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.
With many publications experiencing circulation decline, how valuable is circulation analysis to the industry and, asks Jamie Higginson, what metrics should advertisers and agencies be considering when making investment decisions?
Dee-di-di-dee, Dee-di-di-dee. Yes, that is, of course, Here Comes the Bride heralding the march of wedding titles to a newsstand and mobile device near you. Alan Geere takes you down the aisle.
At a time of great change in the mobile marketplace, and steeply rising platform costs, Belgian mobile specialist Twixl media is partnering with London based The App Lab to launch its platform into the UK market. James Evelegh talks to Laurent Gernie
Covers still count! Even in this age of declining print sales, a great cover can still drive sales and, when picked up by social media, can create unstoppable momentum for an issue – just ask Vanity Fair. Andy Cowles looks at trends in cover design.
Never buy a bad present again with IBM Watson Trend, the pocket-sized personal shopper which can predict the future! Luke Bilton is impressed with the data-driven trend analysis app.
The Chelsea Magazine Company’s gardens magazine, The English Garden, has partnered with the Inchbald School of Design, to launch The Future Fund, an annual bursary offering one person the chance to kickstart a brand new career in garden design, with
Intermedia Brand Marketing Ltd, a provider of integrated magazine brand marketing and distribution solutions, has announced the completion of its move to new premises.
Shortlist Media yesterday announced that it is to withdraw the weekly tablet edition of Stylist from circulation with immediate effect.
Puzzler, the UK’s largest creator of puzzle content, has announced it is to change its logo after 43 years on newsagents’ shelves.
Procycling, the world’s leading international road racing magazine, has taken on an elegant and stylish new look for the start of the 2016 Classics season, launching in its April issue.
Time Inc UK yesterday announced the appointment of Keith Walker to the role of digital director, Innovation Group - which includes NME, Look, Now and Listforlife.net.
Radio Times is launching a competition for all young artists, aged 18 and under, to design a birthday cover for the Queen, for the chance of their artwork to be featured on the front cover of the magazine to celebrate the monarch’s 90th birthday in J
The PPA’s latest Publishing Futures report – the annual bellwether survey of trends across companies in magazine and business media – has identified four Publisher types, defined by how they are managing ongoing change in their businesses.
Bauer Media has announced the extension of its gardening portfolio, with the launch of Modern Gardens Magazine, which it says is the first magazine for consumers who want simple ideas to create a stylish outdoor space to enjoy, rather than spend hour
The Association of Circulation Executives has announced the shortlist for the 2016 Press Awards.
