jakelinesblog

[jakelinesblog]

Eat This, Not That, The Magazine

Yet another launch into the lifestyle market that Meredith Corp seems to be an active part of in the publishing world, is the launch of the new magazine Eat This, Not That!. this is based on the popular books by the same names that include 16 titles. It had become a brand of it's own and is now becoming a quarterly title, and it's first stand-alone magazine. This is one of the many acquisitions that Meredith has had under it's belt, along with mywedding.com and allrecipes.com. Unlike other publications, 

Meredith does not make headline for it's acquisitions or innovations in software or video production, but in acquiring more content of what they already have, and building their name name. To me, their acquisitions seem to be something that Heart of Conde Nast would have been making headlines about in the early 2000s. If they wish to stay be one for the leading firms, they should take the leap investing in the digital world.

[jakelinesblog]

Meredith buys Mywedding.com

Though Meredith is one of the top leading publishing companies, its not often that they are in the news, or are written about on this blog. My impression of their publication is of an outdated company, or for an older audience. They do not seem to be making moves toward video production like Hearst or Conde Nast. They are however making moves toward acquiring sites that correspond to their publications. The company has acquired Mywedding.com that corresponding to their new licensing agreement with Martha Stewart Weddings. According to Folio, it "greatly enhances its foothold in wedding media" It is a move in the right direction, as Weddings in 2013 made $53 billion in spending. Obviously there is still a market for weddings magazines, though hit's mystifying to me that by nature, wedding magazines are all so similar, month by month. 

Clearly  Meredith knows it fits in the lifestyle sector of the publishing world, as CEO Steve Lacey notes that they want to continue focusing on "the most important milestones int eh lives of consumers, specifically marriage, home ownership and raising a family" and they want to bring this to "the digital space". The site Mywedding.com is also said to target a younger audience, though it can't be very youthful if the subject is weddings. While it is definitely a growth in the right direction, it does not seem up to pace with the other major publishing companies.

[jakelinesblog]

Hearst takes stake in YouTuve channel: AwesomnessTV

In similar steps as Conde Nast's move to sponsor YouTube stars in it's broadcasting content, Hearst has bought acquired a 25% stake in DreamWorks Animations AwesomenessTV. This will be added to its investment of ESPN in the list of their expansion for video production. I had hear of AwesomenessTV before, they are a YouTube channel that produce various serios revolving pop culture, beauty, fashion among other millennial interests. While the channel is no interest to me because it's content is mostly corny and aimed at pre-teens, I can see why Hearst would want to own a stake in the company. The channel has 114 million subscribers and was recently acquired by Dreamworks Animation. Once again it is a way for A budding YouTube channel that constantly creates quality content to have  bigger reach, a chance to be broadcasted and featured in heart's publications or video channels. It could also just be a strategic stake in the company, as they see potential in it, just as ESPN was.

[jakelinesblog]

Conde Nast as a platform for YouTube Stars

Starting early next year Conde Nast Entertainment will be launching its new videos debuting YouTube star Kandee Johnson. In an effort to meet the demands of a younger audience who frequent Beauty guru star Ms. Johnson and other major beauty stars, they will begin launching content on their YouTube channel, publication sites, their streaming video site: The Scene as well on sites like AOL, and Yahoo, where they have syndication deals. This particular star will star in original shows, where Conde Nast will earn money by selling sponsorships along with the program, selling it's TV and films to networks and studios, as well as ads it sells against Ms. Johnson's own content on her YouTube channel. For awhile now I have been a fan and follower of what goes on with the YouTube beauty gurus, and have seen that until would get interviews from publications such as Teen Vogue and Seventeen, or get a special feature in the magazine. Only now do I see an effort on both YouTube stars to become an influential part of the media, and branches of publishing company Conde Nast, to begin to cater to certain audiences on YouTube, and possibly TV and Film. This is an expected move for YouTube stars now, where some have debuted novels that rival J.K. Rowling or launched their clothing collection. On Conde's part, it is an opportunity to feature talent that wants a larger audience and way for them to venture into producing visual content outside of print magazines.

