Men's Health - Audience blog tasks

Read the Men's Health Media Pack in full to get a good idea of the demographics and psychographics for the Men's Health target audience then answer the following questions:

1) How does the magazine introduce itself?

It says that it's "the biggest and best-selling men's lifestyle magazine both in the UK and worldwide. It’s success is built on a winning editorial formula which combines visually-engaging health, wellbeing and nutrition features with premium content covering fashion, grooming, watches, tech and travel."

2) What does the introduction suggest about the representation of masculinity in Men's Health's?

It assumes heteronormality and lists a few things that a 'real man; should incorporate into his life. It also suggests that men 'need' to read Men's Health through its 'best selling' tag. This entices men to conform to a constructed view of masculinity.

3) How do the print statistics for Men's Health compare to GQ and Esquire?

The circulation is a little higher than GQ. The readership in total men is where MH steals the show as it's 650 more than GQ. Total readership in both ABC1 and AB men is also significantly higher than both magazines. 

4) What is the difference between circulation and readership?

Circulation is the actual number of printed and distributed copies, numbers provided by the Audit Bureau of Circulation. Readership is an estimate of the people who actually read the magazine that has been distributed, statistics via the National Readership Survey.

5) What was the circulation of Men's Health in thousands at the time this Media Pack was published? What about the readership for ABC1 men? AB men? [Note: this Media Pack was published in 2016 and some of the figures have fallen since then. Up to date circulation figures can be found at the top of this blog post].

At the time of publishment, it was 995k. For ABC1 readers it's 643k and for AB readers it's 321k.

6) How do readers generally interact with the digital version of the magazine?

68% use their phone, 11% their tablet and 21% their desktop to access the website.

7) How many people do Men's Health reach across social media platforms?

Just under 1.3 million

8) What is the audience profile for Men's Health readers? 

905k of the readers are ABC1 and are aged between 25 and 44

700k have degrees 

200k have a salary of over £50k

9) What is the Men's Health fashion philosophy? How much do Men's Health readers collectively spend on fashion?

Stylish, contemporary, wearable and individual. They spend £1.1 billion on fashion, three times more than GQ readers.

10) What is the average watch collection value for the Men's Health audience? What do the statistics about watches suggest about the Men's Health audience demographics and psychographics?  

Average watch collection value is £4,123 which emphasises that the readers belong to ABC1 or AB demographic group. The readers could also be Aspirers or Succeeders.

11) What percentage of Men's Health readers use moisturiser daily? What does this suggest about Men's Health readers' view of masculinity?

73% of readers use moisturiser daily. This shows that gender fluidity is very common amongst Men's Health readers and that they can shift between feminine and masculine qualities. There isn't a huge sense of hypermasculinity even though it's a magazine meant for men.

12) What does the media pack suggest regarding the Men's Health audience for fitness and technology?

They suggest that readers are perhaps explorers of new technology and are 'up to date' on new forms of tech and are fit and healthy 'athletes' that always find new ways to stay fut.

13) Men's Health luxe is a series of magazines distributed with Men's Health targeting a specific aspect of the Men's Health audience. What are these three brand extension magazines called and what do they cover?

Urban Active, Synchronised and Epicure. Active sportswear, watches and cooking respectively.

14) What do the Men's Health luxe magazines suggest about the demographics and psychographics of the Men's Health audience?

That the readers SHOULD like watches, contemporary fashion and should look at trying to improve their cooking skills.

15) What additional brand extensions do Men's Health offer?

Survival of the fittest which is the biggest urban adventure race in the UK and the Men's health product range which offers things like healthy food and exercising equipment.

16) What are the global statistics for Men's Health?

Global Statistics
International Editions 37
Countries Published 60
Global Circulation 4.5M
Global Readership 26.7M
Websites 25
Uniques 23.7M

Social Media Footprint 19.3M

17) What does the 2017 calendar editorial specials suggest about the Men's Health audience?

The extra magazines added show that Men's Health are prompting them to become well-rounded men. The specials also suggest that its readers are adventurous, wealthy and ready to live their life to the fullest.

18) What audience pleasures are offered by the magazine?

Personal relationship: readers are pleased by seeing their lifestyle being reflected in the magazine they're reading

Surveillance: Men's Health is fixate on making its readers lead a healthier and more successful life

19) What lifestyle and job would you expect the average Men's Health reader to have?

A flashy/exercise-filled lifestyle. The average reader would drive around in something like an Audi S3 and would work as an investment banker or a car salesman.

20) Why do you think Men's Health has managed to (just) remain profitable when many other magazines have struggled due to the rise of digital media?

It's supporting various views of masculinity where others just conform to one 'stereotype' of masculinity. It promotes gender fluidity and therefore is more acceptable in society where many, thanks to social media, can voice their view on how masculinity is subjective and adjustable.

If it supports more broader and modern views of masculinity, that's the main reason why Men's Health has manages to keep its head above the water.