Association of Publishing Agencies
Julia Hutchison, COO APA:
ABC figures support the rise and rise of branded content
These latest results continue to demonstrate the strength of the sector, with 12 customer magazines in the top 20 and eight in the top ten, one up on last year and the industry now representing over half (53%) of the total circulation of these top 100, which reflects the vital role print still plays in engaging consumers through branded content. These figures also show that the market is far from stagnant with two launches which have experienced very positive first results – Waitrose Kitchen (total circulation - 339,109), previously Waitrose Food Illustrated which made it to number 36 and John Lewis Edition (total circulation – 484,040), the brand’s first ever magazine which has hit the position of 21. Every customer magazine which features in the top 10 is also now creating cross-media content to further engage its customer base.
These figures reinforce a recent APA survey of clients and media planners, which reflected that a massive 63% predict that we are moving into a post advertising era, with brands now looking to use budgets to invest in content. Veronis Suhler Stevenson also brought positive news to the fore this week with a survey showing the media industry is now adjusting its view on the best way to spend budget in a targeted way to develop relationships between brand and consumer. The organisation predicted that investment in targeted content, which includes branded content will grow at 7.3% over the next 4 years.
What these results prove is that the appetite for branded content shows no sign of abating, keeping customer publishing in rude health as economic worries have continued to dog the media industry at large. This is due to our sector’s commitment to innovation and evolving to meet client and audience needs as they arise. Customer publishing’s fee-based commercial model makes it an accountable, practical and affordable option for brands, which is why we are seeing the industry flourish. The robust publishing investment seen here is more than matched by that in the digital sphere with a huge percentage of these publications forming part of integrated campaigns which incorporate websites, social media, video and more. For example, all of the top 6 are investing in cross-media content. It is the ability of our industry to translate content in this way, making it relevant and engaging to consumers however they interact with a brand, which sets it apart in terms of consumer engagement and measurability. The result of this is the continued and increasing investment in branded content across disciplines, of which the magazine remains a vital part of the marketing mix, as the latest results show. The question for brands now is much less ‘should I invest in branded content’ but rather ‘how should I invest in branded content’, which is a wonderful position to be in.
Bauer Media
Paul Keenan, Chief Executive of Bauer Media, commented:
"Bauer Media's portfolio of influential brands continue to deliver compelling content that connects and engages with audiences wherever they are. Our commitment to understanding our audiences, investment in editorial excellence, innovation, differentiation and evolution underpins many of these market-leading, market-beating ABC performances.
"Only Bauer Media produces such a wide range of quality magazines that provide advertisers with a clear, trusted and effective route to quality audiences, as well as the opportunity to extend and enrich client conversations with our consumers further via our radio, TV, internet, mobile and live event properties ."
Celebrity Weeklies
Closer - 526,713 (w)
Sophie Wybrew-Bond, Deputy MD, Bauer Women's Entertainment, commented: "In an incredibly competitive celebrity weekly market, Closer has grown share despite holding its £1.30 coverprice in the face of much discounting by rivals. Closer's commitment to an unrivalled quality of agenda-setting entertainment, real-life and lifestyle editorial is reflected in its consistent, week-in, week-out sales."
heat - 417,163 (w)
Nicky Holt, Acting Publisher, commented: "As ever, heat remains widely recognised as the reference point for all things celebrity with its unique tone of voice delivering breaking news, exclusive interviews and red carpet-inspired fashion and beauty. The recently revamped StarStyle section now boasts the most stylish, glamorous, up-to-date and reader-focussed style pages out there. heat's unique and unrivalled heritage gives the brand an unparalleled level of engagement and interaction with its celebrity-obsessed audience in print, via heatworld.com, heat Radio and social media networks."
Women's Lifestyle
Grazia - 228,770 (w)
Ella Dolphin, Publisher of Grazia, commented: "Grazia's news, entertainment and lifestyle content continues to attract and engage with an increasingly upmarket and influential readership in print, as well as online via Graziadaily. Five years old and still the 'Hot Book' for fashion and beauty advertisers, innovation remains at the heart of everything we do to bring the Grazia brand to life. Earlier this year, we were first to market with a 'Walk-In, Talking Grazia' unlocking Augmented Reality technology to feature an all-singing, all-dancing Florence Welch on the cover, showcasing further 3D editorial and commercial content inside - a truly exciting opportunity for Grazia fans to experience the magazine."
more! - 187,159 (w)
Sophie Wybrew-Bond, Deputy MD, Bauer Women's Entertainment, commented: "more! stands alone in the market as THE weekly lifestyle magazine for 20-something women . more!'s confident and accessible fashion, beauty and relationship editorial is fuelled by an exceptionally direct interaction with, and understanding of, the more! audience. The team have daily conversations with its readers online and via social media networks, providing an instant, one-on-one connection that inspires more!'s unique and adventorous content every week."
Yours - 297,231 (f)
Rimi Atwal, Publisher of Yours, commented: "A strong performance and stand out sales growth despite competition from traditional weeklies and premium lifestyle monthlies. Yours is a celebratory read, steeped in a sense of community and a consistent champion of issues close to the heart of its extremely loyal 50-something readers.
Women's Specialist
Top Sante - 81,848 (m)
Rimi Atwal, Publisher of Top Sante, commented: "A solid performance from the only magazine devoted to all-round holistic health, beauty and wellbeing driven by an editorial team in tune with the grown up woman who looks to the monthly for information, inspiration and advice."
Mother & Baby - 53,399 (m); Parenting & Birth - 35,491 (m)
Rimi Atwal, Publisher of Bauer Media's Parenting portfolio, commented: "No other publisher dominates the UK Parenting market like Bauer. Together our print and online brands - M&B, P&B and askamum.co.uk - deliver essential, trusted advice and content from pre-conception to pre-school to a highly engaged audience. The Mother & Baby Awards, now in its 18th year, remains the Oscars of the Nursery Industry"
Men's Lifestyle
FHM - 192,586 (m)
Geoff Campbell, MD of FHM, commented: "As our recently unveiled year-long research project - '4D Men' - demonstrated, the needs and motivations of men have changed, becoming more multi-dimensional and FHM continues to evolve in step. As a result, Editor Colin Kennedy has reshaped the magazine to speak to a more engaged and influential group of young men. The FHM brand is still in rude health with a website visited by 1.2m men each month, 25 International editions spanning the globe, and a TV series launching in the Autumn, 'FHM Stand-Up Hero'."
Zoo - 80, 026 (w)
Geoff Campbell, MD of ZOO, commented: "In a challenging market, Zoo continues to attract young men seeking a fast, funny and topical read, and deliver good value to advertisers with its innovative 3D issue and World Cup promotions."
Music & Film
Empire - 179,064 (m)
Kerrang! - 44,013 (w)
MOJO - 91, 678 (m)
Q - 89,450 (m)
Stuart Williams, MD of Bauer Media's Music & Film portfolio, commented:
"After an unprecedented 20th anniversary year, EMPIRE continues to dominate the film market despite the inevitable fall out from the Writer's Strike. Subscriptions rose dramatically, however, ahead of what is anticipated to be a bumper crop of blockbusters scheduled for release over the next 18 months. EMPIRE's unparalleled A-list access and exclusive interviews has rewarded Editor Mark Dinning with a hat-trick of BSME Editor of the Year Awards, and he also led the team to the coveted PPA Consumer Magazine of the Year in June this year."
"Kerrang! has had a resurgent year under new Editor Nicola Browne, who has refreshed, rejuvenated and refocussed the magazine on its core audience of late teen-early 20s rock fans. Kerrang! continues to be a powerful media brand with a strong online presence and a hugely successful radio station."
"In MOJO and Q, Bauer Media boasts the two best selling monthly music magazines in the UK. MOJO recently marked its 200th issue with Tom Waits guest-editing and, as ever, the Mojo Honours List awards attracted a veritable Who's Who of music legends including Jimmy Page, Kasabian, Roger Daltrey and Marc Almond.
