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 a special address to attendees at the Association of Indian Magazines Congress in New Delhi, India, last week, FIPP president and CEO, Chris Llewellyn said that the media industry in India has reasons to be positive.
Company magazine is to launch a dedicated bi-annual stand-alone style magazine offering the best High Street fashion for the saavy shopper.
UPM is featured in Nordic Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI 2009 Nordic). This index is based on Carbon Disclosure Project's (CDP) analysis on 200 Nordic companies.
Ian Cooke has recently joined Garnett Dickinson Group to become Sales Director (Print Group) which covers Garnett Dickinson Print and Acorn Web Offset.
United Business Media Limited has released the following Interim Management Statement:
Newsstands in Thailand this week are carrying the first issue of a local edition of Haymarket football title FourFourTwo.
Quark has announced the availability of XPressMath, free XTensions software for QuarkXPress 8, which enables users to create high quality mathematical equations within QuarkXPress projects.
Green Pea Publishing and Pageant Media lead the shortlist for the Independent Publisher Awards 2009.
Fresh from his first Formula One World Drivers’ Championship, the story of Jenson Button, in ‘bookazine’ format.
Publishing Expo has opened its visitor registration for the 2010 show.
Two leading media brands serving the international aviation industry have committed to independent audits of circulation and web traffic by BPA Worldwide.
IPC Media's International department, part of the licensing and syndication division IPC Plus, has announced the launch of an Indonesian edition of Livingetc, its modern homes magazine.
Kodak and Haymarket’s printweek.com have launched a Kodak microsite aimed at the UK print community.
United Business Media has announced that it has won the Business Impact Award in the Social Business Software Awards at JiveWorld09.
InStyle, the fashion and style magazine from IPC Southbank, has devised a creative campaign using a striking paper technique to promote the Vivienne Westwood fragrance line by Coty Prestige.
