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.
Shortlist Media yesterday announced the appointment of Ella Dolphin as new Chief Executive, with a mission to drive the continued growth and diversification of the company’s print and digital brands.
DC Thomson yesterday announced it will publish a magazine based on the new DreamWorks Animation television series Noddy, Toyland Detective.
Future plc on Friday published results for the six months ended 31 March 2016.
Time Inc UK Advertising has appointed Sian Roberts as client investment director and Rob Biagioni as group investment director, Specialist.
Sarah Ball has been appointed Digital Editor of Tatler, it was announced yesterday. Sarah will take up her position on 23rd May.
Bauer Media has announced this week that Liz Martin will be joining the advertising team as Commercial Marketing Director, working across its multi-platform portfolio of media brands.
Romano Sidoli was yesterday named managing director of Time Inc UK’s Innovation Group to spearhead large-scale commercial partnerships for NME, Look and Now.
Hearst Magazines International (HMI) yesterday announced several key appointments to newly created positions as the company continues to expand its global focus.
Magnetic, the marketing agency for magazine media, has launched ‘The Lab’ – a new event for agency planners – in partnership with Campaign.
Immediate Media has appointed Kevin Smith as the new deputy editor of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine.
The UK’s Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards (JICWEBS) – the independent body that defines best practice and standards for online ad trading – has announced the next stage in the move to tackle online ad fraud.
Motor Sport Magazine has announced its move to digital magazine platform Pugpig, a Kaldor product. The new fully interactive digital edition is now available on all iOS and Android devices, as well as on desktop and the Amazon App store.
Bauer Media is to unite its UK magazine operations under the leadership of Paul Keenan, who will be responsible for all of Bauer’s UK and Nordic magazine, radio and digital operations, with immediate effect.
Future plc has acquired, for an undisclosed sum, the titles and events owned by Blaze Publishing.
Live today on the GQ Video channel, Condé Nast Britain debuts a new series of three short films in collaboration with Burberry, tying in with the launch of Mr. Burberry, their new fragrance for men.
