NatMags To Launch New Women’s Magazine Tomorrow
The National Magazine Company will tomorrow unveil its latest foray into the women’s weekly market with the launch of Reveal, a new celebrity focused title designed to compete with Emap’s fledgling Closer.
The magazine, which is thought to be the product of a £10 million investment and eighteen months of extensive research, will target women of all ages with a mix of celebrity news, lifestyle features and television listings.
The title will have a cover-price of £1 and an initial print run of 500,000. However, this week’s launch issue will be supported by a promotional give-away with 600,000 free copies distributed through Tesco, WHSmith and independent retailers.
It is understood that NatMags, which also publishes Cosmopolitan and Best, has put aside a £16 million to market Reveal over the next three years, with Clemmow Hornby Inge and media buyers Initiative appointed to work on the initial launch campaign.
Reveal looks set to go head to head with Emap’s Closer, which launched in September 2002 in an attempt to cash in on the seemingly insatiable demand for celebrity gossip. The title has gone from strength to strength recently with circulation increasing by a whopping 43.5% year on year 480,187.
However, the burgeoning women’s weeklies sector is still largely dominated by IPC’s gossip title, Now, which has maintained its spot on top of the celebrity pile despite a 1.8% year on year dip in circulation to 580,007. A number of newer weekly titles such as Northern & Shell’s New and the more recent Star are also performing well and look set to give Reveal a run for its money (see ABC Results Jan-Jun 2004: Closer Boosts Celebrity Weeklies).
Competition looks set to further increase next year when Richard Desmond diversifies from OK! with the launch of a new weekly title called B Happy. The fashion and shopping-orientated magazine will be similar to Condé Nast’s US magazine Lucky, which has been hugely successful since its launch in December 2000 (see Desmond Gears Up For Launch Of New Women’s Glossy).
However, there still seems to be a significant gap in the market for a new, more versatile magazine. A number of the more traditional titles, including Woman, Woman’s Own and That’s Life have all seen circulation decline in the last year and there appears to be plenty readers out there for the taking.
The first few months will be crucial for Reveal, which will form part of the new joint venture with Australian Consolidated Press once the new company is established next year. Women’s weekly Best will also fall under the SCP-NatMag umbrella (see NatMags Joins With Australian Publisher For UK Launches).
National Magazine Company: 0207 439 5000 www.natmags.co.uk
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