Hearst publishing
Research Hearst publishing by looking at the Hearst UK website and the Wikipedia entry for parent company and conglomerate Hearst Communications.
1) Hearst UK is part of Hearst Communications. What is Hearst Communications and where is it based?
It's a mass media and business information conglomerate based in Manhattan, Hearst Tower. It is stilled owned by the Heart family.
2) What media industries and brands make up the Hearst Communications conglomerate?
They own magazines, newspapers, broadcasting and internet companies. Some magazine brands that make up Hearst are: Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Men's Health, Women's Health. Newspaper brands: The Telegraph, Greenwich Time. Sam Francisco Chronicle. Broadcasting brands: A+E Networks, ESPN, Verizon, Cosmopolitan TV, Hearst TV. Internet brands: Awesomeness TV, Digital Spy, Kaboodle.
3) What was the global revenue for Hearst Communications (in dollars) for the most recent year on record?
$10.8 bn
4) Focusing on Hearst UK, what other magazine brands are part of Hearst UK publishing? How many UK people do they reach in print and online?
Other brands include: Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Women's Health, Country Living.
They reach 30% of women and 25% men. They sell 4mn magazines a month and have a 17mn digital users in the UK.
5) What is James Wildman's plan for Hearst UK?
Grow market share for print, accelerate growth in digital, diversify revenue trough events and partnerships and consider acquisitions.
6) What percentage ad decline are consumer magazines facing?
10% decline.
7) What Wildman think about premium content and paywalls?
He thinks that Heart should charge for their premium content, but no paywalls are planned yet.
8) How has Hearst used diversification to grow the business?
They wun about 200 events a year and want to focus on fewer, bigger ones like Esquire Town House. They merchandise deals like sofas on Country Living, increase endorsements.
9) Is Men's Health increasing or decreasing in circulation?
It is increasing.
10) What explanation is provided by Hearst for the success of their magazines in a tough print market?
Their distribution levels are the reason. They place magazines where consumers are likely to read them the most. For Cosmopolitan they put them in gyms, shopping centres and cinemas.
The impact of digital media on the print magazines industry
Read this BBC website feature on the print magazine industry and then this Guardian feature on the demise of NME magazine and print magazines in general.
1) Why are traditional print magazines struggling?
BBC News says that the invention of the internet started the struggle for magazines.
2) What genre of magazines is currently bucking the trend and increasing sales? Why is this?
News and current affairs magazines are becoming more popular, the past 18 months in politics has caused a lot of attention to come to the news, and the public want to be informed ad understand the facts and why things like the economy are in the current state.
3) In contrast, what magazine genres are struggling? Give examples of magazines that have declined or stopped printing altogether.
Genres such as celebrity, gossip, music and fashion are decreasing. The NME had recently ceased publication in March 2018. Magazines down in weekly sales approximately:
Look - 35%
Now - 21% 87,000
Closer - 20% 200,000
Heat - 17% 120,000
Grazia 13% 110,000
4) Look at the Guardian article in detail. What statistics are provided to demonstrate the decline in the print magazines industry between 2010 and 2017? What about the percentage decline from 2000?
Top 100 UK print titles subscribers fell by 42% from 23.8mn to 13.9mn. From 2000 the decline is 55% from 30.8mn.
5) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook?
65%, $6.5bn
6) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age?
The Guardian suggests making magazines for more niche audiences which will drive in readers to the publishers. Introduce paywalls to online content.
7) Why does the Hearst UK CEO James Wildman suggest that the magazine industry is not dead?
'Magazine brands are much more diverse'. He talks about how Hearst have events for magazines.
8) What examples from the Guardian article are provided to demonstrate how magazines are finding new revenue streams? What is the Men's Health branding used for?
They make magazines for more niche audiences, which are likely to have 'a fanbase'.
9) What signs for optimism might there be for traditional magazine brands?
Audiences care more about how much they can trust a brand, Wildman says, 'with issues such as fake news'[...], audiences look to 'trust and context'.
10) How does Men's Health fit into this picture? Why do you think Men's Health has remained successful in the digital age? Do you think Men's Health will continue to publish for many years to come? Why?
They diversify their content. They have created magazines for more niche audiences and that are specialised. They create luxe magazines which are brand extensions such as Urban Active(sports fashion), Synchronised(watches), Expicure(food/drink). The luxe editions feature experts who give more detailed advice and provide a lot more context for niche audiences than those who just purchase the flagship magazine. These niche magazines allow them to stay as a print magazine for longer as they draw in a diverse audience.
The Men's Health website and social media
Visit the Men's Health website, Twitter feed and Instagram.
1) What similarities do you notice between the website and the print edition of the magazine?
They feature articles like watches, which matches their promotion of the products in their print edition. They also show articles that match the coverlines and pages in the print edition on how to lose body fat. Men's Health website put celebrities like sports athletes like David Beckham or movie stars like Mark Wahlberg and Ryan Reynolds. Their website index shows pages like watches, style and nutrition which are all seperate luxe magazines, so they do have synergy between their platforms.