[jakelinesblog]

Airbnb Joins the Publishing World

This winter Airbnb will launch their first print magazine, appropriately named "Pineapple" for it's "symbol of hospitality". This follows a trend that digital companies are now moving toward, like the publication of Net-a-Porter's print magazine and WebMD have done. They will release a 128 page travel quarterly magazine. According to The New York Times, it will distribute 18,000 copies of the magazine to hosts globally, along with bookstores and retailers in North America and Europe. The issue will be priced at $12 in the US.

The magazine will be centered around three cities, San Francisco, London and Seoul, where the Airbnb business does well and is supported by the cities. It seems like any travel magazine you might spot at the airport or on board a plane, with an indie edge. It will feature a guide to the cities and feature certain houses listed on Airbnb, though they won't make it centered solely on the brand. While it's not ad-supported yet, they rely on the writing of freelancers and former contributors of traveling magazines and guides. This seems like a promising venture for Airbnb, as it's a sector of the magazine business that does well in ad revenue. Like any successful and progressive brand that hopes to remain on top, they are investing in not only their "hotel-like" business, but their future as a media brand in the digital world.

[jakelinesblog]

Hope For Advertisers & Publications Lies in it's Facebook Following

In an effort to better track and lead traffic between Hearst Magazine's websites and Facebook, they have implemented a new product called "Trending Stories". According to Digiday, for many publications social media sites, traffic has increased, especially from Facebook. From Hearst it has gone from 4% to 42% in the past year. Naturally, advertisers want to find a way to access and measure this data in order to monetize from it. The product will let advertisers target users that access the 18 publications that Hearst owns, that come directly from Facebook. The ad will appear as a "roadblock" before users can access the content on the site

This kind of traffic is called side-door traffic, where users find content through social media, but may be less engaged than if users accessed content directly by visiting the site. According to research people who come directly to a site will three times as likely to return to the site within a week than those who find the content through Facebook. While this product may be able to measure data of what kind of traffic comes through the site, it may not work well for advertisers when it comes to engagement once on the site.

As brands increase their own engagement on Facebook, publications will have to follow suit in order to keep their advertisers interested.

[jakelinesblog]

A Competitor for Lifestyle Magazines

Recently SheKnows Media acquired the women's blogging network BlogHer. Where they were once competitors, they now are one the most visited sites for "lifestyle" content, posting both articles and videos aimed for women. Combined, they will feature content of the women's lifestyle categories such as entertainment, food, wellness, beauty, style, and diy. 

According to Folio, their combined comScore for unique visitors totals to 75.3 million unique visitors with a social audience of 147.5 million, putting it in competition with major lifestyle publications like Condé Nast, Meredith and Hearst. Their social reach and audience reach combined give them a bigger influence than these major publications. This relates to my case studies report on Bloglovin' where I argued that the blogging community and platforms that encourage this are in competition with major publishers. 

It is clear that these alternative methods of viewing lifestyle content are gaining influence, and have the numbers to prove it. Along with the social and audience reach, they have the support of advertisers like Kellogg's, P&G, Clorox, Pepsi, Unilever and Macy's, and often feature branded content. It's reported that SheKnows Media has a revenue of close to $100 million. Ad Age argues that while it doesn't have the same influence of writers that are featured in Vogue and Refinery29, in terms of their fashion content, they are implementing programs to improve this, though I think this is a part of what makes blogs unique, it's ability to feature style in 'real life' scenarios and advice from everyday people. 

[jakelinesblog]

Condé Nast Moves Downtown

Today, many employees from Condé Nast moved to One World Trade Center. It was a  story heavily covered by the media, noting its emotional impact, sign of economic progress, and note in the change of the area that was once dominated by investment banks. 

In a New York Times article, it was noted how many technology, advertising and media companies have moved downtown because of the switch in what types of companies are there. The presence of an authority on media will most likely further this development. Condé Nast was once in Madison Ave, and moved to Times Square in 199, at the height of the magazine industry, according to the article. They claim that moving downtown is a "cost-conscious" decision, and something "less lavish" now that this industry is moving towards digital.The Washington Square Journal described the move as being a result of the "digital future" that is more of about the company and industry changing. When an authority on an industry moves it's offices to an area with a distinctive history, what does it mean for changes in the industry, for a industry struggling to perform on multi-platforms and become a broader media company?

