Hearst publishing
Research Hearst publishing by looking at the Hearst UK website and the Wikipedia entry for parent company and conglomerate Hearst Communications. Then, answer the following questions:
1) Hearst UK is part of Hearst Communications. What is Hearst Communications and where is it based?
Hearst is a publishing firm and deals with lots of publications such as Men's Health and Cosmopolitan. They are based in New York.
2) What media industries and brands make up the Hearst Communications conglomerate?
Esquire, Good Housekeeping and Country Living. San Francisco Chronicle, the HoustonChronicle, Cosmopolitan and Esquire.
3) What was the global revenue for Hearst Communications (in dollars) for the most recent year on record?
11.4 billion
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?
ASDA Magazine, Best, Digital Spy, Inside Soap, Town and Country
Now read this Campaign interview with Hearst UK CEO James Wildman and answer the following questions:
1) What is James Wildman's plan for Hearst UK?
To make the 22 publications become 22 iterations, to be more integrated and connected
2) What percentage ad decline are consumer magazines facing?
A 10% drop
3) What Wildman think about premium content and paywalls?
Wildman admits "the headwinds are tough" for online advertising. "I think we should charge for our premium content," he says, citing "the most extraordinary recipe archive" at Good Housekeeping as an example. But he says no paywalls are planned yet.
4) How has Hearst used diversification to grow the business?
They run events, sell merchandise and endorse other products
Finally, read this Hearst UK press release for their late 2018 ABC figures and answer two simple questions:
1) Is Men's Health increasing or decreasing in circulation?
increasing
2) What does the press release say about recent successes associated with Men's Health?
Men’s Health’s #MendTheGap campaign continues to help redress the disparity between attitudes toward mental and physical health, whilst its range of home gym equipment is the best-selling premium gym range in Argos
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. Now answer the following questions:
1) Why are traditional print magazines struggling?
Many can access the same content more easily online
2) What genre of magazines is currently bucking the trend and increasing sales? Why is this?
news and current affairs because we rely on these media sources to give us information
3) In contrast, what magazine genres are struggling? Give examples of magazines that have declined or stopped printing altogether.
showbiz magazines and fashion ones
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?
Revenue went from £512m to £250m in just 7 years. In 2000 it declined by 55%.
5) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook?
65%
6) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age?
Include special and inclusive content. Advertising helps massively with magazines like Vogue. They also make other content that you can only access on their website.
7) Why does the Hearst UK CEO James Wildman suggest that the magazine industry is not dead?
The magazine industry is a lot more diverse than we think.
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?
“Endorsement, accreditation and licensing are increasingly lucrative." The Men's Health brand is being used for home-gym equipment on sale at Argos.
9) What signs for optimism might there be for traditional magazine brands?
They have a loyal and traditional fanbase. They trust the news as there would be a editor, separating fake news.
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?
Men's Health will be in production for at least a decade because they can survive a lot off their health products. As society becomes more conscious about body image, they can exploit that market and get a lot of profit.
The Men's Health website and social media
Visit the Men's Health website, Twitter feed and Instagram. Answer the following questions:
1) What similarities do you notice between the website and the print edition of the magazine?
It mainly focuses a ot on betterment and is even offering products like cream.
2) What is the Men's Health daily newsletter and what does it include? How does this help Hearst UK to make money?
It includes snippets and details of their other magazines. This helps to promote their other publications and increase readership.
3) Look at the Men's Health website menu bar. What are the menu options? What does this suggest about the representation of men and masculinity associated with Men's Health?
Fitness, Mental Health, Style, Nutrition and Workouts - this is the generalisation of what a 'perfect' man should take interest in.
4) Choose one of the menu sections (e.g. Mental Strength) and write a list of the features in that area of the website. What target audience are these features aimed at?
In Style, they include fashion such as sweaters and what trainers Obama wears. They also have grooming pieces where they explain how to stop ageing. This is aimed at adults, aged between 25-50.
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?
They would lose all readership of their print version if they decide to value digital more however their readership could be increased by going online, which is much more accessible.
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.
They said: Deploy these tips and watch your gains multiply - which isn't really true as it takes time to lose weight.
7) How does the Twitter feed uses images and video content alongside text and links?
They use videos and images to entice the audience and to make them agree and be attracted by a certain lifestyle. They use links to promote their digital content.
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 want their models to push their 'fit' aesthetic and they post a lot of food posts which is an advertisement for their products. The audience is different as younger people can also access their socials so they think that it's better to promote more child-friendly content.
9) Is the Men's Health social media designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?
Print magazine because they have been doing it for a longer time and they have fiund much success that way.
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 print is still the best edition. They have a lot more freedom online however but they fail to connect with the next generation of readers, there really isn't much to read for the younger ages, 18-21. I think within the next 20 years, the print edition will succumb to the digitalisation of the print industry.
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