Emap To Take On Glamour With Re-Positioned More
Emap is investing over £3 million in repositioning its young women’s magazine, More, to take on Condé Nast’s heavy-weight Glamour.
Emap is hoping to leverage the magazine’s position as a fortnightly publication to its advantage. Dawn Bebe, managing director of Emap Elan’s women’s titles, claims that the re-vamped More will lure readers away from Condé Nast’s Glamour and Natmag’s Company with a mixture of celebrity news, gossip and a new “fast glossy” style.
Bebe explained that the re-positioned title will be aimed at a slightly older reader, saying: “We will be aiming the magazine more at women in their early twenties and will be broadening the content of the title. There will be more aspirational lifestyle, fashion and beauty features.”
According to Bebe, there will also be an increased investment advertising. She said: “More is a premium Emap brand and as such we will be investing heavily in it. There will be an above-the-line marketing campaign launching later this year to promote the magazine’s new-look.”
The increased investment in More follows a similar move at Emap’s New Woman, which is currently being promoted by a national TV campaign. The strategic shake-up of Emap’s women’s sector is a result of the end of its joint venture with Hachette (see Hachette Buys Attic Futura For £40 Million), which left its portfolio somewhat depleted without the premium fashion Elle brand, or the older women’s monthly, Red (see Emap Loses Fight For Red).
Emap has already unveiled an aggressive strategy to maintain its position in the UK market. The group recently launched Closer into the crowded women’s weeklies sector (see Emap Gets Closer To Women’s Market With New Launch) and reports suggest that there will be further new launches before the end of the year.
More magazine has traditionally been pitched at the lower and younger end of the women’s magazine market, with a heavy emphasis on sex and relationships. The title attracted negative attention recently after MPs criticised its explicit content, but over the past year the magazine has attempted to shed its down-market image.
The new strategy for More follows the latest ABC results for the six months ending December 2002, which brought bad news to the title. Circulation dropped by 6.2% year on year to 246,261, down from 262,532 in the same period in 2001.
Analysis of the magazine’s circulation over a 10 year period reveals its steadily declining fortunes, following a peak in circulation in the second half of 1996. Emap will be hoping the re-vamp can return the magazine to its heyday, allowing it to rival Condé Nast’s Glamour, which recorded a 23.1% year on year increase in circulation in the six months ending December 2002.
In related news, More has also launched its own dedicated website, www.moremagazine.co.uk, with 10 editorial channels and a dedicated editorial team. The new site will be aimed at 16 to 24 year old women and will attempt to bridge a gap market between youth sites aimed at 12 to 16 year-olds and sites aimed at women over 25.
The launch is to be supported by an extensive marketing push, which will include campaigns on external fashion and lifestyle web sites, registration with the top 10 search engines, a viral campaign using bought and internal lists and online promotion via Emap’s network of sites.
The site has also secured a five month sponsorship deal with ACUVUE contact lenses and has negotiated an extensive range of commerce deals, including a More branded dating service.
Emap: 01733 568 900 www.emap.co.uk
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