"Q will chalk up a quarter century in 2011 and will do so by continuing to extend its reach amongst audiences online, on TV, on Radio and at live events."
Motoring
CAR - 62,433 (m)
Classic Cars - 37,424 (m)
Practical Classics - 53,094 (m)
Editor Phil McNamara commented: “CAR magazine has enjoyed a solid six months, driven by a series of brilliant, eye-catching covers and six issues that set the monthly motoring agenda. CAR introduces readers to the cars, faces and places other mags cannot reach.”
Stablemate Classic Cars has recorded its third consecutive year on year and a period on period increase. (Earlier this year Classic Car Weekly was also reintroduced into the portfolio).
Classic Cars’ Editor Phil Bell commented: “We’ve continued to improve the magazine, introducing new feature series, finding more exclusive stories and bringing greater depth to every page and it’s clearly paying off. It’s just about giving true classic car enthusiasts what they really want."
Golf
Today's Golfer - 67,518 (m)
Golf World - 36,029 (m)
TG Editor-in-Chief Andy Calton commented: “UK golfers take the game seriously and want to improve. The new magazine will allow them to measurably achieve that. It gives the best advice and instruction and is more useful than ever before. TG retains the number one slot ahead of a major revamp, launching with the September 2010 issue, on sale now.”
Golf World Editor Chris Jones commented: "Golf World continues to impress with its premium mix of the world’s best players, courses and tournaments, using its influence to attract some great writers, including World Number Ten Ian Poulter and former US Open Champ Geoff Ogilvy.”
Gardening
Garden News 32,913 (w)
Garden Answers 20,733 (m)
Rob Croxall, MD Leisure and Transport commented: “Both titles have recorded period increases following a significant investment in product development and cover promotions."
Rob Munro-Hall, Group MD Bauer Media (Specialist), added:
“This has been a really exciting period for our specialist business, with some major acquisitions to the portfolio, our flagship motoring titles on fantastic form and the reincarnation of several of our biggest brands.”
BBC Magazines
BBC Magazines up more than 3% in Jan-June ABCs
BBC Magazines has delivered another strong performance in the latest ABC release (January-June 2010) with circulations across its portfolio up 3.12% year on year, subscriptions at an all-time high of 886,472, and with 98.7% of its titles ‘actively purchased’ by customers.
Highlights from BBC Magazines’ results:
• Lonely Planet Magazine delivers an impressive ABC of 54,708, up 34.4% year on year, becoming the number one actively purchased travel magazine in the UK;
• Radio Times retains its market-leading position as the best-selling quality listings title and outperforms the market, with a slight drop in year on year circulation (-1.96%) to 947,131;
• Across BBC Magazines’ food titles, olive is up 2.0% year on year, with a circulation of 87,881; Good Food is down slightly at 305,885, but retains its position as the market-leading paid-for food title; Gardeners’ World is up 19.9% period on period at 260,133, down slightly year on year (-2.3%);
All of BBC Magazines’ specialist factual titles, published by BBC Magazines Bristol, have increased their circulations, with BBC science title Focus up 8.0% at 73,614, BBC History Magazine up 8.4 % at 69,234, and Countryfile magazine up by an impressive 22.0% (at 33,839);
For younger readers, Girl Talk is up 12.4% year on year at 67,929; and among pre-school titles, CBeebies Weekly delivers a strong ABC of 54,846, up 13.1% year on year; stable-mates CBeebies Art and CBeebies Special have also performed well, with circulations of 49,929 and a debut of 51,379 respectively;
Subscriptions to BBC titles are at an all-time high of 886,472 making BBC Magazines the UK publisher with the highest number of subscriptions.
Peter Phippen, MD of BBC Magazines, said: “I am delighted with BBC Magazines’ strong ABC performance in this period. Once again we have bucked the trend with increased sales across our portfolio, becoming the UK publisher with the highest number of subscriptions and with 99% of our magazines ‘actively purchased’ by readers. This is thanks to our long-term investment in market-leading titles which readers love for their quality content, great journalism and immensely strong brands. I’m particularly proud of the success of Lonely Planet Magazine, which, in addition to winning several prestigious awards since its launch 18 months ago, has grown its circulation by an impressive 34% year on year.”
Further details on BBC Magazines results will be issued shortly.
(The total ABC figure for BBC Magazines for January-June 2010 is 2,952,806. This figure is up 3.1% year on year and stable (-0.5%) period on period.)
BBC Magazines - Publishers’ statements
BBC Food Group
Alfie Lewis, Publishing Director, BBC Food Group:
“This has been another fantastic period for our food titles, with a 5% year on year uplift in magazine sales overall compared to last year’s ABC. This is truly remarkable, given the unprecedented level of competition now in this market.”
“Despite Good Food being down year on year, the record level of subscriptions (164,108) shows the willingness of consumers to develop a long term relationship with the brand and its ‘eat well, spend less’ promise. Good Food Home Cooking’s strong ABC figure for this period and Easy Cook’s now established audience highlight the success of our deliberate strategy of providing our unique content in new print formats, including bookazines. Additionally the first ABCe for a year and a half charts the astonishing reach of the brand with 1.7m unique users a month, 71,013 unique users a day, up 78%. We were delighted our successful brand strategy was acknowledged by the PPA who awarded us Consumer Media Brand of the Year. Following the launch of the first iPhone apps and with other exciting developments planned for the next period, we look forward to a golden future for this highly successful brand.”
“olive’s achievement in recording a third year on year circulation increase is testament to its confident and bold editorial approach with innovations such as a reader generated issue. With subscriptions higher than ever, we are on course to deliver the long term aim of a six figure circulation for this stand out magazine.”
Gardeners’ World
Dominic Murray, Publishing Director, Gardeners’ World Magazine:
“Into its 20th year Gardeners’ World magazine continues to lead the marketplace by a massive margin, increasing its share once again. This success is underpinned by an enduring ability to inspire loyalty among our readers. Gardeners’ World now has 67.2% share of the total paid-for gardening market and with a Jan-Jun 2010 ABC of 260,133, Gardeners’ World is the 11th most widely bought monthly magazine overall in the UK this period.
“A clear focus on our core customer is paying dividends, and the magazine is really delivering for this keen gardening audience. With standout covers such as our May 2010 ‘Gardens to Visit’ special we have also demonstrated the ability to reach out to new readers, underlined by our impressive resilience on the newsstand, consistently outperforming the marketplace. In addition, we launched our first special edition, Gardeners’ World guide ‘Grow Your Own,’ in February. We are very confident for the future with some exciting developments planned in the build-up to our 20th anniversary issue in 2011.”
Lonely Planet Magazine
Dominic Murray, Publishing Director of Lonely Planet Magazine:
“Lonely Planet Magazine continues its inexorable rise, and is now the UK’s number one paid-for consumer travel magazine - a truly remarkable achievement in less than two years since launch.
“Refreshingly original, the unique editorial proposition continues to attract new readers in their thousands, making Lonely Planet the UK’s fastest-growing monthly magazine year on year with an ABC of 54,708, up 34.4% year on year and 21.4% period on period. The brave, frequency-led circulation strategy is clearly paying dividends, the category continues to grow, and the phenomenal growth in our subscriptions file (now over 28,000) demonstrates increasing commitment from our readers. What a story! But it doesn’t stop there: our success with the UK edition is matched with a rapidly growing network of - now nine - international editions.”
Radio Times
Kathy Day, Publishing Director, Radio Times, says:
“Radio Times’ ABC figure of 947,131 sees its share of the premium market growing to a record 57.6%. Radio Times now outsells the rest of the premium TV Listings titles put together nearly a quarter of a million copies. This sales success combines with an increase in AB profile to 49% (Oct to Mar NRS) to consolidate Radio Times’ position as the UK’s biggest selling upmarket magazine.
“I’m delighted that Radio Times also retains its market leading position as the UK’s biggest selling weekly magazine by subscription, increasing subs by 12.1% to 188,371.
