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.
It is not only in the UK where publishers and retailers do not always see eye to eye. In the US, retailers are increasingly questioning the value of the magazine category. Karlene Lukovitz looks at recent publisher and distributor initiatives to win
Despite the huge size of the German market and our close economic ties, UK publishers (in common with other international publishers) consistently underachieve there. The Economist’s Philip Kucharski looks at the challenges of marketing international
If you’re serious about subs, then modelling should play an important part in your planning and budgetary processes. Yet, take up is patchy, and is often confined to the larger publishers. Ross Sturley looks at the reasons for this and also how and w
Those who write copy may fancy themselves a healthy crowd, but as Andy Maslen shows, they are prone to occupational illnesses quite as severe as those found in more rugged work environments.
How much are your free readers worth to you? Not sure? The chances are that you know their cost but not their value. A combination of traditional accounting practices and a lack of analysis tools have contributed to this ignorance. Charles Arthur, wh
Why are so many subscription ads lacklustre? How is it that, when publishers spend so much time promoting the efficacy of ‘advertising’, their own creations look so rushed and uninspired? Peter Hobday ponders this and gives his dos and don’ts of subs
A third of total newstrade sales is through the independents, but does publisher marketing activity reflect that fact? Peter Wagg thinks not, although there are some encouraging signs of change. He argues that a more indie focussed strategy, coupled
Winning the right to hold the 2012 Olympics was a cause of much celebration in London on 6th July – and despair in Paris. What impact, if any, will hosting the games have on the publishing industry? Chris Collins looks into the future to predict the
The web represents an alternative route to market – be it via digital editions or other forms of online content provision. However the print / online relationship is symbiotic with the primary source of subscription orders for many print titles now b
In the US, a day doesn’t go by without the appearance of multiple news items relating to publishing companies racing to become “media-neutral” in response to the internet’s formidable competition for time and dollars. Karlene Lukovitz takes up the st
Barely a stone’s through away, and with a population of over 60m, the French market has lots to tempt UK publishers, though the small matter of language and a vibrant domestic publishing sector don’t help. COMAG’s Graeme King gives an overview of the
The advent of internet research tools – often free – has seen an explosion in use as publishers, editors and marketers all aim to increase understanding of their readers. Anthony Ray, a member of the Market Research Society, offers a few thoughts on
Despite their importance, many publishers adopt a mechanistic, almost minimalist, approach to renewals. Readers are informed of the impending expiry but little effort is made to resell the magazine. Anne Kottler shows how the new trend in branded ren
Seismic shifts are occurring in the supply chain and the main players – publishers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers – are all struggling to make sense of the changing equilibrium. When the dust settles who will be on top? Deloitte’s Terri Lin
Gone are the days when the “average net circulation” was the be all and end all of ABC reporting. Intelligent media buyers are now spending as much time analysing the numbers behind the headlines as they are on the top line figures themselves. Lucy B
