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.
Amateur Photographer, the weekly photography magazine, is standing up for the rights of its readers this week, providing them with a free lens cloth on which is clearly printed police guidelines for intervening on photography in a public place under
Bauer Media have appointed Fiona Senior to the newly created role of Associate Media Director across the Men's Lifestyle and Entertainment sales teams.
Xbox 360: The Official Xbox Magazine (OXM360) – one of the UK’s leading videogames title, celebrates the “eagerly awaited” launch of Microsoft’s Crackdown 2 with a very special issue, complete with sound.
The new strategic partnership enables users to integrate AdSEND directly to GMG ColorServer using the Vio AdGATE automation tool.
River has expanded its relationship with The Co-operative after winning the business to produce five new publications.
Loaded has announced a brand new sponsor for its “legendary” Loaded LAFTAS comedy awards.
Just over half of respondents to the latest Printing Outlook survey, published by the BPIF this week, stated that trade stayed the same in the spring period (March to May) while a third of printers actually saw improvement.
The black ties, ballgowns and grandeur of the Grosvenor make the PPA Awards one of the most glamorous fixtures in the magazine industry’s calendar - arguably more so this year, with the 30th anniversary event and its stylish 1950s theme. Hannah Bray
Andy Maslen has recently been writing and critiquing sales emails for some of his clients. Gleaned from those, here are some ideas to make your email copywriting more effective.
Pages come alive with embedded videos. For the first time in a print publication, Entertainment Weekly put a small video screen in the pages of its 18th September 2009 edition in New York and Los Angeles in collaboration with CBS and Pepsi. The follo
This year’s Maggies, the magazine cover awards initiated by iSUBSCRiBE, attracted over 40,000 votes. Peter Jackson, who helped put together the shortlist, looks at some of the winning covers.
United Business Media has announced that it has acquired Corporate360, a Hong Kong-based corporate communications solution provider, on behalf of PR Newswire.
GNM Media has acquired Dinghy Sailing Magazine and incorporated it into its flagship title Yachts And Yachting Magazine (Y&Y).
Future, the special-interest media group, has revealed an exciting new look for Digital Camera – its flagship, award-winning photography title.
George Takei, Star Trek’s much-loved Mr Sulu is the first big name guest to be announced for next-year’s SFX Weekender – the UK’s “greatest” festival of sci-fi.