“The brand success continues with radiotimes.com publishing an ABCe daily average unique user figure of 84,086, with monthly unique users up 16.5% to 1.4m.”
Top Gear
Simon Carrington, Publishing Director of Top Gear Magazines, says:
“Despite a difficult summer for newsstand sales, Top Gear remains the UK’s best-selling car magazine and the 3rd biggest selling men’s monthly.
“The big success for Top Gear magazine over the past six months has been the growth of subscription sales. In this ABC period, subscribers to Top Gear magazine grew by nearly 7% to almost 60,000 subscribers. This success is proof that Top Gear’s unique blend of entertaining and authoritative motoring journalism continues to be a hit with the readers.
“We will soon be announcing Top Gear magazine’s new editor and expect the redesigned Top Gear Magazine to hit the shelves shortly after. With TopGear.com delivering a very strong ABCe of 2.4m unique users a month (108,930 users per day) we are looking forward to strong autumn and further growth in 2011.”
BBC Children’s Magazines
Jaynie Bye, joint MD, BBC Children’s Magazines:
“Girl Talk continues to be a hugely popular choice for preteen girls in an increasingly competitive market and its year on year increase (12.4%) is testament to this. Following a refresh and redesign at the beginning of the year, its vibrant and varied content means that, after more than 15 years in the market, it is still the first choice for most young girls.
“Following the return to our screens of Doctor Who, with the wonderful Matt Smith, Doctor Who Adventures magazine has delivered a strong period on period growth (19.9%). A whole new generation of fans are keen to find out all they can about the Doctor, his companion and, of course, the scary monsters and wait eagerly their weekly fix in the form of Doctor Who Adventures Magazine.
“We are also very pleased with the performance of Top of the Pops this period, which has held relatively steady with an ABC of 104,709. This result is even more impressive when considered in context of the wider teen market performance; as the only title covering music for teens, Top of the Pops Magazine has been able to capitalise on the current mania for JLS and Justin Bieber.”
Pauline Cooke, Publisher, BBC Pre-school Magazines, says:
“As a portfolio, BBC Pre-school has increased its market share by 3.6 percentage points and now accounts for 45.3% of the total pre-school market. Overall the BBC Pre-school portfolio is up 7.3% period on period and 18% year on year, mainly due to an increase in sales of CBeebies Weekly and the launch of CBeebies Specials magazines which had a brilliant debut ABC of 51,379.
“After extensive research into parents’ perception of pre-school magazines - and CBeebies Weekly in particular - we have spent the past year working to deliver their need for value. CBeebies Weekly re-launched with an improved format, more investment in gifts and a revamped editorial content, this has helped to increase sales by 13.06% year on year. CBeebies Art continues to go from strength to strength which is up 18.96% year on year, despite a price rise.
“We have seen some decline in our older titles as they move into a different stage in their lifecycle, in particular In the Night Garden, but we will re-launch this title within the next few months to ensure it maintains its appeal for this very young audience. This natural decline with older brands is to be expected in this sector, but the high volume of launches helps to maintain and refresh the market. We will be launching our second new title in September, featuring the hugely successful CBeebies programme, ZingZillas.”
BBC Magazines Bristol (Specialist Factual titles)
Jemima Ransome, publisher, Countryfile Magazine:
“Up 22% year on year, Countryfile Magazine has taken a huge leap forwards this period proving just how popular the magazine’s stunning new look has been and richly rewarding the team’s fantastic work under new editor, Fergus Collins. With a strong plan of marketing support in place for the rest of the year, we are confident that the magazine will deliver continued growth next period and will continue to benefit from the increasing popularity of holidaying at home. Countryfile Magazine’s new ABC is 33,839.”
Jemima Ransome, publisher of BBC Wildlife Magazine:
“BBC Wildlife Magazine continues to command massive loyalty from its readers with subscriptions breaking the 30,000 mark and a rock solid ABC of 44,564, up 1% year on year. As the UK’s only dedicated wildlife magazine, readers relish the way it builds their appreciation of the natural world and encourages them to seek out new ways to explore it. Whether on their doorstop with a pair of binoculars or embarking on more far-flung expeditions, BBC Wildlife Magazine is their inspiration.”
Jemima Ransome, publisher of Gardens Illustrated:
“Up 6.8% year on year, Gardens Illustrated’s new ABC of 33,453 is another triumphant performance from the magazine. The title continues to outperform the gardening market proving the recession busting appeal of stylish gardening. With a third consecutive period of growth, Gardens Illustrated has clearly carved out a distinct and increasingly popular editorial proposition. It’s quite simply the most beautiful and aspirational gardening magazine.”
Andrew Davies, publisher of Focus magazine:
“This has been another hugely exciting and successful period for Focus as the title continues to march forward. An ABC figure of 73,614 represents a monumental 8% year on year increase, which within an increasingly competitive and challenging newsstand environment is highly satisfying. Especially pleasing is Focus’ continued growth in subscription volume with nearly 20% growth year on year, a sign of our increasingly loyal readership that dare not miss an issue. With an enthralling web presence and a range of innovative brand-extensions, this truly multi-platform brand is not only enjoying current success but is well placed for future growth.”
Andrew Davies, publisher of Sky at Night Magazine:
“I’m very proud of the first ABC posting of Sky at Night Magazine, at a very strong 21,084. Closely connected to the iconic BBC programme fronted by the inimitable Sir Patrick Moore, Sky at Night Magazine has turned in a truly excellent performance within the niche astronomy magazine market. Sky at Night Magazine is not only the sole title in this tightly-defined sector to confidently post an ABC figure, it has also outperformed the in-house target we set for it.”
Andy Healy, publisher of BBC History Magazine:
“BBC History Magazine posts another superb result, up 7% period on period and 8.4% year on year - an extraordinary nine consecutive increases. We’re drawing in new readers here and abroad, through the magazine’s unique take on British history, its mix of entertainment and revelation. Subscribers now account for over 60% of the circulation which illustrates just how enticing the magazine is and how quickly this fascinating subject can captivate the reader. We’ve also had over 2 million downloads of our podcast this year, spurring us on to develop the brand and to reach more people than ever before.”
Andy Healy, publisher of Homes & Antiques:
“I’m really pleased with the year on year growth of Homes & Antiques, up nearly 2%. As we enter the busier part of the year, our sights are set on delivering more of the great mix our readers love - great design from every era and a blend of the very best of old and new. Vintage and antiques are back in fashion and the Antiques Roadshow is enjoying terrific viewing figures, which means Homes & Antiques is well placed to indulge these burgeoning passions. Subscribers now represent over half our readers and it’s fantastic to have such a firm and loyal base.”
Dennis Publishing
Dennis Publishing’s ABC results for January to June 2010 show continued strong performance in the light of testing market conditions.
The Week – up 6.7% YOY to 176,680
The Week saw its 24th consecutive ABC increase; rising by over 6.7% with 6,900 new readers added. It continues as the UK’s largest weekly subscription magazine of any category, with 150,768 subscribers.
Motoring - evo & Octane – up 3.2% and 9.9% YOY
Performance car title evo and classic car title Octane rise to 64,674 and 33,393 readers respectively, with strong newsstand performances, an increase of 5.7% and 13.7% year on year in this area.
Fitness Titles show growth and a strong subscription increase
Leading men’s lifestyle magazine Men’s Fitness and newly acquired Health & Fitness both post increases and have seen significant growth in subscriptions, respectively rising 3.9% and 5.3% year on year.
James Tye, CEO of Dennis Publishing, said: “Now posting its 24th consecutive increase, it is easy to take the relentless growth of The Week for granted. Not so at Dennis Publishing. With an ABC of 176,680 we recognize that The Week is one of the most influential and widely subscribed to print magazines in the UK. With this latest ABC, we know there are over 9 million audited copies of The Week being read every year in the UK and another 30 million a year being read in the USA and the rest of the world.
“Elsewhere in the portfolio it is very pleasing to see both Octane and evo posting sizeable year on year increases in what remains a difficult car market. Fitness also remains an area of growth for us, with our recent acquisition Health & Fitness showing a strong, early subscription uptake."
