Essentials magazine is the UK’s fastest growing women’s fashion and lifestyle monthly (up 12.9% yoy in the latest round of ABC’s). It has enjoyed seven consecutive year-on-year ABC increases. The strategy of placing the consumer at its heart has been the secret of Essentials’ success ever since its successful relaunch in 2007. The October issue of Essentials, which has no models or celebrities throughout, is a natural progression of this focus. It is a celebration of all our amazing readers.
Essentials is a down-to-earth magazine. Everything in it is affordable and achievable – its very essence is that it is close to its readers and reflects their lives. As a cover strategy we have always been looking to feature models who “could be a reader” – so it felt like a logical next step to actually put a real reader on the cover, not just once but every month. It really fits with our ethos of celebrating everyday life and what’s good about it. New readers to the magazine find this a very refreshing and different attitude and constantly tell us so.
To almost every trend there is a counter trend. To every woman who loves reading about celebrities there now seems to be one who is fed up with it. Other brands and companies like Dove, or more recently Debenhams, have picked up on this trend and are showcasing women who are not models or celebs. Essentials is the first UK newsstand title to do so.
In May of this year we conducted an online survey among our readers and had almost 5,000 replies. The results were astonishing:
• 77% said ‘real’ women inspire them more than celebrities
• 71% said they would rather see a ‘real woman’ than a celebrity on the cover of a magazine
• 62% said they are tired of reading about celebrities
We then used the magazine, the IPC database, Facebook, Twitter and the lifestyle blogging community to recruit women who were interested in being our cover stars. We received hundreds of replies and, after an initial shortlist of 30, put 10 women of all shapes, sizes and ages onto our special gatefold cover. The trim size of the issue itself was also increased to create even more stand out.
For Essentials it is not so much about making a stand about size 0 models or airbrushing, it is about paying tribute to our readers. We know from meeting them that they are as gorgeous and amazing as any model and often with an interesting story to tell.
Essentials’ new cover strategy now gives the consumer a new choice and – as a bonus – gives Essentials a point of difference in a crowded market.
