Publishers are getting smarter at creating specialist magazines that cultivate communities of readers, and brands are starting to take notice.
In an interview with Press Gazette, Anthem CEO Jon Bickley highlighted how quickly magazines can make it to market now. Anthem is a magazine publisher which produces ten magazine brands on popular specialist topics, like music and food.
Bickley said that both for the air fryer trend and the Taylor Swift Eras tour, magazines were able to get to consumers faster than books or other print products, giving them a chance to sweep up early sales.
And Jim Bilton, MD of Wessenden Marketing, told MediaCat UK that it isn’t just speed and spread that makes magazines a strong prospect for advertisers.
‘Creating a high level of engagement is what magazines are all about,’ he said. ‘They’re about curation and strong community links.’
Bilton highlighted publishers like Anthem and Hearst. Hearst has recently moved from a subscription model to a membership model, turning its customers into a community with online forums and other benefits that make readers feel less like silent consumers and more like they are paying for a sense of belonging and developing a real engagement with Hearst’s products.
‘That community is the difference between a product and a brand, and that’s something that marketers can really struggle to unlock by themselves. That’s the key to unlocking advertising revenues for magazine publishers,” he said.
He added that the magazine business itself is becoming ‘smarter’ at reacting to this kind of community, and that finding the most active communities to market to is a real strength of the sector.
It’s true that oneshots (magazines that only release a single issue), bookazines (magazines intended to be displayed like a coffee table book) and new launches are all becoming more common, with many publishers taking chances on niche fandoms and hobbies to discover dedicated readerships.
And working closely with publishers can be a good way for advertisers to find a tuned-in and engaged community.
‘I think this has always been a strength of magazines, but people outside of the publishing business are realising for the first time that magazines are a good indicator of public interest,’ Bilton said.