Egmont
Egmont Publishing Group, the UK’s largest specialist publisher of children’s magazines and books, has reported strong ABC results for January to June 2010. Outstanding circulation increases from flagship pre-teen girls title Go Girl and Ben 10, the official title for smash hit boys’ cartoon, demonstrates Egmont’s position as a dominant market force.
Egmont now has the highest percentage share of the Primary Girls and Pre-teen markets by both volume and retail sales value. Egmont Girls Group reported a combined circulation of 200,094 this period, an overall increase of 1.3% period on period and 3.1% year on year. The results are headlined by Go Girl, which secured a circulation of 49,002, an increase of 8.9% period on period and 2.1% year on year, and Disney Princess, which reported circulation of 67,502, an increase of 5.6% period on period and 7.9% year on year. The re-launch of Barbie in late 2009 continues to pay dividends, with circulation increasing to 54,083, a significant jump of 5.0% year on year. Disney Princess and Barbie both sit within the top four titles within the Primary Girls sector.
A robust publishing strategy from Egmont has seen a double-digit growth for Ben 10 magazine this period, with a circulation of 74,013, up 15.6% period on period and 5.7% year on year. A focus on must-have value issues, exciting and on-brand cover mounts, strong content and covers plus great retail listings has helped. As too have strong retail promotions in all major grocery outlets. A big jump from Fireman Sam to a circulation of 29,568, an increase of 8.9% period on period has given Egmont a significant increase in the boys market.
Debbie Cook, director of magazines, Egmont Publishing Group said: “In what remains a challenging and competitive market, Egmont is very pleased to have recorded yet another excellent set of ABC circulation figures. Egmont Girls Group has continued to push for aggressive growth, with outstanding results from Go Girl, Disney Princess and Barbie magazines helping us secure the highest percentage share of Primary Girls and Pre-teen markets. Ben 10 remains a hugely popular brand for boys, hence the official magazine continues to go from strength to strength! Certainly these results reinforce how well placed Egmont is to attract and retain big brands and licenses and convert them into market leading magazines.”
Highlights include strong performances from the following titles:
Go Girl
Reflecting the continuing popularity of celebrities like X-Factor boy band JLS and American sensation Justin Bieber in the pre-teen girls market, Egmont’s Go Girl magazine also had a great ABC result. Go Girl now has a circulation of 49,002, an increase of 8.9% period on period and 2.1% year on year. The magazine has cemented its place as a ‘must-have’ for 7-11 year old girls, with success attributed to Egmont’s focus on a stronger gifting strategy and increased focus on celebrity content.
Disney Princess
The release of the Princess and the Frog movie in February has helped pave the way for an excellent ABC result from Egmont’s Disney Princess magazine, which now has a circulation of 67,502, an increase of 5.6% period on period and 7.9% year on year. Disney Princess is also the number two title in the Primary Girls sector*. The first new Princess film in a number of years, Egmont has focused on refreshing the brand by harnessing excitement around the film and DVD and heavily featuring Princess Tiana. Egmont also produced several high value packages, with one issue alone selling over 91k copies. The new Rapunzel film ‘Tangled’ in 2011 will help this upward trend.
Barbie
After its re-launch in 2009, Egmont’s Barbie magazine has continued to go from strength to strength, registering another great ABC result by reaching a circulation to 54,083, an increase 5.0% year on year. The Barbie brand is in growth across all categories, with doll, DVD and apparel sales up. Statistics show that two Barbie dolls are sold every second worldwide!
Ben 10
Ben 10 magazine, the official title for the smash hit boys’ cartoon, recorded a fantastic ABC result this period, with a circulation of 74,013, up 15.6% period on period and 5.7% year on year. This growth is primarily due to a robust publishing strategy, under which Egmont delivers must-have value issues, exciting and on-brand cover mounts, strong content and covers, plus great retail listings with strong promotions in all major grocery outlets. Ben 10 remains incredibly popular and the magazine is one of the only places readers can access classic Ben 10 features, as well as the newer Alien Force content.
Fireman Sam
There is lots of activity around the Fireman Sam brand with a new TV series on Catoonito & GMTV, new CGI imagery, new characters, new vehicles and new stories. In parallel, Egmont’s Fireman Sam magazine has increased its circulation to 29,568, an increase of 8.9% period on period and 0.1% year on year. Egmont has developed cover mounted gifts that pay back fully to the brand, vastly increasing the popularity of the boys title.
Sam Vernon, Creative Solutions Group Sales Manager adds:
• Children's publishers have also been able to capitalise on the fast changing trends and interest of children by producing one off specials for popular brands, such as Egmont's All About... and Latest series which see them focus on a 'brand of the moment' and answer consumer needs by capturing the mood of the moment. Other publishers are following suit with one-off specials as a growing revenue stream.
• The children's market as a whole saw a far smaller decrease in sales this period than last year, showing the market is in recovery.
• There has also been less closures in the children's market in this period giving confidence to the market that consumers are growing their spend for this market.
• For pre-teen girls the industry is waiting to see what the next big craze will be giving publishers the opportunity capitalise on that craze as High School Musical and Hannah Montana seeing a decrease in their popularity.
• While there is a lull in must-have brand for pre-teen girls, lifestyle titles are benefiting from pre-teen girl readership as shown by Egmont's Go Girl and BBC's Girl Talk increasing in circulation.
H Bauer
Bella – Continued Growth in Sales and Market Share
H Bauer’s Bella has increased its hold in the traditional woman’s weekly sector and with a year on year increase of 1% is the only magazine in the classic market to show growth in UK newsstand full price sales, posting an ABC of 246,446.
Bella continues to gain ground on nearest competitor Best, and has increased market share in full price copy sales by 3 percentage points year on year. Helen Lowe, publisher, attributes Bella’s success to a continued focus on being ‘a brilliantly written, highly entertaining and top value for money magazine in the classic women’s weekly set.’
‘Today’s Bella projects a more contemporary image that clearly resonates with the modern woman’s desire for an entertaining, enjoyable and informative read. Bella continues to attract and retain new readers to the magazine, with a captivating mix of celebrity gossip, fashion and true life stories, together with the service elements traditionally associated with a women’s weekly magazine.’ Says Lowe
Take a Break Celebrates 20 Years as Britain’s Biggest-Selling Woman’s Weekly Magazine
H Bauer's Take a Break has posted an ABC of 855,372 and celebrates 20 years as the biggest selling women’s magazine in the UK. It outsells its nearest rival within the true life market by more than 400,000 copies and, together with Sister title, that’s life!, which posted an ABC of 341,545, Bauer’s two titles represent almost 50% of the true life women’s weeklies sector.
TV Choice – Consolidates its Position as the Nation’s No 1 Magazine
H Bauer’s TVChoice, posts an ABC of 1,309,469 and has strengthened its position as the Nation’s favourite paid-for magazine with an increase in copy sales period on period. This pattern of growth is set to continue as Autumn sees the return of some much loved family favourites to our TV screens, giving readers all the more reason to look to TVChoice to make the most of their number one source of entertainment.
H Bauer’s Total TVGuide has also put in an excellent performance. The title shows the only year on year increase in the sector with ABC of 109,022, which is up 1.2%. This title continues to benefit from the growth in multi-channel homes as the digital switchover, now taking place in Scotland, continues throughout Britain. Liz Watkinson, Publishing Director of H Bauer’s Listings portfolio says ‘Total TVGuide is constantly evolving, our readers are early adopters and enjoy being the first to know about new programmes and TV technologies, we’ve responded to this by adding a popular section on digital news to help readers keep up with the latest developments.’
Watkinson believes that as modern families become faced with an ever increasing array of on screen entertainment, the emphasis on TV listings magazines to help them make the right viewing decisions is paramount. “We’ve recently seen record levels of TV viewing as families settle down in front of the television for relaxation and quality entertainment and TV listings magazines are seen as being at the very heart of this experience, giving readers some much needed escapism as well as background information on the programmes they love and new programmes that are waiting to be discovered.
