Introduction to Magazines
MAC125, 20th Feb 2008
What is the magazine industry…?
Yes it is…
IPC Magazines
Type: Consumer (B2C) Price: £2.99 Frequency: Monthly Circulation: 214,483 (ABC Jul-Dec 07) Readership: 1,006,000 (NRS Jul-Dec 07) Launch Date: 1920 Median Age: 43 Target Market: ABC1 adults aged 25-54
And it is also like this…
Type: Internal (CSR) Price: Free Frequency: Quarterly Circulation: BP Staff worldwide Readership: BP Staff worldwide Launch Date: 2006 Median Age: n/a Target Market: BP Staff worldwide
And it is also like this…
Grey Gosling
Pfizer Pipeline Type: Online magazine (B2B) Price: Free Frequency: Daily Circulation: Pfizer customers in UK Readership: 7,000 Launch Date: 2005 Median Age: n/a Target Market: Pfizer customers in UK
Last example…
Type: Consumer Men‟s Magazine (B2C) Price: £3.50 Frequency: Monthly Circulation: 315,149 (ABC figures) Readership: 2..4 million (more than Loaded, Nuts and Maxim combined / NRS) Launch Date: 1998 Median Age: 26 Target Market: BC1 16-34 year old men
Just some areas of the magazine market (there are more…)
Consumer magazines
Business magazines
Company magazines
Men’s
Women’s
Trade
Interest
CSR
Internal comms.
The UK market
• 134 million magazines sold/distributed a year • £1.98 billion spent on magazines last year • Growing areas:
– – – – – – Women‟s Lifestyle Fashion sector up 17.3 per cent Men‟s Lifestyle sector up 35.1 per cent (due to free weeklies) Aviation sector up 11.1 per cent, Photography up 19.4 per cent Mountain Biking up 17.4 per cent Entertainment sector up 16.8 per cent
• And moving online… Nuts launched NutsTV in Sept 2007: 945,790 unique users for www.nuts.co.uk in November, up 314,323 from 631,467 in June
Biggest selling UK magazine?
Quick check on terms
Circulation: how many copies are sold; measured by ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulation) Readership: how many people read the magazine; normally more than circulation, measured by NRS (national readership survey) B2B: business-to-business B2C: business-to-consumer CSR: corporate social responsibility Internal Comms: internal communications, how companies manage their messages to staff
Another key term: target market
Social classifications
A B C / C1 D E
Age 16-24 16-34s 25-34 35-44 35-54s 45-54 55+
“Target Market” the market segment to which a particular product is marketed. It's often defined by age, gender, geography, and/or socio-economic grouping. It can consist of lists/reports that contains each ethnicity, ages, and gender, etc.., that effect the marketing of the product/services.” Source: Wikipedia
Target Markets…?
VS.
Target markets
Social classifications
A B C / C1 D E
Age 16-24 16-34s 25-34 35-44 35-54s 45-54 55+
Target Markets…?
VS.
The content…
How you would write for… women‟s weeklies
• “We‟re in a cyclical market, where the same stuff comes out again and again, so for us it‟s all about reinvention – we‟re totally dependent on finding new angles.” Elena Dalrymple, Editor, Mother and Baby • “A good writer is actually very rare. They need to write to style, do very thorough research, get brilliant expert quotes, plus reader anecdotes that capture the essence of the feature, and deliver on time.” Claire Askew, Features Editor, Company
Women‟s weeklies
• 82% of women read a magazine
– Heat, Take a Break, Easy Living, Woman
• Total sales: 8 million magazines a month
– New titles constantly launched
• First, news-led weekly for 30-somethings • Pick Me Up, real life stories
• Women: £563m on magazines in 2004 • A freelancer gets: £300 per 1,000 words
• Up to £750 per feature for big name mags
Content found inside…
• • • • • • • Lifestyle features First person stories Real-life tales Women‟s fiction Case studies Specialist (psychology, extreme sports) Interviews
Opportunities
“We want eyes and ears outside London. We can always do with people to knock on doors.” Julia Lawrence, Editor, Reveal
• Local and regional press as sources • Personal contacts
– You need a large contacts book – Not just celebs, but „real‟ people with stories
Before you write… the strategy
• Build up your cuttings files
– Write for free magazines, student mags, get work experience, online magazines etc…
• Do your research
– Read the magazine you target thoroughly – Address the commissioning editor by name – Get the right copy deadlines: make it timely
• Monthly magazines work 4-months in advance • Weeklies work 5-6 weeks in advance
“If you spot a story, don‟t hang around. By tomorrow, every agency and freelancer in the country could be onto it.” Julia Lawrence, Editor, Reveal
Some resource areas
Circulation and Marketing Info for mags: www.ppa.co.uk Periodical Publishing Assoc. www.adassoc.org.uk Advertising Assoc. www.abc.org.uk Audit Bureau of Circulation www.intelligentcia.com British Rate & Data
Some resource areas
Contacts and Background www.bsme.com British Soc. Of Mag Editors www.magforum.com Sector Overview www.mediauk.com Ind. Media directory www.nrs.co.uk National Readership Survey www.jbwb.co.uk Where to sell features…
Some resource areas
Publishers www.natmags.co.uk National Magazines www.emap.com EMAP www.ipcmedia.com IPC www.condenast.co.uk Conde Nast www.dcthompson.co.uk DC Thompson www.bauer.co.uk Bauer
More in MAC238 next year…
Building a relationship with you…
Summary…
• Wide range of different magazines • Wide range of roles • Hard work to get your dream job (but you can get it) • Target market is critical to success • Building a relationship • Brand values • The content…