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.
Magazine Week is becoming an annual event after its initial trial last year. Yet, what is it all about? What is happening? And can it really work? Jim Bilton of Wessenden Marketing is the project manager for Magazine Week 2008 and, here, he explains
Gift subscriptions are growing in importance for consumer magazine publishers of all shapes and sizes. They have also been the focus of industry-wide consumer awareness campaigns co-ordinated by PPA and Royal Mail. One of the leading online magazine
The grass is always greener! Ever fancied plying your trade abroad? Singapore, perhaps? There are some very obvious draws, but also some unexpected drawbacks. Sara Howers has just spent a year there. Here’s her despatch ...
There are few more central roles in UK media than that of chief executive of the ABC. Chris Boyd has occupied that position for eight years, during a period of tumultuous change in the industry. Chris steps down in October and, here, he tells Lucy Ai
If only advertisers would keep things simple and only order DPSs, publishers’ lives would be a lot easier! Inserts are anything but simple, and all-too-often lead to heightened stress levels, late mailings and increased costs. Ian Phillips lets off s
There can never have been a more exciting time to work in circulation, says Kevin McCormick. That may sound strange against a general backdrop of circulation declines, increasing promotional costs, high unsolds, poor return on investment, supply chai
Customer service is about more than just answering the phone within three rings – it encompasses all the various contact points with the subscriber. Dovetail recently undertook research to find out why people subscribed, their expectations and their
There have never been so many tools at the direct marketer’s disposal, or so much pressure on them to use those tools responsibly. With so many variables in play, it is imperative, says Phil Whomes, that publishers adopt a systematic approach to test
As of mid-June 2008, the US government and economists continued to debate over whether the country is or is not heading into an official recession. Meanwhile, says Karlene Lukovitz, the fallout from the seriously troubled economy is, unfortunately, a
Trying to second guess the thought processes of the consumer as they progress through a store is an ongoing obsession for retail marketers. Recent research from Marketforce seeks to shed light on what impact in-store promotional mechanics have on mag
The web is now a major source of magazine subscriptions, via publishers’ own sites and third party online magazine shops. One of the leading online shops, iSUBSCRiBE, recently commissioned Wessenden Marketing to undertake research into their customer
US B2Bs are under pressure from rising costs and declining revenues in their print markets and from the need for continual investment and innovation in digital. As a result, says Karlene Lukovitz, B2B staff are having to burn the candle at both ends
Recent research suggests that one of the barriers to growing subs, is the perceived inflexibility of the subscription offer. The standard set term / single title offer isn’t an attractive enough proposition, especially for gift purchasers. Armed with
Getting customer service right costs money, but does it cost as much as getting it wrong? Publishers, whose profits are based on repeat business, can’t afford to alienate customers. Jess Burney looks at the importance of joining up the customer journ
A shortage of data and an overcrowded newsstand are two of the challenges facing UK publishers eyeing up the German market. However, a population of 83 million, and German speakers in Austria and Switzerland to boot, is a considerable prize. Paride F
