IPC Appoints St Luke’s To £8m Women’s Weeklies Push

IPC Connect, publisher of six women’s weekly magazines, has handed the £8 million creative advertising account to St Luke’s. The agency has a brief to relaunch the flagship titles Woman and Woman’s Own as well as promoting Chat, Now, Woman’s Realm and Woman’s Weekly.

IPC is hoping the marketing push will help drive up circulation figures for the women’s weekly titles. In the latest ABC audit, for July-December 1998, Woman’s Weekly, Woman’s Realm, Woman’s Own and Woman all showed significant year on year declines in circulation (see July-December 1998 ABCs – Performance By Publisher). However, Woman and Woman’s Own both showed slight increases when compared to the previous six month audit period.

Commenting on the choice of St Luke’s for the task, IPC Connect publishing director, Sandy Gale, says: “They are a young, exciting company with a simple, but effective approach. We feel they are in tune with us and are as ambitious as we are for even greater success.”

Separately, IPC’s SouthBank Publishing has poached Margaret Leonard from EMAP Elan to become the new publisher for Marie Claire and Marie Claire Health & Beauty. Leonard has been with EMAP for the previous 12 years, most recently as client services director.

Rita Lewis, IPC SouthBank’s publisher director, enthuses about Leonard’s abilities: “Of all the many executives I have worked with, she is one of the stars,” says Lewis.

IPC Magazines: 0171 261 6575