Haymarket Consumer Media
Haymarket Consumer Media’s ABC results reveal an increase in circulation for its two flagship male special interest magazines.
Stuff has grown by 1 per cent in a declining market (men’s lifestyle is down 3.8 per cent). It is now the 5th best selling men’s lifestyle title. FourFourTwo has delivered a 1.1 per cent increase despite a poor World Cup for England. The continuing growth of both titles places them above most generalist men’s consumer titles.
The Haymarket consumer motoring portfolio has performed well in a particularly tough market place. What Car? reported a period-on-period growth of 1.6 per cent and Autocar grew by 0.6per cent. The performance is particularly strong when compared to key competitors Top Gear and Auto Express who both registered significant declines period on period and year on year. Classic & Sports Car retained its position as the number one choice for consumers in the prestige classic motor sector.
David Prasher, Managing Director of Haymarket Consumer Media, said: “Our encouraging ABC performance has arisen from our continued focus on and investment in high quality, specialist magazines. And we’re happy with that.
“We’re able to demonstrate to our advertisers that this approach will continue to deliver and sustain high quality, engaged audiences with which they can continue to communicate in the long term. This becomes even more compelling as Haymarket’s brands experience ongoing growth of their online and digital audiences.”
HELLO! magazine
One of few titles to increase circulation after ‘testing’ period for celeb magazine market
Publishing Director of HELLO! magazine, Charlotte Stockting, says she is pleased with how the title has performed in the first half of 2010 in a period she describes as a ‘severe test’ for the celebrity magazine sector.
Posting a 0.20% period-on-period increase in circulation of Total Actively Purchased copies, and a 1.63% increase year-on-year, in the ABC figures released today, HELLO! magazine is one of the only titles in the celeb sector (along with Reveal and Look) to post a PoP increase. The sector as a whole was down 4.76%, with HELLO!’s biggest rival OK! magazine suffering more than most with a 9.20% PoP decrease in circulation.
Commenting on the downward trend across the sector and giving her take on how HELLO! managed to buck the trend, Charlotte says; “There is no doubt that Jan-July 2010 has been a difficult trading period for the celeb magazine sector. Celebrity magazines are luxury purchases, and as consumers continue to feel the pinch from the recession they are cutting back on some of those luxuries. The sector has also suffered from a simple lack of big celebrity stories. The front covers of several magazines seem to be on a perpetual wheel of repeat, with C and D list celebrities doing not very much at all, and doing even less when you open the magazine and see what ‘the story’ on the front is actually based upon.”
Charlotte continues: “I think this lack of content which has been an issue for other titles, helps explain why HELLO! has continued to perform well in comparison. Our readers know that what they are getting is a quality product, with the inside track on what is happening in the lives of celebrities who interest them. We also always deliver inside what we promise on the outside. This week, for example, we have Robbie Williams and his new bride, Ayda Field, on our cover and inside we have 35 pages of exclusive interviews and pictures from their wedding day. I think it is this level of insight in to the lives of high calibre celebrities that readers are looking for, and HELLO! is the only magazine on the market that consistently gives it to them.”
IPC Media
IPC Media chief executive Evelyn Webster says: “IPC's strategy of continued investment in producing compelling and entertaining content that consumers engage with and trust is paying off. And this set of ABC results is a demonstration of that. Key IPC brands have outperformed the market in a number of key sectors: in women's lifestyle, in fashion, in homes, in the real life and traditional weekly sectors, in TV entertainment, in music and within our men’s portfolio. IPC brands continue delivering on the newsstand.”
ABC highlights
• woman&home delivers another sterling performance in the Women’s Lifestyle sector, up 5.5% year-on-year to 369,321. The magazine’s subscriptions are at record levels and it is the biggest-selling Lifestyle title on the UK newsstand.
• Essentials is once again the fastest-growing title in the Women’s Monthlies market, producing double-digit growth to deliver an ABC of 115,432.
• Fashion and style bible InStyle has outperformed the Fashion sector and secured its sixth consecutive ABC increase, growing 1.1% on the period and 1.8% on the year to 186,251.
• Every brand in the IPC Homes portfolio has delivered growth on both the period and the year:
• Ideal Home has regained the top spot in the Homes sector with an ABC rocketing up 9.8% on the period and 5.7% on the year to 205,659.
• With an ABC of 112,117, 25 Beautiful Homes has produced outstanding growth, up 7.7% on the period and 9% on the year.
• Up 1.2% period-on-period and 2% year-on-year, Livingetc further establishes itself as the biggest-selling title in the modern homes market with an ABC of 92,685.
• Homes & Gardens delivers an ABC of 136,136, up 3% on the period and 0.8% on the year.
• Country Homes & Interiors is up 3.2% period-on-period and 6.8% year-on-year, with an ABC of 90,163.
• Uncut – the UK’s most authoritative music and movie magazine – outperforms the monthly music sector and gains share of the UK newsstand, with an ABC of 74,067.
• www.nme.com – the PPA and AOP Consumer Website of the Year – delivers an ABCe of 5,342,246 monthly unique users, up a brilliant 19.9% on the period and 26.3% on the year.
• Look extends its position as Britain’s biggest-selling fashion weekly on the UK newsstand, with an ABC of 313,358 – up 0.1% period – and delivering £24.5m in annualised RSV.
• Nuts posts an ABC of 147,134, increasing its share of the Men’s Weekly sector to a record 64.8%, up 1.8 percentage points year-on-year.
• Woman’s Weekly reports an ABC of 338,577, up 1% on the year – extending its lead in the Traditional sector.
• With an ABC of 184,134, TV & Satellite Week has outperformed the sector, increasing circulation by 0.1% on the year.
• Woman remains number one in the Weekly Lifestyle sector with an ABC of 318,301 – up 0.7% period-on-period.
• The success of Amateur Gardening’s redesign earlier this year sees the title showing 10.2% period-on-period growth, with an ABC of 39,625.
Evelyn adds: “IPC continues to focus on our long term strategy of investing in insight and innovation to serve our consumers across multiple brand touch points — be that in print, online, in person or on the go.”
IPC Southbank – Upmarket Women
Overview
• Southbank’s portfolio operates in the Women's Fashion, Lifestyle and Home Interest sectors and targets upmarket women.
• Southbank’s portfolio has significantly outperformed the market, growing share both in terms of volume – up year-on-year from 27% to 28%, and value – with market share up year-on-year from 31% to 32%.
• The Homes sector is forging ahead and Southbank has posted growth across its market-leading portfolio, as well as regaining the number one position for Ideal Home.
• And with standout performances from woman&home, Essentials and InStyle, Southbank has increased its market share within the Fashion and Lifestyle sector year-on-year, up from 22% to 22.7%.
• Southbank has delivered circulation growth – both period-on-period and year-on-year – on eight of the nine brands reporting today.
• The Southbank portfolio generates £42m in RSV each year.
IPC Southbank managing director Jackie Newcombe says: “Southbank has produced an outstanding set of ABC results across the upmarket Women’s Fashion, Lifestyle and Home Interest sectors, outperforming our competitors and driving circulation growth in each.”
woman&home and Essentials
• woman&home and Essentials are the star performers in the Women’s Lifestyle sector, each delivering enviable ABC growth.
• Southbank’s share of the Lifestyle sector has increased year-on-year from 31.3% to 32.6%.
• woman&home, the monthly glossy for women over 35, once again reports a strong rise in its circulation under editorial director Sue James. Up 5.5% year-on-year to 369,321, this is woman&home’s highest ABC in more than 14 years. The magazine is the biggest-selling Lifestyle title on the UK newsstand and its subscriptions – at more than 128,000 – are at record levels.
• In addition, woman&home’s RSV is climbing, up 6.3% year-on-year to £9.4m – the highest in the Lifestyle sector.
