The new look Woman’s Own hits newsstands on 4 September with a fresh design and an easy to navigate layout. The magazine, which also celebrates its 80th birthday in October, will feature new-look fashion, food and beauty content, and twice as many real-life stories.
Lorraine Kelly joins the magazine as a columnist and will give readers a snapshot of her world every week, and Rav Singh joins as The X Factor insider. Woman’s Own will also introduce more first-person celebrity interviews, providing readers with an original and intimate reading experience.
Editor Catherine Westwood, who joined Woman’s Own in April, says: “Woman’s Own is a fantastic brand that we have sought to refine rather than revolutionise. Woman’s Own now mirrors the lives of readers even more closely, and keeps at its heart their key interests in getting value for money and sound advice. We have created a package that’s not only an uplifting treat, but is also useful and helps them juggle their busy lives.”
To complement the refresh, a new standalone website - www.womansown.co.uk - will launch. It will offer more interactivity with Woman’s Own experts and daily money-saving offers alongside celebrity, fashion and beauty news, diets and recipes. In order to tap into this audience’s love of sharing and consuming premium content on the move, the website will be mobile optimised and will incorporate social media throughout, allowing users to engage with the brand and each other, says IPC. Content will be created by the Woman’s Own editorial team.
For the first week on sale, the magazine will be available at the reduced price of 60p (usual price 93p). The price promotion will support the refresh and encourage trial of the new look magazine. An in-magazine token collect scheme will reward customer loyalty, readers buying copies in four consecutive weeks will be entered into a prize draw to win an iPad3.
Roger Cummings, publishing director, Woman’s Own adds: “Woman’s Own is one of the UK’s most loved weekly magazines. We want to build on its established trust and authority, developing its position as a forward-thinking, multi-platform brand that reflects the needs of modern 40-plus mainstream women. We know our readers love engaging with its content and experts - both in print and through social media - and the new developments make Woman’s Own an even more essential read, offering 24/7 access to expertise, opinion and advice through its increased digital presence.”
The brand will continue to be a key player within IPC’s wider GenerationYnot! initiative, which focuses on the 40-plus female audience.
