The future of magazine publishing

Steve Middleton, sales director of print finishing specialist Celloglas talks to MediaTel about increasing reader engagement in magazines…

The media landscape has changed significantly over the past 10 years. With the advent of online as a major media platform the audience of the traditional media channels are now more fragmented than ever. With websites offering access to editorial for free we’d all expect magazines, including the niche titles, to be declining in circulation and readership. This assumption is backed up by the Jul-Dec 2008 ABC circulation figures for consumer titles which showed overall circulation was down by 3% YoY.

However, on the whole magazine readership levels have remained static with 40.7% of all adults still reading a monthly title. In fact there are now 642 more consumer magazines published today than 10 years ago and with the exception of the men’s lifestyle market, the industry is showing a great level of resilience to the electronic competition. So why do millions of people choose to spend their money and, more importantly, leisure time, reading magazines rather than getting content online for free?

This is because readers would rather ‘Flick’ than ‘Click’ to get their content fix, demonstrating the high level of consumer engagement with magazines and magazine brands.

Increasing consumer engagement

So how can we increase consumer engagement with magazines further? Most publishers have now embraced online, developing web properties to extend their brands reach and increase reader involvement. Live events have been another popular way of bringing the consumer closer to a magazine brand. These are both important ways to increase consumer engagement, however, when we turn to the magazine itself, how can we increase and improve engagement with a brand? How can we make our magazines stand out on a news-stand? How can we add to a reader’s experience so they choose to buy our magazines again and again? How can we make magazine advertising more effective?

Firstly, and most importantly, we need to focus on editorial, without which people will turn their backs towards a magazine brand. Secondly we need to think about the wider sensory experience of reading a magazine – how can we make this more interesting? After all magazine fans will usually comment on their chosen magazines look, feel and even smell, not just the editorial content. This shows the importance of getting magazines to stimulate more senses.

Here at Celloglas we have been working with printers for over 50 years to help magazine publishers do just this. Whether this has been to make a magazine glossy or add a ‘wow factor’ to a cover by applying a foil masthead or a glitter finish, we’ve got the technology to add more depth to the reading experience.

Furthermore through investment in the latest manufacturing technology, the application of these specialist looks and finishes is now quicker and costs less than before.

It is now possible for us to apply a number of these finishes to a magazine cover, advert or insert all in one go. This means you can choose to make your cover textured, fragrant, glossy or glittery all at a price that fits in your budget.

Whereas traditionally the application of these special inks and varnishes would be potentially costly and time consuming to apply to large number of magazines, we’ve got a way of doing up to 15,000 in an hour!

This means that all magazines can now add to the users sensory experience through the use of any of the following varnishes to change the look, feel or smell of a magazine title:

Matt or High Gloss Spot UV Texture Fragrance burst Glow in the dark Glitter Tinted Re-moist Gumming and perforating in-line Pearlescents And more…

What this means?

Publishers can now get stand out quality on the news-stand and encourage further engagement with their brand. Advertisers can reap the same benefits through the application of these techniques to their magazine adverts, thereby engaging with more than one sense of the reader. Creative campaigns can now be a reality without breaking the bank!

Celloglas worked with Vogue to produce the September 2008 issue cover. This was finished using a combination of a matt coat, plus a high gloss UV varnish which was applied to the detailed areas. This combination gave a quality feel to the product and the highlighting in high gloss title areas ensured the product was distinctive on the shelf.

If this had been produced using traditional methods it would have taken in excess of 80 hours to complete – using the technology we now have we were able to do this in less than two shifts and at a far more competitive price.

How can I find out more?

For publishers it is easy to find out about using this technology. Simply ask your production department to contact the printer who makes your magazine. For advertisers all you have to do is mention your interest in using this technology to the magazine publisher and they can arrange to make your print campaign really stand out!

If you would like some more information and a selection of samples showing the finishes that can be used, please email sales@celloglas.co.uk or call 0116 263 1010 and ask for Steve Middleton or John Locke.

Find out more at www.celloglas.co.uk