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.
In the digital world, content can all too easily become commodity. But, says copywriter Andy Maslen, tone of voice is still worth paying for. Here’s his guide to reflecting your brand’s personality in your copy.
Like print publishing, direct mail has been heavily impacted by the internet, and, like print publishing, it’s hanging in there. Indeed, says Jenny Moseley, with open rates for email campaigns continuing to decline, there has been something of a resu
Magazine publishers have launched a mentoring scheme to support and promote diversity among the industry’s workforce.
Future, the special-interest media group, has announced a new partnership with Sharon Osbourne Management to publish the first-ever officially endorsed magazine from the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne.
Intermedia Brand Marketing has announced the appointment of Katrina Gibson to the role of Business Development Director, reporting directly to Managing Director, John Bardsley.
The Lord Lieutenant for East Sussex, Mr Peter Field, visited Wadhurst, UK-based publishing company KHL Group this week to present the company with the Queen's Award for Enterprise – International Trade category.
The APA has announced the launch of the International Content Summit, to be held 24th November 2010.
Two Sides, the UK initiative to promote the responsible production and use of print and paper, and encourage its use as an attractive, practical and sustainable communications medium, has announced the addition of two UK representative bodies – PICON
H Bauer is promoting the current issue of Total TVguide (on sale 13 July for listings from 17th July) at 50p - half the regular retail price of the magazine.
Talking Issues, the producers of the audio edition of The Economist, has launched an audio edition of a leading US based parenting magazine, Mothering.
GamesMaster, the multi-format videogames magazine, serves up an extra dimension to its coverage of the world’s biggest games show, E3 – with its first-ever 3D issue.
In a ‘pioneering’ move, olive magazine has become the first BBC title to have a ‘reader generated’ issue.
Your News Industry, the dedicated newspaper and magazine feature area at last year’s CTN World, is returning to this year’s show, the NFRN has announced.
Egmont, the specialist children’s publisher, has announced the launch of the new Disney/Pixar Toy Story magazine.
Dinosaur King is a new one-shot from Signature Publishing, on sale from 23 July.
