With magazine circulation and ad revenues dropping in recent years, surviving brands are finding ways to tap multiple revenue streams. Pacific Magazine’s head of entertainment Emma Nolan shared with Mediaweek some of the new brand projects and why the approach towards diversification is critical in the publishing industry.
“New Idea is an incredibly strong brand, and it’s been one of the most successful magazine brands when it comes to diversification on all platforms,” said Nolan.
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From the numbers Nolan has shared with us, the brand seems to be heading in the right direction with strong engagement for their social and digital offerings. “New Idea has a total footprint of just around five million touch points every month across our platforms. Our audience is highly engaged with our content. In August, we reached 1.72 million people and that was 55% growth year on year. New Idea visitors had over 6.84 million page views and 1.5 million video views.”
Nolan told Mediaweek that New Idea has been producing original video every day for the brand extension New Idea Food. Although the publishing industry is definitely turning digital, it doesn’t mean magazine brands need to put everything online when specific content is valued enough. New Idea Food has recently expanded from online to a print offering.
“It gives food lovers 360 degree access to the New Idea Food brand across print, digital and podcasts. The content in the magazine features the best from the New Idea test kitchen and also the most clicked-on food stories from the website,” said Nolan.
“The 116 page print version of New Idea Food offers more than 90 recipes to feed the family and entertain friends; we have step-by-step cooking, masterclasses, quick and easy meals, helpful food hacks and hints, in-season produce ideas and reviews.”
Podcasts have become a popular way to engage existing audiences and draw in new ones. Nolan told Mediaweek the array of podcasts New Idea offers includes New Idea Royals, Real Talk, New Idea Investigates, The Baby Whisperer from Practical Parenting, Trolley Watch, The Flawsome Mum, and their very latest – Ghost Files. “Probably the most successful diversification has been launching the Royal Monthly brand extension – It’s already smashing circulation,” said Nolan.
Nolan revealed how New Idea decides on what topics should be made into podcasts: “We have a really clear idea of the content which captivates our audience, and that’s everything from crime to reality TV to parenting to ghost stories. Probably our most popular podcast is New Idea Royals.”
Nolan added there are a lot of plans instore for the brand. “We are launching another bi-monthly print magazine – but it’s too early to talk about that yet. We’re also planning an upgrade to the digital experience for our website. The aim is to optimise the user experience and revenue by removing friction and focussing on the right benefits.”
Nolan added that although a lot of the content has moved online, magazine covers are still very important. “Magazine covers are still critical to drive sales with our print product. Australian women buy a copy of New Idea every three seconds, providing mass reach of scale to a highly engaged audience.”