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.
It’s been a hectic week for Les Pipe, managing director of Rhapsody, the pre-media company formed by the merger of Wyndeham Pre-Press and Masterpiece. James Evelegh caught up with him to get his take on the rapidly evolving media scene.
eZ Systems AS, the creator of the award winning Open Source Web Content Management Platform, eZ Publish, has announced a partnership with Circdata.
Wyndeham Pre-Press has merged with its sister company Masterpiece to form Rhapsody.
Metro has published a brand new magazine for urbanite home-owners and would be home-owners in the capital.
The digital tide shows no signs of abating and the economy looks like it might be flatlining, at best, for some time to come. Tablets and smartphones continue to soak up most of publishers’ development budgets. Should print just call it a day? Mike M
From its small scale London origins over forty years ago, Time Out has grown into a truly global brand with print and digital offerings in most of the world’s major cities. Cathy Runciman outlines their international strategy and predicts further dig
Baked & Delicious Festive Special, a oneshot from Eaglemoss, goes on sale 24 November priced £10.99.
Presenter and architect George Clarke has a passion for restoration and last week was crowned the nation’s Favourite Home TV Celebrity at the eighth annual House Beautiful Awards.
Bauer Media has announced two significant senior management team appointments within its magazine and digital business, as it continues to invest in its drive to deliver world class editorial products and commercial operations.
Dazed & Confused celebrates twenty years with 20 separate covers.
Fashion and beauty title InStyle has gathered some of the world’s top fashion designers to each create a short film exploring style.
The magazine publishing environment is one of constant and fluid change. In this competitive world, writes Amy Bell, it is important to have a clear approach to the learning and development structures within your company, in order to define what you
The first in a series of regular columns from David Hepworth.
With post and production costs rising and the economic downturn hitting marketing budgets, it’s vital for magazine publishers to stay competitive, evolve and develop new revenue streams. Sophia Dempsey looks at opportunities for developing low risk,
On September 20 2011 Euromoney announced that its chairman, Padraic Fallon, was undergoing treatment for cancer which would require his absence from the company for short periods.
