Marie Claire set for revamp

IPC Southbank is set to redesign its fashion monthly Marie Claire to be “a glossier, smarter and sexier magazine”.

Marie Claire‘s September issue will unveil the title’s new-look and new content, which includes a fresh shopping section ‘Straight into Style’, a new section on sex and relationships, more in-depth features such as ‘How to Look Expensive’ and the return of the food pages.

The magazine’s new editor-in-chief, Trish Halpin, who commissioned the changes following a research and development programme, said: “An injection of fun, a stronger emotional connection with our audience, and a fresh modern look will seal Marie Claire‘s position as the UK’s biggest-selling fashion glossy.

Richard Johnstone, publishing director, added: “We’ve taken a longer-term view for Marie Claire and supported our new editor by investing heavily in the development of this new editorial proposition.”

The revamped Marie Claire will create new opportunities for advertisers, including the first ‘invitation only’ opportunity in the cover story and fashion well, according to the publisher.

IPC plans to support the redesign with a £1 million marketing campaign, which will feature exclusive cinema preview evenings, supported by sampling, high visibility point of sale advertising and valuable covermounts.

In the last ABC release, Marie Claire‘s circulation was down by 4.5% year on year, a real term loss of almost 16,000 copies, taking its total down to around 330,000 (see ABC Results July-Dec 2008:Glamour stays on top of the women’s monthly sector).