Introduction to Magazines

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Introduction to Magazines

• MAC125, 20th Feb 2008

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What is the magazine industry?
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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
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And it is also like this
Type Internal (CSR) Price Free Frequency
Quarterly Circulation BP Staff
worldwideReadership BP Staff worldwideLaunch
Date 2006 Median Age n/a Target Market BP
Staff worldwide
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And it is also like this
Grey Gosling
Pfizer Pipeline Type Online magazine
(B2B) Price Free Frequency Daily Circulation
Pfizer customers in UKReadership 7,000 Launch
Date 2005 Median Age n/a Target Market Pfizer
customers in UK
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Last example
Type Consumer Mens 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
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Just some areas of the magazine market (there are
more)
Consumer magazines
Business magazines
Company magazines
Internal comms.
Trade
Interest
Mens
Womens
CSR
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The UK market

• 134 million magazines sold/distributed a year
• 1.98 billion spent on magazines last year
• Growing areas
• Womens Lifestyle Fashion sector up 17.3 per cent
• Mens 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

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Biggest selling UK magazine?
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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

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Another key term target market
Social classifications
A
B
C / C1
D
E
Age
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55
16-34s
35-54s
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
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Target Markets?
VS.
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Target markets
Social classifications
A
B
C / C1
D
E
Age
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55
16-34s
35-54s
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Target Markets?
VS.
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The content
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How you would write for womens weeklies

• Were in a cyclical market, where the same stuff
  comes out again and again, so for us its all
  about reinvention were 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

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Womens 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

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Content found inside

• Lifestyle features
• First person stories
• Real-life tales
• Womens fiction
• Case studies
• Specialist (psychology, extreme sports)
• Interviews

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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

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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, dont hang around. By
  tomorrow, every agency and freelancer in the
  country could be onto it.
  Julia Lawrence, Editor, Reveal

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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

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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

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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

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• More in MAC238 next year

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Building a relationship with you
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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