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.
No publishing discipline has been left unaffected by the new media world we now work in. The change experienced by circulation and subscriptions teams, says Georgina Rushworth, has been every bit as earth moving as the upheavals experienced by editor
With so many publishers trying to ‘manage decline’, Mark Williams claims it’s just too easy to blame the market rather than recognise where the problems really lie, and how to turn things around.
Country Life has unveiled a special editorial package to celebrate the launch of its new series, Dream Acres – the ultimate guide to creating the perfect landscape.
With the holiday season now just around the corner, Haymarket’s Practical Caravan magazine is launching an all-new look for its June edition.
Star Trek Comic beams onto the newsstand with a bumper issue and price as the all-new Star Trek movie hits UK cinemas.
IPC Southbank's bridal magazine, Wedding, has joined entertainment channel Wedding TV to produce a second series of The Wedding Experts, which hits screens today.
Marketforce (UK) Ltd, one of the leading magazine distributors in the UK, has awarded new five year contracts for the distribution of its portfolio of titles in the UK to Menzies Distribution and Smiths News.
InStyle, the fashion and style title from IPC Southbank, has joined forces with nails inc. to celebrate the nail bar chain’s 10th birthday. The partnership launches in the magazine’s June issue, which will carry a free nail polish in a choice of thre
Uncut, the music and movie magazine, announces a new one-shot, U2 - The Ultimate Music Guide.
John Butterworth and Tim Scott, art directors for Haymarket Media’s customer publishing arm Network, have been shortlisted for this year’s PPA consumer magazine Designer of the Year award.
PPA has announced the shortlist for The PPA Awards for editorial and publishing excellence 2009.
PPA (the UK Periodical Publishers Association) has teamed up with Archant Specialist magazines to produce a special one-off issue of Heritage magazine to give to international delegates at the biennial FIPP World Magazine Congress in London from 4th-
Radio Times has announced its TV and radio listings are available via an application on the Apple App Store. The app will enable iPhone and iPod touch users to browse Radio Times’ extensive listings including seven days worth of TV and radio program
NME has secured a major cross-platform deal with global leader in the sporting goods industry, adidas, and leading sports fashion retailer, JD to celebrate the 60th anniversary of adidas Originals - collections of cutting edge street wear sold exclus
UPM Shotton has been recognised by the Queen as one of the UK's most sustainable businesses with a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the sustainable development category.
