Hearst publishing
Research Hearst publishing by looking at the Hearst UK website and the Wikipedia entry for parent company and conglomerate Hearst Communications. Then, answer the following questions:
1) What media industries and brands make up the Hearst Communications conglomerate?
The media industries and brands that make up the Hearst Communications conglomerate are newspapers, magazines, television channels, and television stations, including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Houston Chronicle, Cosmopolitan and Esquire. It owns 50% of the A&E Networks cable network group and 20% of the sports cable network group ESPN, both in partnership with The Walt Disney Company. The conglomerate also owns several business-information companies, including Fitch Ratings and First Databank
2) What was the global revenue for Hearst Communications (in dollars) for the most recent year on record?
The global revenue for Hearst Communications for the most recent year on record, 2019, is $11.4 billion
3) Focusing on Hearst UK, what other magazine brands are part of Hearst UK publishing? How many UK people do they reach in print and online?
The magazine brands that are part of Hearst UK publishing are best, Cosmopolitan, Country Living, delish, Digital Spy, Elle, Elle Decoration, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Bazaar, House Beautiful, Inside Soap, Men's Health, netdoctor, prima, Red, Runner's and Women's Health. These brands reach millions of Britons, delivering positive content through print, digital, social and experiential
Now read this Campaign interview with Hearst UK CEO James Wildman and answer the following questions:
1) What is James Wildman's plan for Hearst UK?
James Wildman's plan for Hearst UK is to grow share in print to stem decline, accelerate growth in digital, diversify revenues through events and partnerships, and look at acquisitions
2) What does Wildman think about premium content and paywalls?
Wildman thinks that they should charge people for premium content but he also says that there are no plans for paywalls yet
3) How has Hearst used diversification to grow the business?
Hearst has used diversification to grow the business by running about 100 events a year and he plans to focus on fewer, bigger events such as Esquire Town House. Merchandising deals such as a Country Living range of sofas with DFS have been a money-spinner. Hearst also wants to make more of Good Housekeeping’s respected accreditation team, which tests products. Its endorsements can drive sales for products such as Procter & Gamble’s Olay, which subsequently led to the magazine taking part in a TV ad
The impact of digital media on the print magazines industry
Read the following two features on the print magazine industry:
- BBC website feature on the print magazine industry
- Guardian feature on the demise of NME magazine
Now answer the following questions:
1) Why are traditional print magazines struggling?
Traditional print magazines are struggling due to the rise of the internet and a change in the tastes and fashions of audiences. The internet is also much more easily accessible and convenient than going out and getting a print magazine
2) Look at the Guardian article in detail. What statistics are provided to demonstrate the decline in the print magazines industry between 2010 and 2017? What about the percentage decline from 2000?
The line graph in the Guardian article demonstrates the clear decline in the print magazine industry between 2010 and 2017. Sales of the top 100 actively purchased print titles in the UK – those that readers buy or subscribe to – fell by 42% from 23.8m to 13.9m between 2010 and 2017
3) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook?
The percentage of ad revenue taken by Google and Facebook is 90%
4) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age?
Magazine publishers can use strategies such as building a brand beyond the core print publication to remain in business in the digital age
5) Why does the Hearst UK CEO James Wildman suggest that the magazine industry is not dead?
The Hearst UK CEO James Wildman suggests that the magazine industry is not dead as they still, "sell nearly 5m a month, that’s hardly dead, and we have 20 million unique UK users online a month, and more than double that on social media
6) What examples from the Guardian article are provided to demonstrate how magazines are finding new revenue streams? What is the Men's Health branding used for?
The examples provided in the Guardian article to demonstrate how magazines are finding new revenue streams were “Endorsement, accreditation and licensing are increasingly lucrative. DFS sell House Beautiful and Country Living [named after titles] range sofas. And the bestselling premium home gym at Argos is branded after our Men’s Health magazine"
7) What signs for optimism might there be for traditional magazine brands?
One sign of optimism for traditional magazine brands are that Immediate Media, which publishes 60 titles including Radio Times and Top Gear, was sold to the German publisher Hubert Burda, owner of Your Home and HomeStyle, for £270m. Despite the gloom, magazine publishers, like their newspaper counterparts, sense an opportunity as brand safety and measurement issues have prompted advertisers to closely scrutinise the once unquestionable value of investing in digital media such as YouTube and Facebook
8) How does Men's Health fit into this picture? Why do you think Men's Health has remained successful in the digital age? Do you think Men's Health will continue to publish for many years to come? Why?
