Just recently, a new digital publication called Real Life was launched by none other than social networking app Snapchat. Hosted online, this magazine’s content features narratives and debates on living with technology, demonstrating how our lives are mediated by devices such as tablets and smartphones. It’s a smart move.
Interestingly perhaps, the publication won’t live within the app itself, but will be hosted on its own online platform. And its objective isn’t to achieve clicks and shares, but to simply focus on writing good old-fashioned content. This is a sign of the times! Digital content is becoming more and more critical to consumers as a trusted source of news and information. We spend the majority of our working lives online. But it’s interesting that even an app developer is embracing the world of longer form digital content – extending reach and engagement beyond the 24-hour cycle of a snap.
Just as Snapchat continues to evolve, so too do magazines. Publishers are adapting to technology and the different ways that consumers consume content. Magazine brands continue to innovate beyond just print, digital and social formats
A great example I have seen recently is from Cottage Life Magazine in Canada, who presented in the global publishing conference FIPP. Canadians who have a clear passion for owning cottages spend time renovating and updating them. Cottage Life expanded their platforms as you would expect to include TV, digital and social but have now have gone beyond by introducing e-commerce, selling t-shirts, calendars, binoculars – you name it with their brand name on it. They managed this with licensing agreements in tow to protect the brand. Their results are phenomenal: 25% growth for the magazine, +32% for TV, ecommerce is up by +160%, consumer shows +27%. As long as you have a passion that people love, then you have an idea.
Here in Australia, Vogue Fashion’s Night Out is a testament to that trend. With 190,000 visitors attending in Sydney and Melbourne, the event is a beacon for shoppers and advertisers alike. Vogue Fashion’s Night Out will be held in Melbourne on 26 August and in Sydney on 1 September, for the seventh consecutive year, so go and experience it for yourself.
While our lives are firmly intertwined with social media and technology, the appetite for magazines is not dead. The job of magazines is to define and reflect a moment. They are emotive, providing audiences with a direct connection to brands and their products, and they play a unique role in the media marketplace.
There has always been a strong emotional connection to print media, with readers spending on average one hour and 17 minutes reading each edition, and two in three reading at least 70% of the content. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be a choice between print or online. Both can and need to co-exist, because that is exactly how consumers consume their media. Our research has found that consumers read their favourite monthly publication in print, yet they also read online titles at least once a month.
Magazine readers online and offline feel inspired by the content that has been curated specifically for them, building desire and driving intrigue for the brands that they are exposed to. So clearly the people at Snapchat are onto a good thing.
Mary Ann Azer is Executive Director Magazine Networks.