• Meanwhile Essentials is the fastest-growing magazine in the entire Women’s Monthlies market, soaring to an ABC of 115,432. Up 12.9% on last year, Essentials is the only title in the Women’s Monthlies market to produce double-digit ABC growth.
• RSV for Essentials is also rising, up 10.2% year-on-year to almost £3million.
Jackie says: “These ABC performances from woman&home and Essentials are outstanding and the result of exceptional editorial packages. Our unique insight into this market and the vision of the editors is the reason why we have enjoyed tremendous success over the past few years.”
InStyle and Marie Claire
• Southbank’s share of the Fashion sector has grown year-on-year from 17.1% to 17.3%.
• InStyle delivers its sixth consecutive circulation increase with an ABC of 186,251.
• Under the editorship of Eilidh MacAskill, the fashion and style bible has outperformed the Fashion sector, growing 1.1% on the period and 1.8% on the year.
• Marie Claire, Southbank’s flagship glossy, is back to stability with an ABC of 280,021. Marie Claire has outperformed the Fashion sector on the newsstand and retains its position as the third biggest title in the sector.
• Across print and online, Marie Claire reaches 1.9 million women a month.
Jackie says: “Under editor Eilidh MacAskill, InStyle entertains readers and has a real fashion authority – it’s no wonder it has produced one of the strongest performances in the Fashion sector. On Marie Claire, we have done exactly what we said we would do and delivered stability. Marie Claire has re-engaged readers and advertisers alike and continues to attract huge numbers of smart, upmarket women.”
Home Interest
• The Home Interest sector is well and truly back on track with substantial ABC growth.
• Every Southbank Homes title reporting this period has increased its ABC, both on the period and on the year. In addition, the Southbank portfolio has strengthened its market-leading position, growing share on the period from 38.7% to 40.4%.
• With an ABC of 205,659, Ideal Home has regained the top spot in the Homes sector. Following significant research and development late last year and a subsequent successful refresh under editorial director Isobel McKenzie-Price, the magazine’s circulation has jumped by 9.8% on the period and by 5.7% on the year.
• 25 Beautiful Homes has produced impressive growth, climbing 7.7% on the period and 9% on the year to record an ABC of 112,117.
• Livingetc sees a rise of 1.2% period-on-period and 2% year-on-year. Delivering an ABC of 92,685, the magazine’s refresh in March has cemented its position as the biggest-selling title in the Modern Homes sector.
• Homes & Gardens retains its lead over House & Garden, increasing its circulation by 3% on the period and 0.8% on the year to deliver and ABC of 136,136.
• And Country Homes & Interiors continues to perform well, up 3.2% period-on-period and rising 6.8% year-on-year to record an ABC of 90,163.
Jackie says: “We have seen a strong recovery in the Homes sector and fantastic performances from all the Southbank titles. The market has bounced back as consumers are returning to quality editorial and brands they trust. In addition to these enviable ABC results, RSV across the Southbank homes portfolio has increased by more than £1m compared to last year and we have gained significant market share in advertising.”
IPC Connect – Mass Market Women
Overview
• IPC Connect's brands provide powerful reach, with its magazines read by 53% of all mass market women – over ten million women – while its digital brands reach a further 2.4 million mass market women. Connect's audience are highly valuable main shoppers, responsible for the vast majority of UK purchasing decisions.
• Connect serves its consumers in two core markets: Women’s Weeklies – with brands in the Celebrity & Fashion, Real Life, Lifestyle and Traditional sectors – and TV Entertainment.
Women’s Weeklies
• IPC Connect’s share of the UK newsstand market in the period stands at 27.1%. The seven-strong portfolio of mass market women’s weeklies sells 111.9 million copies annually at the UK newsstand and generates £114.2m in RSV, up 0.2 percentage points to 24.5%.
IPC Connect managing director Fiona Dent says: “IPC Connect’s performance in the Women’s Weeklies market demonstrates our focus on the long term; continuing our investment in consumer insight and editorial innovation. This has allowed us to consistently produce premium brands, which attract more discerning and less price-sensitive consumers: the most valuable asset for our advertisers.
“A key test of brand strength in the Weeklies market is the proportion of copies sold at full price. While the period has seen unprecedented levels of discounted multi-packing, IPC Connect brands have delivered strong full-price sales outperforming the market overall.”
Look
• Launched in February 2007, Look maintains its position as Britain’s biggest-selling fashion weekly, delivering a total ABC of 313,358, up 0.1% period-on-period. Look outsells its closest weekly competitor by more than 115,000 copies every week on the UK newsstand.
• Look sells almost 1.3 million copies every month, delivering £24.5m in annualised RSV, up 5% year-on-year and ranking it as the ninth highest revenue-generating title on the UK newsstand.
• Look continues to set the standard in the sector for innovative experiential marketing. The brand debuted The Look Show at London Fashion Week in February, creating a unique major catwalk event which saw 14 of the most popular high street brands together for the first time in front of a consumer audience at London Fashion Week. The Look Show will return for London Fashion Week this September.
• Look continues to show an outstanding advertising performance, with advertising volumes up 19.6% year-on-year, against a total market down 3.1%. New advertisers in the period include Clarins, Lancôme and YSL.
Meanwhile www.look.co.uk, the hugely popular website, goes from strength to strength after it unveiled a new look in February. Unique users have grown by 49% while page impressions have grown by 154% in the last six months.
In June Julie Lavington, publishing director of Look, was named Consumer Magazine Publisher of the Year at the prestigious Periodical Publishers Association gala awards ceremony.
Fiona says: “Look has an innate understanding of its audience, and continues to deliver in print, online and in person. The magazine is the clear leader, online we’re seeing fantastic growth and with The Look Show set to return in September, the brand has cemented its position at the centre of the UK fashion industry. And publishing director Julie Lavington’s recent well-deserved recognition at the PPA Awards is the perfect icing on the cake!”
Now
• Now publishes an ABC of 338,080, in a period which has seen intense marketing activity in the Celebrity sector.
• Now generates £23.2m in annualised RSV and ranks as the tenth highest revenue-generating title on the UK newsstand.
• Over the last few months Now has undergone focused brand development led by IPC’s group editorial development director Andy Cowles. The new look was unveiled in July – including new franchises and bold, fresh design – and the brand is already seeing a positive impact at the newsstand.
• www.nowmagazine.co.uk continues to go from strength to strength, delivering 780,000 unique users in June, up 25.9% year-on-year. It now generates over 6 million page views every month, complementing the magazine by serving up an addictive combination of celebrity glamour and news all day, every day.
Fiona says: “Now continues to focus on brand development and driving premium price, in a hotly contested market. The new look – unveiled a few weeks ago – is already proving successful, delivering on our readers’ desire for more emotional engagement with their favourite celebrities’ stories.”
Chat and Pick Me Up
• In Real Life Chat has out-performed the sector as a whole with its focus on insight and editorial development, and grows its market share by 0.7 percentage points year-on-year. Chat consolidates its number two position with a circulation of 430,674, selling 89,000 copies more than the number three title in the sector every week. Chat generates £16.7m in annualised RSV (up 1.6% year-on-year), and sells 20.9 million copies a year on the UK newsstand.
• Pick Me Up retains its number four position in the Real Life sector, out-performing the market and delivering an ABC of 319,305. The title generates £10.8m in RSV on the UK newsstand, up 1.8% on the year, and sells 15.4 million copies a year.
• Combined, Chat and Pick Me Up have grown their share of the Real Life UK newsstand market, up 1.2 percentage points to 28.7% and continue to drive RSV growth, up 1.7 percentage points.
Woman and Woman's Own
• On the UK newsstand Woman and Woman's Own continue to lead the Weekly Lifestyle sector, with a combined sector share of 51.5%.
• Woman and Woman's Own together outsell their rivals by more than 41,000 copies every week.
• Woman remains number one in the Weekly Lifestyle sector with an ABC of 318,301 – up 0.7% period-on-period – and generating £14.3m in annualised RSV on the UK newsstand. Woman unveiled a new look in the period and is already seeing the benefits – and will continue to develop the brand moving forward.