I think that Men's Health has remained successful in the digital age because they have managed to diversify and change as the media landscape and society is changing. This leads me to believe that Men's Health will continue to publish but are only likely to be successful in a digital format because of the convenience to access online editions and the concern for the environment
The Men's Health website and social media
1) What similarities do you notice between the website and the print edition of the magazine?
The website and the print edition of Men's Health both seem to have a focus on physical well-being and staying fit but also on mental health. The muscular models on the front cover are also used throughout the website along with some celebrity interviews. It also advertises things like coffee machines, trainers and whiskey which is to be expected because the average Men's Health reader is expected to be part of the middle class
2) What newsletters are offered by Men's Health what do they include? How does this help Hearst UK to make money? There is more information on newsletters here if you need it.
Men's Health offers many different newspapers for 3 days of the week, on Mondays, this is 'The Cut' which includes: workouts, meal prep, made easy, real-life transformations (inspirational weight loss stories), get fit at any age. On Wednesdays they have 'Men's Health Weekly' which includes: mental strength, put your best foot forward (reviews of latest fitness tech), food for thought (gourmet cooking advice), instant upgrades (style and grooming insights). On Fridays, this is 'The Pump' and it includes: Hollywood training tips from top celebrities, healthy eats and sweet treats, weekend workouts, smart purchases (best deals on top fitness kit)
3) Choose one of the menu sections on the website (e.g. Mental Strength) and write a list of the features in that area of the website. What target audience are these features aimed at?
- 'The Murph Challenge' Tests Muscle, Lungs and Grit
- Use Dumbbells to get Chris Hemsworth's Arm Pump
- Build Explosive Power in This Low-Kit Workout
- The Rock Shares His 'Brutal' Leg Training Routine
- Alexander Skarsgård's Warrior Workout Finisher
I think that the target audience for these features might be older mainstreamers because the use of star power that mainstreamers might recognise and aim to resemble
4) Do you think the Men's Health website is trying to sell the print version or build a digital audience? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a 'digital first' strategy?
I think that the Men's Health website isn't trying to sell the print version but is instead trying to build a digital audience. The advantages of a 'digital first' strategy are that they can reach a wider audience at a smaller cost and it's more easily accessible for audiences. The disadvantages of a 'digital first' strategy are that older generations are not as comfortable and confident with using the internet and given that they are the main target audience, this could completely change the audience demographic
5) How does the Men's Health Twitter feed use 'clickbait' to try and get users to click through to the magazine's website? Give examples of tweets that are designed to get the audience to click through.
The Men's Health Twitter feed uses 'clickbait' to try and get users to click through to the magazine website by quoting something from one of the articles on the website or just mentioning the main point followed by the link to the article in order to get the full context of the quote. For example, one tweet says, "this woman's strength astounds me" followed by a link to the article where this quote comes from and a thumbnail of Vikings' Alexander Ludwig. There's also an article that says "Get ready for a heavy pull session by giving this routine a try" followed by the link to an article that actually details what the workout is
6) What does the Men's Health Instagram suggest about the Men's Health brand? Is this appealing to a similar audience to the print version of the magazine?
The Men's Health Instagram suggests that the Men's Health brand is purely about reinforcing hypermasculinity. There is very intense focus on physical appearance in that the muscular build of men is being presented as desirable and active which could potentially create insecurities in men. This might not appeal as much to the audience of the print magazine but instead to a younger demographic which has become increasingly more interested in their physical appearance. The Instagram page also doesn't advertise expensive products like in the print version of the magazine which perhaps suggests that the Instagram page is less targeted at a middle-class audience and more towards a working-class audience
7) Is the Men's Health social media designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?
I think that Men's Health social media is designed to build a digital audience as even the demographic that the social media pages are targeting is different from the print magazine in terms of age and class
8) Evaluate the success of the Men's Health brand online. Does it successfully communicate with its target audience? Will the digital platforms eventually replace the print magazine completely?
It can be said that Men's Health online brand is quite successful based on the fact that they have 286k Instagram followers and 314.6k Twitter followers- this allows them to successfully communicate with their target audience. I believe that this increase in the use of digital platforms is the start of the replacement of the print magazines because more people are using the internet so there is a huge decline in the demand for print magazines
No comments:
Post a Comment