New Look for Woman's Day

Jane Chesnutt’s husband almost didn’t get a Christmas gift last December. That’s because Chesnutt, the editor-in-chief of Woman’s Day, was busy working on a redesign that will reach newsstands next week. The symbolic rose blossoms that adorn the cover, combined with an overall cleaner look, bring a contemporary feel to the women’s service title. It is clear the magazine that once included the cover line, “16 Jiffy Bathing Suits To Make,” is now speaking to a generation of women that barely finds time to sit, let alone sew.

“It was a service magazine and it remains a service magazine, and we are quite proud of that,” says Chesnutt from Woman’s Day offices in Times Square. Hachette Filipacchi Media has made a “sizable investment” in the magazine; the result is a bigger trim size, heavier paper stock, and bolder photography. The changes, says Chesnutt, were essential. “What has happened in the past few years is that new magazines have entered the women’s field and a lot of those magazines have good, strong production values. The look of those magazines was quite upscale and readers started getting used to getting information geared to them in a really glossy, nice package.”

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There is a business side to the equation as well. “A lot of advertisers are looking for that more beautiful environment,” explains publisher Laura Klein. The results are already paying off. The forthcoming issue will be the biggest March issue in ad pages in 25 years, with a 47% increase in ad pages. “We’re gaining a lot more for some of our existing advertisers, who are advertising more brands,” says Klein. Core advertisers like Kraft, Johnson & Johnson, and Clorox are spending more, while the title is attracting more pharmaceutical dollars. Its larger size and better paper stock has also helped it attract home furnishings and beauty advertisers. The just-closed April issue was up 19%, bringing the year-to-date increase to 17%. “This is what we counted on when we made the investment,” says Klein. According to the Publisher’s Information Bureau, Woman’s Day’s ad pages declined 5.7% last year, and revenues decreased 2.4%. The Audit Bureau of Circulations says circulation in the first half of 2002 increase 2.8% to 4.2 million.

Another number in focus is the age of the average reader. Right now it is 48, and Hachette Filipacchi hopes to lower that number with the new look. “We are looking for a more youthful environment. It is a challenge to move the age of the reader, but we’d like to see that happen,” says Klein. That will be difficult, she concedes, because there are only a few years in the youngest-to-oldest range of their reader.

With Baby Boomers aging into Woman’s Day demographic, Chesnutt believes they are in a good position either way. “The reality is, I do not edit to the numbers, I edit to a state of mind, and what you see with American women is that they continue to get younger and younger. It’s a mindset.” That concern with the thoughts of the reader led to a redesign that came from interaction with subscribers, not consultants. With an online reader panel that has swelled to more than 100,000, Chesnutt is able to test cover art ideas as well as editorial content. The March issue, for instance, includes the results of a top ten favorite dessert story.

One place readers seem to differ is on the issue of celebrities. With a newsstand sell-through rate of 58%, Woman’s Day has the highest in the category. Although the Audit Bureau of Circulations says newsstand sales fell 11.8% in the first half of 2002, Klein says they are doing quite well without Hollywood covers. “Celebrities have more limited appeal than universal magnets like food, crafts, and flowers,” she explains.

“The bulk of the readers don’t want this to be a celebrity magazine,” continues Chesnutt. “There are some small bits with celebrities that are geared toward a reader’s life in the magazine. That is in there as a way as dipping our toe into the water and satisfying the quarter of readers who’d like to see celebrities in the magazine.” Not surprisingly, that 25% tends to be among Woman’s Day’s youngest readers.

While not as sexy as branded fashion, food products, or film plots, Woman’s Day’s brand extensions fit squarely into its service image. A branded cable TV special, “Undiagnosed: Women’s Heart Disease” will air next week on Discovery Health Channel, and heart screening clinics will be held in several cities later this month. Filipacchi Publishing has also just released The Woman’s Day Weight-Loss Plan, and two more branded books will be published in April.

Another women’s service title, Meredith’s Ladies’ Home Journal, is also releasing a redesign in March.

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