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.
IPC Inspire Men & Music brands Nuts and NME unveil a major solus campaign in partnership with the 2011 Census England and Wales to encourage the nation’s young men to engage with this year’s population count and data gathering.
The launch issue of Playgirl, the UK's latest women's magazine, goes on sale on 10th March.
United Business Media has announced that it has sold its French medical newspaper and magazine business to a management buyout team led by Gérard Kouchner, the business’s Chief Executive since 2005.
United Business Media has announced that it has signed an agreement to dispose of its UK licensed trade portfolio to William Reed.
heat has penned a one-off episode of Hollyoaks, written by the magazine's acting editor, Lucie Cave, and deputy editor, Jeremy Mark.
Leading NatMag young women's titles, Cosmopolitan and Company, have joined forces to offer what they claim is the largest cash giveaway in monthly magazine history.
Future, the special-interest media group, has revealed the latest findings of Techmonitor, its authoritative annual look at the state of the technology nation.
Healthy Food Guide, a new monthly title from Eye To Eye Media, goes on sale on 3rd March, cover priced £2.80.
The annual Print Futures Awards, sponsored by the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF), Unite the Union and The Printing Charity, are now open for entries. The closing date is 12 April 2011.
Following an article in the Daily Mail this week, quoting Mumsnet as allegedly saying that the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) has refused to display “Lads Mags” above children’s eye level, the NFRN says it has been inundated by journ
The winners of the Jameson Empire Awards 2011 will be revealed at a ceremony on Sunday, March 27 at London's Grosvenor House Hotel, hosted for the third year running by award-winning Irish comedian and television presenter Dara O Briain.
Marketforce, the newstrade sales, marketing and distribution company, has appointed Kirsty Mulhern to the senior role of head of circulation for its Independent Publisher Group.
Quark has announced the release of QuarkXPress 9, the newest version of QuarkXPress.
Issue No 1 of Victorian Dolls’ House Collector, a new partwork from RBA Coleccionables, goes on sale on 2nd March, initially priced at 99p.
The National Magazine Company’s fashion magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, has announced the appointment of Gabriele Hackworthy as Fashion Director.
