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.
Bauer Media UK, home to multi-platform brands such as heat, KISS, Grazia, Empire, The Debrief and Absolute Radio, has announced the appointment of Ryan Skeggs as Head of Programmatic Trading and Audiences and Stephane Folquet as Digital Agency Manage
Future plc announced on Friday the launch of a new membership programme, Photo Club, designed to deliver more value to subscribers of their photographic magazines.
Cosmopolitan has appointed a new Deputy Editor and Fashion Director.
News UK has selected Air Business, the global distribution and subscriptions management bureau, to handle their international distribution of the weekly Times Literary Supplement.
A new report from the PPA has mapped out the seven personas of today’s magazine buyers, as part of a detailed investigation into the consumption of magazine media content.
The PPA has announced the winners of the PPA Customer Direct Awards 2015, which highlights the best direct and digital marketing in UK magazine media.
Time Inc. UK announced yesterday that its specialist portfolio will relocate to brand new offices in Farnborough Business Park, Hampshire.
NME yesterday announced the appointment of Charlotte Gunn to the role of digital editor. Charlotte will be delivering NME's digital growth strategy across mobile, desktop, social and native apps.
DC Thomson has signed a deal with DHX Brands to secure the magazine publishing rights to Twirlywoos, the hit CBeebies show that follows Great BigHoo, Toodloo, Chickedy and Chick seeking adventure wherever they go.
Immediate Media has appointed James Long as Head of its Parenting Group, which includes MadeForMums, Prima Baby, and Junior.
Fashion weekly Look has published its first native cover this week as part of its Be Beautiful Month in partnership with VO5.
Group director Patrick Fuller is to leave Haymarket Media Group after more than two decades in the consumer division.
Fans of real crime stories will have a brand new way of engaging with unsolved or mysterious cases with the launch of Real Crime’s #RealCrimeFriday.
Egmont Publishing has announced that Frozen magazine will move to a regular 3-weekly frequency from January 2016.
Porter has partnered with American beauty brand Elizabeth Arden as the exclusive sponsor of its first-ever 100 Incredible Women list to honor those women around the world who have had an impact on our lives and made us think differently in the past 1
