Page 70 - AdNews Magazine Nov-Dec 2020
P. 70
Australian Magazine Awards
they would move to a digital-first strategy and cease regular print publication.
At the same time, subscriber numbers have also gone up for a number of categories, including hobbies and home improvement, as people spent more time at home during lockdowns.
This year has also accelerated many pre-existing trends and helped shift the industry into new revenue streams. Digital-first strategies backed by data are enabling magazines to enter an exciting new lifecycle.
Are Media CEO Brendon Hill tells AdNews this is where the recently rebranded publisher is headed for 2021. “We have been focusing on our digital and data strategies, our subscription sites and ecommerce platforms,” he says. “It’s been an eventful year but this has positioned our expanded portfolio for success and growth next year and beyond.”
One of the publisher’s recently acquired titles, Better Homes and Gardens, has gone from strength to strength in 2020. The digital audience is up 51% YoY in September and the publication’s ecommerce store has been another key driver of success. “With our biggest sales period still to come around Christmas, our shop sales this year are almost double that of 2019 already,” says Hill. “We are looking to replicate this and roll out similar shopfronts for further brands.”
Hill goes on to say that Are Media has been working to grow its audience across all platforms but now is time to take it to the next level with a data-led strategy. “We need to know more about our consumers,” he says. “We must use our first-party data better, and in different ways. We have recently announced HerMatch which is our first-party data offering, in partnership with Adobe, that connects brands with our targetable and authenticated audiences.
Top 10 Cross-Platform
Rank
Title
Print
Digital
Total Print + Digital
1
Taste.com.au
767
4345
4846
2
New Idea
2025
1336
3112
3
Better Homes and Gardens
1712
797
2416
4
Which Car
994
799
1735
5
Who
724
1047
1704
6
Delicious
574
1078
1583
7
that's life!
1073
270
1325
8
Australian Geographic
636
254
879
9
Reader's Digest Australia
410
440
831
10
Vogue
424
391
783