Zoo Given Facelift To Close Gap On Nuts
Emap’s Zoo Weekly magazine is to be given a new look in order to increase its market share and push past IPC’s market leading Nuts.
A spokeswoman for the title explained that the move had long been planned and that “regular product refreshment is essential in a weekly market.”
She added: “The changes to the magazine will build upon current momentum as the fastest growing men’s magazine and ensure that it continues to feel fresh and exciting in the consumers’ minds.”
The title currently commands a circulation of 240,215, up 20% period on period in the six months to December and just 35,000 behind IPC’s weekly rival, with a total of 275,459, down 5.1% in the same period.
The new-look title will sport more opinion and ‘talking point’ pieces, designed to engage the reader and convey the magazine’s personality. Examples include 100 People We Hate lists of must-own films, music and DVDs.
Zoo is also to launch The Guide, an all encompassing entertainment section to give readers authoritative and relevant information on what to watch on TV, see at the cinema, listen to on CD or buy on DVD. The Guide will also cover the best computer games to buy and websites to visit each week. The redesign, Emap claims, will give Zoo more entertainment pages than any other men’s lifestyle magazine.
The closely fought battle for supremacy between the nation’s weekly men’s magazines has been fierce in recent months, with H Bauer forced to drop it’s struggling Cut magazine after disappointing sales.
The German magazine giant finally dropped the guillotine on the title, designed to round up the week’s news in an entertaining format, after a 30-day consultation period and just four months on the newsstands (see Bauer Cuts Its Losses On Fledgling Men’s Mag).
However, speculation surrounding the sector suggests that further competition for Emap and IPC could come in the shape of Richard Desmond’s much-mooted KO! magazine.
The title was registered in July 2004 in the form of a masthead that resembles Desmond’s long-running celebrity magazine, OK!, although further details of the title have since failed to emerge (see Desmond To Knock Out Competition In Men’s Weekly Market).
Emap: 01733 568 900 www.emap.co.uk