Fun To Learn Peppa Pig magazine: the secrets of our success

Fun To Learn Peppa Pig magazine has been one of our most successful titles since we started creating children’s magazines in 1990. This popular fortnightly magazine hasn’t fallen outside the Top 10 of all children’s magazines since it was first published in January 2007 and during this time has predominantly placed in the Top 3 in the Pre-school sector.

Redan’s editorial director, Anita Cash, remarks that the magazine’s enduring appeal is largely due to the adorable and compelling Peppa Pig TV series that drives the magazine content. “The strong, relatable, laugh-out-loud stories and animation from Astley Baker Davies, eOne and Hasbro are delightful and magical to children and adults alike. We're able to elaborate and expand on the episodes to create charming, appealing and educational magazines for our little readers.”

Anita goes on to explain, “There is a wealth of assets which includes almost everything you can think of for Peppa Pig and her ever-expanding world, which affords our editorial teams unrestricted creativity with the magazines’ content.”

There are so many examples from the last fifteen years of activities that are cleverly tied to classic scenes from episodes, which makes it easier for readers to relate to the magazine content.

In an upcoming Pet-themed issue, Deb Harrison, editor of Fun to Learn Peppa Pig, has showcased the very funny guinea pigs that feature in the Petting Farm and Guinea Pigs episodes.

As well as featuring the adorable Guinea Pigs on the cover, one of the 3-page stories is an abridged version of the Guinea Pigs episode, and there’s a recipe for children to make their own ‘Breakfast Guinea Pigs’ (genius!).

Deb explains, “The artwork is vector, which makes it easy to work with and also easy to create supplementary artwork ourselves, should it be needed. This means that we can build on and include all of the adorable and charming elements within the Peppa Pig TV series into the magazine.”

All the editorial team are superfans of the show, both as viewers and as creatives and this comes across in the magazine.

Redan have an excellent working relationship with the licensor who were supportive and unrestrictive of Redan’s ideas right from the very beginning.

The licensor has always had faith in the editorial team at Redan and trusted us with the development of the magazine.

Anita comments on how it has been a pleasure watching the success of Peppa Pig as it has grown over the years, right from the early beginnings to the launch of Peppa Pig World and to the global hit that it is now: “We first recognised the brand’s success when we included Peppa Pig in Fun To Learn Friends magazine, one of Redan’s long-standing multi-character pre-school titles.”

“The popularity was clear for us to see through our magazine character polls and this success led us to pitch for the standalone magazine. The launch of the magazine in January 2007, and then every significant anniversary that has followed, are important milestones, along with increasing the frequency of the magazine to fortnightly from 4 weekly after the first year.”

Other milestones include:

• The introduction of a second, monthly, Peppa Pig magazine, Fun To Learn Peppa Pig Bag o’ Fun, in July 2009, which has also maintained its position in the top 10 of all children’s magazines. This was only possible due to the wealth of content available and this expanded the exposure of Peppa Pig in the magazine category. Paying close attention to the themes, covermounts and on sale dates ensuring no overlap between each publication, has meant that both magazines have flourished ever since they were launched.
• The acquisition of Entertainment One by Hasbro in 2020 has spurred on the global expansion of Peppa Pig. We re-pitched to Hasbro and retained the standalone magazine and compilation rights for the next few years. This is a great achievement and testament to the hard work and dedication of all at Redan who continually strive to publish the very best magazines.

The story of Fun To Learn Peppa Pig magazine has largely been one of continued growth and success but there have been a few bumps along the road. Issues that have tied into a specific short-lived theme have not worked so well for us in the past and most recently, we’ve shared the many problems with shipping. However, on the whole, Fun To Learn Peppa Pig magazine has continued to thrive in a challenging market.

Through our experience of working on Fun To Learn Peppa Pig over the last fifteen years, it is clear that the longevity and success of the magazine couldn’t have happened without:

• The strong and appealing stories from the Peppa Pig TV series
• The universe of assets available and the freedom to use them creatively
• The marketing drive and support provided by the licensor brand teams
• The creative talent of the editorial and ambition of the commercial teams at Redan
• The collaborative approach between licensor and Redan

The Hasbro Team have lots of exciting plans for Peppa Pig which will continue to fire up the imaginations of the editorial teams who very much look forward to the next 15 years of Fun To Learn Peppa Pig magazine!

Fun To Learn Peppa Pig is on sale every two weeks and as well as being sold at newsstand via the usual retailers, it is also available online for single issues and subscriptions.