Mag Bag: 'People StyleWatch,' 'Cosmo' Raise Rate Base

People StyleWatch, Cosmo Raise Rate Base

The last few months have brought signs of a tentative recovery in the consumer magazine industry -- albeit an uneven one, in terms of ad pages. Turning to circulation and frequency, some magazines are not just recovering, but thriving in 2010.

Most recently, People StyleWatch revealed that it will be raising its rate base and frequency at the beginning of next year, with guaranteed circ growing 6.9% from 725,000 to 775,000, and an extra issue bringing the title from 10 issues per year to 11. The extra issue will result from splitting the combined June-July issue into separate monthly issues. People StyleWatch had a total average circ of 931,579 in the first half of this year, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, including 310,579 subscriptions. Single-copy sales rose 15% from 497,608 to 572,104.

At the beginning of August, Hearst title Cosmopolitan revealed that it is raising its rate base from 2.9 million to 3 million, a roughly 3.4% increase. According to ABC, Cosmo's paid subscriptions increased 10.3% from 1,162,528 in the first half of 2009 to 1,282,757 in the first half of 2010, while newsstand sales rose 1.5% from 1,616,908 to 1,641,805 over the same period.

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Some magazines are restoring issues which were originally cut during the depths of the recession. For example, Wenner Media said that Men's Journal will restore its separate July issue in 2011 after dropping the issue this year, totaling 11 issues per year. The magazine still plans to publish a combined December-January issue. In the first half of 2010, Men's Journal single-copy sales increased 24.7% from 64,964 to 80,994.

Good Housekeeping Gets Experiential in a Big Way

Good Housekeeping is bringing the model home -- a classic experiential marketing tactic -- to the Mall of America, with a 2,000-square-foot display. The showroom is scheduled to run through October as a follow-up to last year's national tour by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute -- the organization that bestows the magazine's famous "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval."

Among other things, the experiential marketing installation will host activities including cooking demos, do-it-yourself project demonstrations, design consultations, and appearances by celebrity chefs, as well as Q&A with the Institute's experts. The magazine is lining up advertiser sponsors for the showroom and associated events.

ThumbMedia Bows Mobile Magazine Solution, Mozine

Magazine publishers looking to get their publications onto smartphones quickly and easily have a new resource in the form of ThumbMedia Group's "one-stop" mobile publishing solution, Mozine, which provides cross-platform technology and distribution with scalable apps for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices. ThumbMedia CEO Mike Cartabiano remarked: "The landscape is becoming more and more diversified and content publishers can no longer afford to focus on one device -- it is imperative that they deliver across all platforms."

ThumbMedia services include building the app in consultation with publishing, editorial and marketing teams, creating the content package, securing prime placement on app storefronts, promoting the finished product and providing consumer feedback metrics.

Jennifer Hicks Named Group Publisher, Smithsonian Media

Smithsonian Media has named Jennifer Hicks group publisher, with responsibility for managing the integrated sales force and marketing team for all Smithsonian Media assets across print, digital, television and events, including the flagship Smithsonian. Prior to joining Smithsonian, Hicks worked on the publishing side at Conde Nast and Hachette Filipacchi.

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