbies portfolio.
MPP Global has added further enhancements to eSuite, its integrated cloud platform, with the introduction of predictive subscription churn functionality.
Vodafone has become the first UK mobile company to sign an agreement with Readly, the all-you-can-read magazine app for tablets and smartphones, in an exclusive arrangement.