[jakelinesblog]

Week 9

For business and classic magazine covers, a mainstream publication that puts an object on the cover can quickly become a indicator of a trend. Paul Montgomery, who has created a system to indicate the market signals in magazine covers, claims that there are certain "primary rules" for a classic magazine cover, that the magazine be a mainstream publication, that it can properly talk about the concept as it reaches its climax and that there have "been significant asset-price gains leading up to the cover". It is clear that magazines change as history goes on. Certain object hold an influence of money and power to the magazine and especially to the buyer of the magazine. But these objects, times in history or people can quickly lose this influence. 

Though Montgomery may not believe that a successful cover involves business magazines, but solely mainstreams magazines, Barry Ritholtz makes it known that when a magazines like Time magazine, New York Times Magazine or the Economist magazine release a cover involving the economy or a business, it signals an investment or a problem in the economy. He makes the point that magazine covers become an indicator of the economy and trends of who and what is influential in a certain industry. This correlation between magazine covers and its trends shows that magazine do have an impact on society.

[jakelinesblog]

Condé Nast Enters the E-commerce Business

For the year 2015, expect to see Condé Nast open their E-commerce business that will offer a variety of products that are read about in their many publications.

For me, what makes this different to Teen Vogue offering their picks on the best face wash along with their advice, or the best christmas presents to buy it that they themselves will be producing the products through a system online that they have created, curated and stocked. For this they've created a commerce division. It is a logical transition for a publishing company that is struggling and ready to move on to different forms of commerce that further integrates content and sponsored products. According to Franck Zayan, he claimed at the Internet Retailing Conference, that costumers expect and are demanding e-commerce sites. Though Zayan says it will be a process that involves the collecting, storing and selling of products, along with maintaing the quality in the editorial content. Magazines like Vogue will have to push the selling of products along with maintaining the status quo of their usual content. Condé Nast would be selling anything that can be sold from their publications, ranging from beauty, fashion, high tech and travel. 

Though one could see the problem in attracting a costumer from print to an online e-commerce site, along with the general digital transition of magazine, Zayan claims that it is mostly an issue with building costumer loyalty and altogether building a new branch of the company for Condé Nast. Zayan also states that the success in e-commerce relies on making the costumer part of the process. Just this past week the editior-in-chief of Lucky Magazine, Eva Chen posted picks for their future e-commerce site, already getting her large social media following on board with the transition.

As for the future of the magazine itself, the costumer would still be paying for the content of the magazine not a list of products, which I suspect people wouldn't want either way.

[jakelinesblog]

Key for Growth in New Subscribers Comes in Curated Boxes

Birchbox, the beauty company that creates personally curated boxes for its subscribers every month that includes beauty, health and wellness products of high and low brands, have thus far made their marketers happy. Since they launched in 2010, they have partnered with Teen Vogue, Goop, Glamour and Men’s Health. They team up with these publications to curate a special edition box that usually includes a subscription to their magazine or content made exclusively for Birchbox. I have personally gotten some of these boxes and been excited to learn that some of my favorite editors picked out a certain item for the box, or that a certain publication was offering specially designed earbuds as part of the collaboration. It becomes a whole new kind of promoting that involves beauty brands, magazine publishers, readers and even those who blog, connect on social media and especially on YouTube, where many girls detail the contents of their birchbox and compare their box to other subscription based boxes.

Their now two time collaboration with Women’s Health magazine has gotten them 43,000 new subscribers according to an Ad Week article. Women’s Health curated the box and included a year subscription to its magazine, an “in-book feature about the box” and held blogger and costumer events to promote it. With this amount of reach the campaign has become one of the the magazines largest acquisitions, according to Michelle Castillo. To the magazines Editior-in-Chief Amy Keller Laird, the sponsorship gives them a new way to build business and a “clever way to build subscription rates”  Since magazines have widened their reach to ways to monetize their magazines digitally, it’s interesting to see that efforts are still being made to engage readers and create a new subscription base 

[jakelinesblog]

The Future of Celebrity Magazines

In an industry where many publications have flopped or folded, like Teen People, Ladies Home Journal, and Cosmo Girl, due to the pressure of the recession and the digital transition of media, celebrity magazines have surprisingly survived. As someone who is constantly up to date with entertainment news, I would say that people are most likely to get this type of news form Facebook, Buzzfeed or Twitter and not wait for a weekly or bi-weekly magazine, like People or OK magazine to give them their celeb inside scoop. For me, I don't see the value in buying a magazine like this unless it's for a doctors waiting room, or there's a special spread in it for North West or Blue Ivy.

