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.
Future plc yesterday announced record breaking end of year online audience engagement across all of their websites, as well as record breaking eCommerce revenue through their Black Friday weekend curation of the best tech and gaming deals.
The PPA held its annual Independent Publisher Conference on 9th December at the Brewery, in London. Put on for the benefit of publishers with under £10 million turnover, InPublishing’s James Evelegh felt right at home.
Kristen Lazaric has been appointed Creative Solutions Director of GQ, Conde Nast’s men’s monthly, it was announced yesterday.
Time Inc. UK is extending Justine Southall’s remit to lead premium fashion and beauty for the company. Her publishing director role now comprises both Marie Claire and InStyle.
The winners of the PPA Independent Publisher Awards were unveiled at a lunchtime presentation at The Brewery on December 9.
Good Things, the luxury cuisine and travel title magazine, decided to give the cover of its Christmas issue a special gold foil.
Wired and Intel have announced the launch of Upstarts, a series of films focusing on the next vanguard of tech start-ups, as nominated and introduced by some of the industry’s current leading lights.
Time Inc UK - home to country and sporting titles The Field, Shooting Gazette, Shooting Times, Sporting Gun, Country Life and Horse & Hound - further expands its portfolio of events with the launch of the Field & Country Fair, celebrating the British
Richard Reeves has been appointed Managing Director at the Association of Online Publishers (AOP).
FourFourTwo, Haymarket’s football magazine media brand, and Dagbladet have teamed up to deliver football content to Norwegians.
PC Gamer, Future plc’s global PC gaming brand, says it surpassed its record for unique users by recording 10 million visits in November.
Air Business, the global distribution and subscriptions management company, has appointed Rob Barham as group sales director.
Learnosity and Zapnito have announced their collaborative partnership, which they say will enhance the knowledge environments of publishers and business services worldwide.
The PPA celebrated the leading events professionals in UK magazine and business media and beyond at the PPA Connect Awards 2015 on 7 December.
Future plc’s tech websites, techradar and T3.com will be rebranding from the 8 - 22 December as T-3PO and techvadar, to celebrate the imminent release of the movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