2) What is the Men's Health daily newsletter and what does it include? How does this help Hearst UK to make money?
The newsletter features new articles and tips on 'weight loss tips and workouts'. There are advertisements of products which reinforce some products that the audience my have already seen in print editions and on social media platforms. The conversion rate for direct sales increases which helps Hearst make more money with advertising.
3) Look at the menu bar along the top of the website. What are the menu options? What does this suggest about the representation of men and masculinity associated with Men's Health?
It's a very hegemonic and traditional representation of men always having to look their best physically and to be physically fit more than the average man. Their bars like summer body, workouts. muscle, fitness and weight loss reinforce their representation of masculinity.
4) Choose one of the menu sections and write a list of the features in that area of the website. What target audience are these features aimed at?
They feature stars like Zac Efron, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Daniel Craig as James Bond. The target audience are likely to be young men who are active consumers of going to the cinema and most likely following these influencers on social media. Target Audience would be 20-35/40.
They also show 'the no gym home six pack', so this may be for those with low incomes who can't afford a gym membership or are busy working and don't have the time to go the gym. The target audience is likely to be lower at 20-30.
The models in the photos are also young men of a similar age range 20-35. This does show that the target audience of doing tasking workouts like '400 rep bigger chest workout', are more likely to follow this page as they have the stamina and energy to do so because of their young age.
http://www.menshealth.co.uk/workout/the-400-rep-bigger-chest-workout
http://www.menshealth.co.uk/building-muscle/no-gym-home-six-pack-circuit
http://www.menshealth.co.uk/workout/The-lean-muscle-bodyweight-workout
http://www.menshealth.co.uk/workout/the-wolverine-heavy-lifting-workout
http://www.menshealth.co.uk/workout/daniel-craigs-james-bond-muscle-building-workout-plan
5) Do you think the Men's Health website is trying to sell the print version or simply build a digital audience? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a 'digital first' strategy?
I think they are trying to do both. Their front page is the content that will be see the most by young men. The hashtags and telling consumers to sign up to the digital newsletter means they are building a digital following. But also they may be building a print audience. They advertise, '6 reasons to buy the new issue of men's health', so they are really trying to gain loyal consumers who go online and buy the physical magazine. They also show watches, which means they want audiences to buy the niche luxe magazines.
http://www.menshealth.co.uk/building-muscle/6-reasons-to-buy-the-new-issue-of-mens-health
http://www.menshealth.co.uk/style/a-watch-that-stands-the-test-of-time
The advantage of this is most young people are students so offering a free service and a way allowing them to engage on social media allows them to feel more connected to the brand. A disadvantage is that the online services are free, there is less of a chance to bring money back the the company if they aren;t seeling anything. They are heavily reliant on advertising revenue. Even if they advertise the product on the front page they are less likely to do so if they already gain information online.
6) How does the Men's Health Twitter feed use 'clickbait' to try and get users to click through to the magazine's website? Give examples of tweets that are designed to get the audience to click through.
Some tweets use the handle of stars like Hugh Jackman. He is already an influential figure and captions like 'knows what he's talking about', makes the audience trust the article as it comes from a movie star who has a lot of power to draw in an audience.
https://twitter.com/MensHealthUK/status/1002482490848800769
7) How does the Twitter feed uses images and video content alongside text and links?
They feature models who are heavily built to try and get viewers to click on the link to the article. It gives them a false idea that a single workout will give them a body like this, but in reality the models work 24/7 to look like this and don't just try for 6 weeks to look a certain way.
8) What does the Men's Health Instagram suggest about the Men's Health brand? Is this appealing to a similar audience to the print version of the magazine?
They feature movie stars and articles about the online version. I think this is appealing to a younger demographic like teenagers and adults from 20 to 35. The print magazine may feature those of a slightly older audience from 25-40/45 as they can afford to buy the products when at the top of their respective field of high income earners of an AB demographic, as they are likely the ones to buy the advertised products in the print version.
9) Is the Men's Health social media designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?
I think its both. The feeds of both the social media platforms advertise the online articles but also the print magazine and tells the audience to go and buy it.
10) Evaluate the success of the Men's Health brand online. Does it successfully communicate with its target audience? Will the digital platforms eventually replace the print magazine completely?
I think the brand is very successful to keep a large audience and increase its digital readership to 17mn monthly users. Some news publishers don't even draw close to that number and I think they have transitioned successfully online. As a result of this, it does show that they have communicates well their target audience as they still continue to the loyal readers and buy the products advertised in the magazine. I think the digital platforms will so this eventually, but not for a long time as conglomerates still have a lot of power and persuasion over the audience to convince them to keep buying print versions of the magazine. As an established brand, print magazines give are given a headstart and give them more control on how long their print magazines will survive before eventually digital platforms take over.
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