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.
Egmont Kids Media, the specialist children’s publisher for babies to teens, has announced a worldwide partnership (excluding USA) with MovieStarPlanet for both book and magazine publishing.
Informa Telecoms & Media has completed the acquisition of Bristol-based Keynote World Media, which owns and runs the Cloud Computing World Forum events series.
One of the UK’s leading independent magazine sales houses has taken over the national advertising sales for Northcliffe Media’s portfolio of magazines from May 2012.
Negotiation isn’t just about nailing down the best possible price. Ideally, it is about achieving a win-win situation between buyer and seller and the best way of getting this, writes Matthew Parker, is to give a bit.
Immediate Media Branded Content has won the contract to publish Scouting, the Scout Association’s bi-monthly volunteers’ magazine, in print, digital and tablet formats.
ELLE, the fashion title published by Hearst Magazines UK, says it has received a strong response to its first ever search for the country’s best interns who will be paid to edit the October 2012 issue.
Two Sides has reacted angrily to Toshiba’s announcement in the US, that 23 October will be ‘National No-Print Day'.
The Associated Press and some of the world’s leading celebrity photographers have formed an independent photography company to provide inside access to the entertainment industry.
It’s For Boys, a new 13 issues a year title from LCD Publishing, goes on sale 22 June, priced £2.50.
Radio Times has pulled in critically-acclaimed stand-up comedian and TV funnywoman Sarah Millican as its new columnist.
Vogue magazine will publish an edition in Ukraine, it was announced yesterday by Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman and Chief Executive of Condé Nast International.
Future Publishing, the leading specialist multi-platform publisher, has unveiled Future Proof, a major new compendium of case studies detailing the full scope and effectiveness of Future’s advertising solutions.
Arnold Palmer’s Guide to the Majors 2012, published by TMCUSA, went on sale this week, priced £5.95.
Imagine Publishing has announced that its two Xbox 360 magazine brands, X360 and 360 Magazine, will be merging with immediate effect.
Mike Perlis, President and CEO of Forbes Media, has announced the appointment of Mia Carbonell as SVP, Corporate Communications for Forbes Media, effective immediately.