• Woman's Own delivers an ABC of 272,376, equating to an annualised RSV of more than £12.1m on the UK newsstand. Vicky Mayer was appointed editor of Woman’s Own in June – following Karen Livermore’s move in January to edit Woman. Vicky has a number of exciting plans for the brand’s future development.
Woman's Weekly
• Woman's Weekly continues to go from strength to strength, remaining number one and clear standout leader in the Traditional sector.
• The brand’s unique blend of features, food, fiction and health – complemented by the addition of fashion advice – is firmly placed to capitalise on the growing numbers of over-50's.
• Reporting an ABC of 338,577, Woman’s Weekly is up 1% on the year.
• Woman’s Weekly outperforms and extends its lead over rivals to more than 47,000 copies, generating an annualised RSV of £14.2m, up 0.7% on the period and 3.5% on the year. Its overall volume share of the Traditional sector has increased by 2.2 percentage points year-on-year to 44% at the UK newsstand.
goodtoknow
goodtoknow Recipes, which launched in January as a monthly magazine, delivers a debut ABC of 53,281. A brand extension from the hugely popular website www.goodtoknow.co.uk, the food monthly targets busy mums, providing them with cooking inspiration and advice on feeding their families cheaply, quickly and healthily.
Meanwhile www.goodtoknow.co.uk – the website that connects women with the best recipe ideas, health tips and family advice – continues to grow, delivering a record 8.3 million page impressions from over one million unique users in July.
With a newsletter database of over 250,000, dedicated Facebook fan pages, presence within IPC Connect’s portfiolio of Women’s Weeklies and a monthly recipes magazine spin-off, goodtoknow reaches its mass market women’s audience through a range of integrated channels.
Fiona adds: “Goodtoknow is a fantastic success story. Online it is the ultimate destination for mass market women in the UK, delivering record numbers of unique users in July. And today we unveil the debut ABC for its monthly magazine spin-off, goodtoknow Recipes, which has already established a loyal and enthusiastic audience.”
TV Entertainment
• Connect’s TV Entertainment portfolio is the market leader in sales volume, with 42.7% share. It is also number one in RSV, with 40.8% share, an increase of 0.2% percentage points year-on-year, extending IPC’s market leadership.
• Annually, Connect’s TV Weeklies portfolio now sells 92 million copies at the UK newsstand and generates £60m in RSV per annum.
• Connect is committed to driving both innovation and cover prices in the TV market, attracting discerning readers who are prepared to pay more for quality brands.
Fiona says: “IPC Connect maintains its position as the leader in the TV Entertainment market. By listening to our consumers and driving editorial innovation across the portfolio, keys brands What’s on TV and TV & Satellite Week have delivered powerful RSV uplifts in the period.”
What’s on TV and TV easy (Value sector)
• IPC share of the value market is 50.7%.
What’s on TV delivers an ABC of 1,209,018, outperforming the TV sector period-on-period. That reach is increased further through its website, www.whatsontv.co.uk, currently ABC audited at 613,832 monthly unique users.
What’s on TV has outperformed the market in RSV year-on-year by 0.2 percentage points. Priced at a 17% premium to value sector rival TV Choice, What’s on TV generates £2.2m more RSV than TV Choice annually.
• In addition, IPC Connect’s value sector presence in the TV Weeklies market is strengthened with compact TV weekly TV easy, which reports an ABC of 166,781.
TVTimes and TV & Satellite Week (Premium sector)
• TVTimes records an ABC of 290,686, increasing cover price to £1.10 and delivering £16.3m in RSV.
• Meanwhile, with an ABC of 184,134, TV & Satellite Week has outperformed the market, increasing by 0.1% on the year. It has outperformed the market by far in sales value, up 8.5% year-on-year to deliver £12.2m in RSV. Costing £1.30, TV & Satellite Week is the highest priced TV Weekly.
Soaps
• In the soaps sector, Soaplife delivers a strong ABC of 99,434, and maintains its position as number one soap fortnightly.
IPC Inspire – Men, Music, Sport & Leisure
Overview
• Inspire is the men’s division of IPC Media, reaching 44% of UK men and more than one in two of all 18 to 34-year-old men. Its brands cover a huge spectrum of passions.
Brands reporting in the period include: Nuts, Loaded, NME, Uncut, Golf Monthly and Amateur Gardening, www.nme.com, www.nuts.co.uk, www.loaded.co.uk and www.mousebreaker.com.
Young Men & Music
IPC Inspire’s men and music brands are responsible for 47.5% of all men’s and music magazine sales at the all-important UK newsstand, generating £18.3m in RSV annually. Its online portfolio – including www.nme.com, www.nuts.co.uk, www.loaded.co.uk, and hugely successful casual games site www.mousebreaker.com – now has a combined audited reach of over 11 million users each month.
Nuts, Loaded and Mousebreaker
• UK newsstand magazine sales in the Men’s market overall during this period exceeded 7.2 million, generating almost £16m in RSV. IPC accounts for 52.9% of all men’s magazines sold at the all-important UK newsstand in the period.
• Nuts and Loaded combined now sell 41.7% more copies than Bauer Consumer Media’s men’s titles on the annualised UK newsstand, up from 34.9% last period.
• Nuts posts an ABC of 147,134, increasing its share of the Men’s Weekly sector to a record 64.8%, up 1.8 percentage points year-on-year. On the newsstand, Nuts also takes a record 64.6% share, up 1.9 percentage points on the year – a record for the brand.
• Each year, Nuts accounts for one in every two men’s lifestyle magazines sold at the UK newsstand.
• Annually, Nuts sells almost 3.2 million more copies than its weekly rival Zoo and 5.5 million more than FHM at the UK newsstand.
• Online, the hugely popular www.nuts.co.uk delivers an average monthly ABCe of 1,473,528 unique users, up 1.1% on the period and 4.7% on the year, continuing to extend its reach among the UK’s mainstream men.
• Total Nuts weekly reach across print and online is now 1.2 million.
• Loaded posts an ABC of 53,591, while online www.loaded.co.uk delivers an ABCe of 254,923.
• Total Loaded monthly reach across print and online is now 834,923.
• The Mousebreaker portfolio of casual games sites – including www.mousebreaker.com – today unveils an ABCe of 3,965,933 unique users on average each month within the period.
Inspire managing director Paul Williams says: “Since launch Nuts has sold almost 82 million copies at the UK newsstand, generating £114.7m in RSV. The magazine saw 7.9 million sales in the last year alone. Of course, with almost one million 16 to 24-year-olds currently unemployed, the circulation environment continues to be tough. But our continual investment in brand development – in print and digitally – means that we continue to reach more than 1.2 million young men every week through the Nuts brand.”
NME and Uncut
• Each year, five million music magazines are sold in the UK. The Music sector generates over £15.5m of annual RSV on the UK newsstand, with almost half generated by the two weeklies (NME and Kerrang!).
• NME delivers an ABC of 33,875 in print. One in four of all music magazines sold every year on the UK newsstand is a copy of NME.
• NME sells more than double the volume of copies that Q sells on the UK newsstand every month. Following the introduction of a new look in April, the magazine is already seeing encouraging sales figures.
Online, www.nme.com – this year’s PPA and AOP Consumer Website of the Year – delivers a brilliant ABCe result, up 26.3% on the period and 19.9% on the year to a monthly average of 5,342,246 unique users.
The brand continues to broaden its reach amongst the target audience of 15-24s across all platforms, and now has a combined reach of over 1.2 million music fans every week.
The NME brand remains committed to delivering innovative solutions for advertisers across multiple platforms and has worked on integrated deals with the likes of Dell, Jack Daniel’s, O2, Shockwaves, Warner Music, Blackberry and Xbox during the period.
NME continues to reinforce its authority and credibility with the NME Icons one shot series – including specials on both Muse and The Libertines – delivering unique print content to the most passionate and enthusiastic music fans in the world.