According to Bill Cromwell, where they had previously been thought a failure since this shift, they have actually got a better future compared to newsweeklies and business publications. No major publication has folded, and ad pages have been up. In a survey conducted by Media Life, readers predicted the future for these magazines, rating them 38% in terms that they were in good shape, compared to newsweeklies and business publications. They were also favored 67% more than the other magazine categories. I think this has to do a lot with the subject of these magazines as well. 

61% of readers said that the decline in newsstand sales is due to the digital shift. Readers think this would translate into a magazine getting "good scoops and smart digital strategy," and good "editorial quality". This is somewhere where I think celebrity magazine can get a one up on others. Readers thought that People did this best with a 70% rate in favor of its editorial quality, while OK! got 22%. Since this information is highly likely to be up online already, along with more frequent and accesible updates, people are more likely to go these for their information. This means that the magazines website counterpart needs to step up.

As of now, Yahoo, TMZ and Perez Hilton are in the top 10 most visited celebrity news websites, like People, US, and Star's digital counterpart seem to be doing well.

[jakelinesblog]

Magazine Media 360 Opens the Door to Advertisers on a Multiplatform Level

There is now a new way to measure audience and allow a way to provide this information to advertisers. Through the monthly system, Magazine Media 360, a report will be given that measures audience engagement on print and digital editions, as well on videos and five social media networking sites, ranging on different platforms from desktops to mobiles.

New York Times writer Leslie Kaufman likens the traditional method of measuring audience engagement to merely serving as "standard measurements" that do not take advantage of the potential in the magazine industry. Since the induction of this new tool, the standard measurement was done by Alliance for Audited Media, an independent company that represents advertisers and publishers and reports subscription and newsstand sale from print and digital sales. 

This allows for advertisers to seek more engagement on digital platforms, which they will take advantage of, since newsstand sales and print ad sales are in decline.

In an graph provided in the article, it is clear that readership on mobile devices is growing fast, while platforms like video still need more time to grow, which is interesting since so many publications are making a move toward video. 

In a brand audience report from Magazine Media 360 for August 2014, it is interesting to learn that while I would think a publication like Vogue with 12,780 print and digital edition readers and a non-existent (for now) unique visitor total, and 821 unique visitors would be popular, lifestyle and women's interest magazines like Better Homes and Gardens and People have a heavier readership in the 40,000 range. Meanwhile content that would be more accessible on a mobile device such as that of Allrecipes have a mobile unique visitor number of 17,497. According to Kaufman, as of now they represent 30 different companies that represent 147 magazines with 95 percent of magazine readers who have signed on to participate. 

It is clear that readers no only want a way to access their content on many platforms, but that providing information to advertisers of their engagement on multi-platforms will be a given and now a tool that exists for many magazines to measure this. Kaufman also points out that because this information is now out in the open, it has met some "initial resistance". From this information alone it is clear to see from a research perspective which magazines have had a strong readership and will continue to do so, as well as confirm the assumptions of some magazines that are struggling like Lucky magazine.

[jakelinesblog]

What Michelle Lee Plans to Bring to the Nylon Magazine Brand

Michelle Lee became editor-in-chief of Nylon and Nylon Guys magazine earlier this year. In an interview with Fashionista.com she talks about the changes in the industry. This follows the drama that occurred in their offices after the brand was bought by a new company and its former editor-in-chief and publicist were ousted, as well as much of the staff. Michelle Lee acknowledges this fact, but brushes past this issue, and talks about the future of their magazine.

One of the things she wants to do is double up on the beauty pages. This is something I think is wise of her to do since more and more "beauty centric" magazines and blogs like Into The Gloss and Refinery 29 are doing it, and are tapping into a billion dollar industry, with market shares of up to 34.1% in skincare in 2013. 

She also notes that their magazine will feature stars like Aubrey Plaza, a non traditional hollywood star, who she calls a "Nylon girl", someone who you will not see on many newsstands, like Jennifer Aniston or Sarah Jessica Parker, who were two of the best-selling celebrities in the past 5 years. For their October issue, Tavi Gevinson is their cover star, who is more popular with a younger crowd, while their cover sports a more clean look without many popping headlines, that Lee claims are "cliche".

