Commentary

'NatGeo' Unveils 10 Different Covers

Magazines have been using the alternative covers trick for a while now, but no one has embraced the idea with quite the enthusiasm of National Geographic Magazine.

The April issue of the iconic nature mag will boast 10 different covers, all featuring a photograph from NatGeo’s own Joel Sartore.

Sartore’s work often focuses on endangered animals and environments threatened by human activity, including a long-term project, the National Geographic Photo Ark. It will create portraits of around 12,000 species of birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. He’s currently about halfway there.

The selection of covers for the April issue reflects that mission, with portraits of animals that are endangered or seeing their habitats destroyed, highlighting captive animals from zoos. They may soon be the only place to see them, in the absence of conservation efforts.

The list includes the waxy monkey tree frog, hippopotamus, Reimann's snake-necked turtle, snowy owl, Malayan tiger, Brazilian porcupine, southern three-banded armadillo, Indian peafowl, mother and baby koalas and Coquerel’s sifaka.

The portraits were shot at zoos, including the Rolling Hills Zoo in Kansas, the San Antonio Zoo, Zoo Atlanta, Raptor Recovery Nebraska, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, the Saint Louis Zoo, Lincoln Children’s Zoo, the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital and the Houston Zoo. 

NatGeo subscribers will receive one of the covers at random, and all 10 will also be available for purchase at newsstands.

Stunning imagery is at the core of NatGeo’s audience engagement strategy, and it is clearly paying off.

Last year, it was the most popular magazine brand on social media, according to data from Social Flow and the MPA – The Association of Magazine Media. NatGeo ended 2015 with 100 million likes and followers across the major social platforms, followed by ESPN with just half as many.

NatGeo also had the most popular Instagram and Facebook posts among magazine brands.

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