In July 2020, Bauer Media closed eight magazines citing the impact of COVID-19 on the advertising market.
Among the closures was the fashion and lifestyle masthead magazine InStyle. But, less than two years post-closure, the publication is being revived in Australia and New Zealand by True North Media.
InStyle launches with an established social following of more than 874,000 and will be published in a digital-first format with online, live events, and branded content.
The charge will be led by editor-in-chief Justine Cullen, who spoke with AdNews on readership, advertising and the future of the magazine.
Cullen: “The power in these brands has always been in the fact that they are familiar legacy mastheads - recognisable to audiences and also a trusted environment for advertisers.
"This hasn’t changed in 2022. What has changed is how we’ve been able to reimagine the brands and the offering to better suit both how audiences are consuming media these days and the advertising landscape.”
There is no dependence on subscribers from a digital perspective, as the magazine is a 100% advertising model.
Cullen: “We are set up so that if one day in the future we see potential in moving to a paywall for the monthly digital edition, we can do that, but it’s not something we’re factoring in now.”
The advertising demand for the magazine has been strong, with the launch of key luxury partners for display and branded content in the works, as well as a large appetite for printed editions.
Therefore there will be two printed editions per year which are the luxury pieces of the content ecosystem, acting as biannual guides to the season ahead.
Cullen: “I’m hoping we’re read by all genders, by all ages. I really strongly believe that if you’re doing things that are fun and clever and interesting, if you’re not talking down to your audience and they leave any interaction with you having been entertained - whether that’s reading an article on the site, liking the cover on social, watching a TikTok video or engaging at a live event - demographics are redundant.”
The tone of the magazine will evolve to pave the way for a new era of readers, with the brand changing considerably from the time of pre-closure.
Cullen: “The brand is different, It’s got a new boldness, it’s funnier, it has more of a fashion point of view. We know that the digital audience is younger than the print audience was and we know how important Gen Z has become to the luxury market, so we’ll speak to them.
“We've expanded the view to be more about being at the intersection of fashion and pop culture - the places, products, trends and ideas shaping our times, as well as the people. And maybe those people are actors and musicians, but they might also be interior designers, or NFT gallerists, or scientists.”
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