Feature: Gossip Mags Achieve Celebrity Status
The current obsession with celebrity appears to be growing with showbiz-driven titles seeing circulation increase significantly in the latest set of ABC results. The sector, which has attracted notable interest from advertisers, is so buoyant that publishers are planning a number of new launches to capitalise on the seemingly insatiable desire for high-profile gossip. However, space on the celebrity bandwagon could be limited and growing magazine sectors have a tendency to become quickly overcrowded.
Nevertheless, ABC data for the six-month period ending June 2002 paints an encouraging picture for Emap’s Heat magazine, which has seen circulation increase by 103.4% year on year to 478,924. The title, which is aimed at an affluent, twenty-something audience has seen circulation rise dramatically since it relaunched, causing many to aspire towards its seemingly magic formula.
IPC is also riding high on the showbiz wave and its celebrity-friendly Now reported a healthy 10% year on year increase in the first half of this year. The magazine, which offers 18-34s an easily digestible blend of celebrity interviews and lifestyle features, has seen its circulation increase by more than 250,000 over the last five years to 570,279, placing it just behind Northern & Shell’s OK! and significantly ahead of the original “celebs and their houses” magazine Hello.
The sector’s oldest and most established titles, OK! and Hello, have adapted relatively well to the changing climate, with the all-important showbiz exclusives and the odd price promotion helping to maintain their position within the sector. Emap’s Celebrity Looks bowed out to increasing competition earlier this year, but demand has been strong enough to sustain a number of smaller, yet significant titles, including Attic Futura’s Inside Soap and IPC tx’s Soap Life, both of which launched in the last few years.
Advertisers have been quick to realise the potential of the celebrity sector and figures from Nielsen Media Research show that the majority of titles have seen the number of adverts within their pages increase over the last year (see below). Unsurprisingly Heat saw the most significant increase, with a 48% rise in ads, but OK! and Hello also hosted more ads this year than in the previous year, despite seeing circulation decline over the same period.
Publishers appear to be confident that the current obsession with show business will continue and Emap recently announced plans to launch a new celebrity title aimed at a slightly more mature audience. IPC, which is owned by AOL Time Warner, also intends to release a monthly spin-off of its weekly Now; and is reportedly aiming to boost its celebrity coverage with access to its parent company’s music and film stars.
The celebrity sector looks set to go from strength to strength, but if growth continues as predicted the danger of the market becoming overcrowded could become very real. The men’s lifestyle sector reached saturation point after its rapid rise in the mid-nineties and over the last few years that particular corner of the market has looked increasingly unstable. However, its relatively early days for the celebrity sector, which will no doubt be the focus of much scrutiny over the coming months.
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