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.
The Comments section of many newspaper sites have become virtual cesspools, full of bile, vitriol and aggression; a dark netherworld dominated by trolls, spammers and other digital low-life. But … it doesn’t need to be this way! As DiscussIt CEO Grah
Jim Foster on the world of ePublishing
With some notable exceptions, print circulations continued their slide southwards and digital editions have, so far, not been able to plug the gap. However, just as the royal family has done over the years, publishers are continuing to reinvent thems
It’s all go at the NME - a new free distribution model for the magazine and a root and branch makeover of its app. Mike Goldsmith has checked out the app and is impressed with the pure-play vibe of the new NME Daily.
The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) UK has decided to merge the IAB Board and Mobile Board to put mobile at the centre of everything the trade body does.
Haymarket Media Group hosted its sixth annual digital festival, Haymarket Create, at Teddington Studios last week (17-18 September).
Independent retailers have been stunned, says the NFRN, by an announcement on Monday from Menzies Distribution that it is increasing its carriage charge by an average of 1.5 per cent.
The November issue of Bauer Media’s Empire magazine is guest edited by British film director Sam Mendes.
The British Society of Magazine Editors has published the shortlist for its 2015 awards.
The Sunday Times’ Style magazine is publishing its biggest ever issue solely dedicated to accessories with 112 pages and close to £0.5m in ad revenue.
Elizabeth Schimel, the President of Condé Nast China, has been named a Vice President of Condé Nast International and joins the company’s Executive Committee, it was announced today by Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman and Chief Executive.
NME will today launch its free weekly magazine with record breaking advertising revenues and a world exclusive interview with Rihanna.
Global Media Hub have announced they are merging with fellow publishing services company, ark media.
UBM has taken the decision to close P&ME and to focus its marketing efforts on the Technology for Marketing event.
This week sees the launch of Rifle Shooter, a new monthly newstrade title from Archant Specialist’s Wokingham office.
