Rosemary Conley Diet & Fitness – First Issue Review
The first issue of Quorn House Publishing’s new magazine, Rosemary Conley Diet & Fitness, will be launched on the 18th January 1996. It will cost £1.20 and, as the title suggests, this bi-monthly glossy magazine will concentrate wholly on health, especially problems of weight and fitness. It is aimed at ABC1 women in the 20-44 age range.
According to Rosemary Conley, the magazine will give readers ‘the scientific low-down on what works and what doesn’t so that you really can start to learn how your body functions, how to lose weight and get fit and stay youthful for ever.’ This all sounds far too good to be true, but the articles are well- written, lively and most importantly informative. The magazine genuinely offers constructive advice on how to lose weight and often uses scientific evidence to back this up.
The features are all based on much the same scenario however: someone is very overweight, they suddenly realise they have to lose weight and find a Rosemary Conley way of doing it. This is not to say the advice is bad, indeed it all seems to make a lot of sense, but the format of the features is nothing new. There are also beauty and fashion tips: reviews of make-up brands; which hairstyles suit certain shape faces; and which swim-suits fit certain shapes. Celebrities like Anthea Turner and Dr Hilary Jones are also interviewed, and other important health issues are also raised: in-depth recipes with all associated health facts and also step-by-step guides to fitness routines.
Overall, the magazine has a positive, cheerful and helpful attitude to health and fitness. It has a mid-market feel, and can occasionally become cluttered with photos and garishly-coloured headlines. Some of the article titles can also be a bit painful: ‘Hair’s To You’ and ‘The Weigh She Was’.
Rosemary Conley Diet & Fitness has an initial print-run of 400,000, has 100 pages and an advertising/editorial ratio of 19:81.
Page rates are: full colour £4,750; mono £3,800; half-page colour £2,660; half-page mono £2,100.
READERSHIP PROFILES – SEX/PERCENT
| Readership Profiles – Sex/Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Fem.Mn.Shpprs | |
| UK POPULATION | 48 | 52 | 43 |
| HEALTH AND FITNESS | 42 | 58 | 46 |
| HERE’S HEALTH | 23 | 77 | 72 |
| UPBEAT | 52 | 48 | 43 |
READERSHIP PROFILES – WOMEN/AGE/PERCENT
| 15-17 | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK POPULATION | 4 | 11 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 23 |
| HEALTH AND FITNESS | 6 | 20 | 23 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 5 |
| HERE’S HEALTH | 0 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 21 | 12 | 20 |
| UPBEAT | 1 | 6 | 21 | 18 | 24 | 16 | 13 |
READERSHIP PROFILES – WOMEN/CLASS/PERCENT
| A | B | C1 | C2 | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK POPULATION | 3 | 18 | 29 | 20 | 16 | 14 |
| HEALTH AND FITNESS | 4 | 14 | 34 | 18 | 16 | 14 |
| HERE’S HEALTH | 2 | 30 | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 |
| UPBEAT | 12 | 42 | 32 | 8 | 3 | 3 |
Source: NRS 10/94 – 09/95