With a strong performance, Uncut posts an ABC of 74,067, growing its share of the Monthly Music sector on the UK newsstand by 1.7% year- on-year.
The Uncut Music Guide series continues to deliver the definitive album-by-album guides to Uncut's classic canon, including Bruce Springsteen and the soon-to-publish guide to John Lennon.
Paul says: “NME continues to evolve as a trailblazing multi-platform music media brand which can deliver advertisers an elusive influential audience of 15-24 year olds across multiple platforms including print, online, TV, radio and live events. Our commitment to innovation, as seen with the newly launched NME Photography Awards in association with Nikon and NME Breakthrough with Blackberry, illustrates our commitment to providing our audience with new engaging content and our advertisers and our sponsors with exciting ways to engage with that audience around our content.
“At the same time, through its focus on comprehensive coverage of both classic artists and the latest releases, Uncut has delivered another extremely strong performance this period, significantly improving its newsstand trend.”
Sport & Leisure
Amateur Gardening
• Amateur Gardening reaffirms its position as the number one weekly gardening title in the market with a total ABC of 39,625.
• Following a hugely successful redesign in March this year, the magazine has outperformed the weekly market and seen its share of newsstand sales increase 2% period-on-period and 2.1% year-on-year.
• This period also sees the gap between Amateur Gardening and Garden News (the number two weekly) widen by almost 3,000 copies per week at the UK newsstand.
Golf Monthly
• Golf Monthly posts an ABC of 61,408 and increases its newsstand share by 0.7% period-on-period and 2.8% year-on-year.
• Following an extensive research programme, Golf Monthly has honed its editorial product, introducing new content in April to better reflect what readers want, and it is already seeing positive results.
Paul says: “In both Amateur Gardening and Golf Monthly, I’m delighted to see such encouraging results from the research and development investment in the brands. In tough markets, to grow our newsstand share is a real testament to our talented teams.”
NatMag
NatMag celebrates its 100th birthday this year with a strong set of ABC results for January – July 2010.
Of the 16 brands audited, 11 titles have recorded a year on year increase with record sales from Coast, Country Living (which is also celebrating its 25th year birthday), and Harper's Bazaar. Brand loyalty also continues to grow with record subscriptions for a number of titles including Country Living, Esquire, Good Housekeeping and Prima.
NatMag's continued investment in innovation, creativity and editorial talent has also paid off across the portfolio. This is particularly evident for NatMag's weeklies - Reveal, Real People and Best - which have bucked the downward market trend by posting impressive increases across all titles.
Highlights include:
• Country Living continues to be the market leader by a mile in its sector, posting its highest ever ABC performance in its 25th history of 204,235.
• The leading women's lifestyle magazine, Good Housekeeping continues to dominate this market with an ABC of 422,496, a year on year increase of 3.05%.
• Harper's Bazaar posts its highest ever ABC performance of 118,553 - a 15th consecutive increase. Subscriptions are also at their highest ever level, up 16.4% year on year.
• Prima moves from strength to strength continuing to grow in circulation with an ABC up 5.47% year on year to 289,058.
• Real People delivers an impressive growth with an ABC of 225,145 up 11.5% year on year.
NatMag's Chief Executive, Arnaud de Puyfontaine says: "Since 1910, NatMag has continued to lead the way in publishing - from the early day of pioneering magazines, through wartime austerity, the boom times of the 1960s and the recent global economic difficulties. So it's no surprise to see that we are still going strong 100 years later. The longevity of our company and our strong ABC results are testament to the excellent quality of our brands, the exceptional talent employed at NatMag and the strong connection our titles have with generations of readers. We look forward to bringing more innovative branded content and world-class magazines to our consumers and advertisers for the next 100 years."
Title highlights
Monthlies
Coast: total ABC - 42,593
Another impressive performance by Coast posting its highest ever ABC figure, up 2.08% year on year and 1.95% period on period. Subscriptions are also at their highest ever level, up 15.6% year on year.
Company: total ABC - 217,324
In a very competitive market, Company continues to carve out its own space on the newsstands with sales of more than 200,000, content that defines cool and inspires women, and a fashion-focused sister title, High Street Edit.
Cosmopolitan: total ABC - 401,750
Cosmopolitan continues to sell over 400k copies a month in the hugely competitive young women's market. Investment has been made in the product with a new look from the July issue and the launch of Cosmo on Campus in October.
Country Living: total ABC - 204,235
Country Living continues to be the market leader by a mile in its sector, posting its highest ever ABC performance in its 25 year history - up 6.11% year on year and 3.21% period on period. Subscriptions are also at their highest ever level, up 3.4% period on period.
Esquire: total ABC - 58,151
Esquire posts a 10.3% year on year increase with subscriptions at an all-time high, growing to an impressive total of 20,071.
Good Housekeeping: total ABC - 422,496
The leading women's lifestyle magazine, Good Housekeeping continues to dominate this market posting a year on year increase of 3.05%. Good Housekeeping has more than 220,000 paid subscribers, accounting for 52% of total circulation.
Harpers Bazaar: total ABC - 118,553
Harper's Bazaar posts its highest ever ABC performance with a 15th consecutive increase. Subscriptions are also at their highest ever level, up 16.4% year on year.
House Beautiful: total ABC - 152,109
A fantastic performance for House Beautiful, posting an ABC increase - up 1.35% year on year. A strong subscription base continue to highlight the strength of this brand, with an impressive total of 61,305.
Men's Health: total ABC - 245,754
Men's Health retains the number one spot in the men's lifestyle market, extending the gap between itself and the rest of the market.
Prima: total ABC - 289,058
Prima moves from strength to strength continuing to grow in circulation with an ABC up 5.47% year on year to 289,058. Subscriptions continue to grow both year on year and period on period at 8.5% and 4.9% respectively to the highest-ever figure of 121,516.
Prima Baby: total ABC - 41,040
Following a fresh new look for Prima Baby in June this year, subscriptions continue to grow, with a 5.4% increase year on year to 7,954.
SHE: total ABC - 144,228
A solid performance for SHE magazine. Watch this space from the September issue onwards when the new look SHE, re-designed by new Editor Claire Irvin, hits the newsstand.
Zest: total ABC - 99,485
Another solid performance from market leader, Zest, delivering an ABC of 99,485, up 2.82% year on year and 6.82% period on period. The constant innovation of Zest in health and well-being has kept the magazine ahead of the market and driven strong newsstand sales.
Weeklies
Best: total ABC - 302,309
Best shines bright in the classic market recording its third consecutive increase up 1.8% year on year to 302,309.
Reveal: total ABC - 332,212
Reveal continues to buck the trend of the highly competitive celebrity weekly market delivering a third consecutive increase, up 5.2% year on year.
Real People: total ABC - 225,145
NatMag's real life weekly delivers its best ever year on year increase at 11.5%, excellent growth versus its competitors.
Periodical Publishers Association
Encouraging ABC results point to recovering magazine sector
Figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) today gave indication of an improving outlook for the UK consumer magazine sector.
Total magazine circulation for ABC-audited titles reporting in the first half of 2010 increased by 0.3 per cent compared with the same period in 2009. This follows a robust performance in the previous period, where total magazine circulation fell by just 1.3 per cent year-on-year.
The results underline the continued high level of consumer demand for magazines in the face of both economic pressures and the availability of an increasing array of media choices.
A number of magazine sectors have shown impressive year-on-year gains. In particular, the women’s lifestyle/fashion sector registered growth of 14.6 per cent.
News and current affairs titles also posted strong ABC results, with increases in the Science, Business & Finance and Domestic sub-sectors of 6.9 per cent, 5.5 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively.
The Home Interest sector also enjoyed a positive result with an overall year-on-year rise in circulation of 2.9 per cent for the period.
Barry McIlheney, chief executive of the PPA, said: "This is an encouraging set of results that reaffirms the popularity of magazines among consumers. Through continued innovation, magazines' have shown their ability to really engage readers and provide a powerful platform for advertisers."