For me, Nylon is a strong brand and has a lot of potential, especially when it comes to its digital presence. Lee plans to grow this part of the magazine as a separate entity from its print publication, along with a focus on video, which many publications like Condé Nast, are moving towards as well. 

Lee's background in content marketing has given her a new perspective on the magazine industry, she plans on making content an option for growing their brand, but not the focus, like most magazines have done, though she admits that it's important for native advertising. Overall she seems to be concerned for the image of the brand and what readers want out of Nylon.

[jakelinesblog]

Condé Nast's Move Toward Shareable Content

Recently I have noticed a trend in the magazine industry where many magazines that publish their issues online are also designing their websites to become more user friendly, attractive, and interactive. Many sites like TeenVogue.com, or Vogue.com have content that is as good as their content in print and competes with many online sites that I use, such as Refinery29.com and popular blogs on Bloglovin.com. And thus, their content becomes more shareable. 

Julianna Cummins states in her article that Jed Weintrob, the head of production at Condé Nast Entertainment wants its viewers on its online channels to  "...leave with one particular feeling: the need to share..." At the TIFF Doc Conference held on September 9th, he went over just what their company will do. He plans on using every online platform they have to come out with content similar to Youtube web/documentary series that Cummins states can "foster a connection between doc subject and viewers." He plans on targeting the majority of the viewers through mobile devices as well as making use of other portals such as Yahoo, the Daily Motion, and their app on Xbox. Condé Nast can then offer the support of an influential and powerful brand to directors of these short documentaries to film series like Strictly Ballet, an 18 episode documentary done for the Teen Vogue channel that was widely shared by fans of ballet and readers of Teen Vogue. This goes along with the publication's companion "Rhythm Nation." Teen Vogue's own Editor-in-Chief Amy Astley hopes it becomes something engaging for fans and regular readers alike.

For print publications this is a progressive move toward opening the gates to more digital platforms and distributing content there. They will open themselves to a wider audiences that are also moving to more visual content. In a space dominated by gif-heavy sites like Buzzfeed, or user-generated content on Youtube, Condé Nast's hope is to make quality content that will lure print and digital fans alike. 

[jakelinesblog]

TrendingNY takes Fashion Week

Article Link: http://www.adweek.com/news/press/hearsts-trendingny-kicks-four-week-test-run-159955

For the next few weeks millennials in New York City will be treated to a new publication from Hearst. It comes in the form of a free weekly magazine called TrendingNY. This magazine will run for four issues that are 48 pages long. 50,000 copies will be given out to female millennials in popular neighborhoods like the East Village on Mondays and Wednesdays. Like many of Hearst's popular publications, the magazine will focus on beauty and fashion, while featuring relevant entrepreneurs and connoisseurs in beauty and fashion, like Erica Domesek and Aliza Licht, along with cultural news that makes it relevant to New Yorkers.  It will also show products that are "accessible" and for the "fashion insider".

Emma Bazilian made a good point in writing that launching yet another print magazine targeted to millennials seems like an oxymoron. Despite this fact, Hearst's research found that millennials do in fact read popular free papers. And like any magazine publication, its advertisers are well known brands such as L'oreal Paris, Macy's and Bloomingdales that are reaching out to a younger audience. While they have not launched a website they have launched a twitter account, along with the encouragement for readers to tag #trendingny and take their reader feedback survey

Just the other day I received a Refinery 29 promotional newspaper on the street that promoted NY Fashion Week as well as their new book. It was a way of making a real life connection of an online fashion site that I read daily and events that are happening in NY. I think that this a good step forward for print publications that still want some influence in that medium, as well as online. It mixes the powerful influence of social media with contributors that are popular on Twitter, while also appealing to the everyday female commuter who is interested in beauty, fashion and the New Yorker culture. Provided this publication does well, it could continue to be published for the this coming year, and perhaps influence other publications to follow in their steps.

Look out for @TrendingNY this week! It's free & fashionable...Oh & it debuts my "Ask Aliza" column on career advice! pic.twitter.com/7X3Ac3Hdwd

— A L I Z A L I C H T (@AlizaLicht) September 8, 2014