Bauer Media has undergone big changes over the past six months under the new direction of CEO Nick Chan. From executives exiting the business and magazines being sold to a new streamlined category approach, the launch of a dedicated women’s network and now rumours circulating it could buy Pacific Magazines, Bauer is poised for a transformative 2017.
Christian Fricke, MD of Bauer's digital arm Bauer Xcel, tells AdNews the new structure, that sees the publisher restructure its publications under five new segments, plays to the demand in market and was a “logical” step.
“Bauer has been siloed in the past. Nick Chan is breaking down that siloed approach and building strong pillars under strong managers and fostering collaboration across platforms and departments,” Fricke says.
This collaborative process has fostered a new type of commercial team, which works hand-in-hand with editorial.
“Brands are giving more responsibility to publishers and we are expanding our creative capability. We are no longer just part of a campaign, but creating the entire campaign, including content and concepts,” Fricke says.
“We knew we needed to be flexible and we made up the structure accordingly. The new commercial team, under Jane Waterhouse, is focusing on bespoke communications solutions and the editorial team, who produce native content, can amplify it on our network.”
The push towards native content is a direct response from advertisers, who Fricke says are investing less in display.
“There’s no growth in the market for display. In 2017 I still see it playing a role in combination with native advertising, but there will be less and less pure display campaigns,” he says.
The newly announced Now To Love, a female-focused network, encompasses content from The Australian Women’s Weekly, Woman’s Day, NW, OK, Take 5, TV Week, Yours, Good Health, Mother & Baby, Shop til you drop.
The network has a team of 30 journalists who will be producing content on a daily basis.
It is a move similar to strategies put into play by Nine and News Corp this year, demonstrating the advertisers demand for the demographic.
Bauer is placing its bets on its new women's hub
Fricke is confident that Bauer’s Now to Love will stand out against its competitors because of the resources the hub has available, including 35 digital-only journalists and the heritage names of brands like Woman’s Day.
Emily Kerr, content director of Now To Love, says there is huge potential for digital platforms offering women’s content.
“Digital platforms for women will keep growing. There has been a lot of talk about Facebook changing its algorithm penalising media, but it has never happened because the content is so good and in demand,” she says.
Bauer’s future focus
It has been reported across the industry that more magazine cuts are likely to occur at Bauer as Chan looks for ways to future proof the business and cut costs.
Fricke says from the digital arm of the business he doesn’t expect any cuts to be made, but isn’t sure what is in-store for print titles in 2017.
“I don’t know if we will close or sell any other magazines, but our market environment is changing and publishers need to adapt as well. In our industry and every other industry there are products that come to the end of their life cycle,” he says.
One of the priorities for Fricke next year is to grow Bauer’s revenue streams and create a more transactional digital ecosystem.
“We are in the very early stages of looking at what we can do in that space and I think there are a lot of opportunities. With 10 million sessions coming into our websites, there is potential for us to build a different business model and that will be the next stage,” he says.
When asked if this means an e-commerce launch is likely to happen in 2017, Fricke says there have been no decisions made yet.
Could acquisitions be on the cards?
Suggestions of a merger between Bauer and Pacific Magazines made headlines yesterday. It's understood the talks between Bauer and Seven, which owns PacMags, haven't advanced at this stage, but a merger between these two publishing powerhouses would cause massive waves in the Australian market.
Industry sources have been vocal in stating Bauer has to back Chan in pursuing major acquisitions to achieve success in the digital world.
In Europe, where Fricke joined from earlier this year, Bauer struck some big deals including a lead generation business in the finance space in Sweden and a flight comparison model in Germany.
While Fricke says there is “nothing concrete on the table” right now, he says the company is exploring opportunities in Australia and New Zealand.
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