Feature: Emap Turns Up The Heat On Celebrity Stalwarts
The latest ABC figures for the six months ending June 2003 revealed the increasing popularity of celebrity magazines; Heat and Now. Corresponding display ad revenues for the same period also confirmed the strength of the sector and there appears to be no limit to the inexorable growth of the public’s obsession with the lives of the not so rich and slightly famous.
Figures compiled exclusively for NewsLine by Nielsen Media Research show that advertising revenues at Heat topped £9 million in the first half of this year, an increase of over £6.1 million on the same period of 2001. This huge 67% year on year leap confirms the title’s increasing strength compared to older titles, it has outstripped its rivals with the fastest growth in ad revenues.
Those close to the Heat machine believe the magazine’s success is due to the unique way it has built brand loyalty in the increasingly fragmented celebrity magazine market. The latest ABC results show that the title has continued to grow in the face of competition from Chic Magazine’s cut price New magazine. At the same time Emap has expanded its celebrity titles, hoping to use its Midas touch in the older market with Closer and the teenage market with Sneak.
Paul Richards, an analyst at media specialists, Numis Securities, commented: “Heat has been phenomenally successful and Closer has proved there is a market for that type of reader beyond the age of 30. This is a market that was in need of refreshment, it was still too associated with knitting patterns and recipes.”
Emap has attributed Heat’s success both to its strong relationship with its readers and its weekly connection with the elusive 16 to 24 year old market. Insiders claim it is the demographic make-up of the magazine’s readership that ensures its ad revenues remain head and shoulders above its closest rivals.
The latest ABC circulation figures for the six months ending June 2003 revealed huge growth at Heat, which rose by 18.1% year on year to 565,484. However, Nowcame in slightly higher 590,544. Despite this relative strength, Heat’s ad revenues are almost three times that of Now, which recorded total display revenues of just under £3.3 million for the six months ending June 2003.
Now’s significantly smaller ad revenue has been attributed to its older, dowdier demographic. In contrast Heat has benefited from attracting a wide range of advertisers from Woolworths to luxury brands.
A media buyer from MediaCom explains: “Part of the reason Heat has been so successful is because it is so popular on a personal level, as well as with advertisers. Heat came along at the right time and approached celebrity in a very different way to OK and Hello!. It was very much the first of it’s kind, although Now has followed suit with a more celebrity led focus.”
However, the old champions of the celebrity magazine market, OK! and Hello, show no signs of going out with a fight. Their decline has perhaps been forecast too quickly and advertising revenue at both titles remains strong, despite signs the gloss has gone from the appetite for carefully staged photoshoots of minor royals in pine kitchens.
The Figures from Nielsen Media Research show that OK! remains ahead of its celebrity focussed rivals in terms of ad revenue, which topped £9.8 million in the six months to July, up from £8.6 million in the same period the previous year. Hello also recorded an increase during the same period, with ad revenue inching up by £113,204 to just over £6 million.
The data confirms that the celebrity magazine market is still the sector to watch over the coming months. Media analysts will be especially keen to see if the sector will be able to attract elusive male readers into the traditionally female genre.
The consumer magazine market has been in full-swing attempting to capitalise on the public’s inexorable enthusiasm for all things celebrity and both IPC and Emap are planning new launches. These new magazines will enter the already crowded market place alongside a range of celebrity orientated titles such as Hachette Filipacchi’s All About Soap and Inside Soap, as well as IPC’s Soaplife.
However, the majority of media watchers believe that the Heat brand is strong enough to stand increased competition and a media buyer at MediaCom insists: “Heat’s brand is very strong, this is demonstrated by the amount of new and existing magazines who have attempted to copy its format and style.”
Celebrity magazines have gone from strength to strength over the past year, bypassing the mid-life crisis of the women’s magazine market, which has struggled to be all things to all women. Title’s such as Heat have benefited by not taking themselves too seriously. However, advertisers wishing to reach the elusive 16 to 24 year old market would be advised to take these titles very seriously as increasingly important vehicles in the fragmented media marketplace.
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