Men's Health - Industries case study blog tasks
Hearst publishing
Research Hearst publishing by looking at the Hearst UK website and the Wikipedia entry for parent company and conglomerate Hearst Communications.
1) Hearst UK is part of Hearst Communications. What is Hearst Communications and where is it based?
Hearst Communications is an American mass media and business information conglomerate based in New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, television channels and television studios. In addition, it owns 50% of the A&E Networks cable network group and 20% of the sports cable network group ESPN, which are both in cooperation with The Walt Disney Company. Hearst communications is based in the Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan. The company was originally founded by William Randolph Hearst.
2) What media industries and brands make up the Hearst Communications conglomerate?
There are a total of 25 brands that make up the Hearst Communications conglomerate, these being:
The Good Living
Best
Cosmopolitan
Country Living
Digital Spy
Elle
Elle Decoration
Esquire
Financially Fabulous
Good Housekeeping
Bazaar
HouseBeautiful
InsideSoap
Journey
Liz Earle
Men's Health
NetDoctor
Alive
Prima
QP
Real People
Red
Runner's
Town&Country
Women's Health
3) What was the global revenue for Hearst Communications (in dollars) for the most recent year on record?
The global revenue was $10.8 billion in 2016
4) 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?
Other magazine brands part of Hearst UK publishing are Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Good Housekeeping and Esquire. The viewing numbers online in the UK is 17 million digital users.
Read this Campaign interview with Hearst UK CEO James Wildman.
5) What is James Wildman's plan for Hearst UK?
His plan is to grow share in print to stem decline, accelerate growth in digital, look at acquisitions and to diversify revenues through events and partnership deals.
6) What percentage ad decline are consumer magazines facing?
Consumer magazines will be facing ad declines of more than 10% as money is flowing to brands like Google and Facebook. In addition online influencers are chipping away at print brands.
7) What Wildman think about premium content and paywalls?
He thinks that premium content must be paid for and that conglomerates such as Hearst Communications should charge for their premium content.
8) How has Hearst used diversification to grow the business?
It is believed that diversification is the best way to grow. This is reinforced as Hearst UK runs approximately 100 events a year, allowing them to gain a wider reach of audiences.
Read this Hearst UK press release for their late 2018 ABC figures.
9) Is Men's Health increasing or decreasing in circulation?
Men's Health has had a 1% increase in circulation.
10) What does the press release say about recent successes associated with Men's Health?
"These strong results, and the fact that several of our magazines are increasing their readership, highlight the extraordinary quality and continuing appeal of our print products. We are very proud to extend our market leadership position, and this best-in-class performance is testament to the creativity of our editorial teams and continued investment in our print products."
The impact of digital media on the print magazines industry
Read this BBC website feature on the print magazine industry and then this Guardian feature on the demise of NME magazine and print magazines in general.
1) Why are traditional print magazines struggling?
They are struggling due to the rise of digital media, traditional print magazines have been struggling.
2) What genre of magazines is currently bucking the trend and increasing sales? Why is this?
The two genres that are becoming increasingly popular are News and Current affairs. Most probably because people are using it to widen their knowledge.
3) In contrast, what magazine genres are struggling? Give examples of magazines that have declined or stopped printing altogether.
Entertainment and gossip magazine genres are struggling the most as they are currently on a constant decline.
4) 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?
Sales of the top 100 purchased print titles in the UK and those that readers buy or subscribe to fell by 42% between 2010 and 2017 and since the very start of the internet era in 2000 the decline is from 55%
5) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook?
Google and Facebook take 65% of the ad revenue from the UK digital display ad market.
6) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age?
The strategy they use is creating different events that link to their brand name but at the same time offer something new making it unique to the audience.
7) Why does the Hearst UK CEO James Wildman suggest that the magazine industry is not dead?
He states that print publications that are targeted towards a niche audience are most likely to still maintain a large readership number, as the interests reflected in these magazines wouldn't be found anywhere else.
8) 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?
There is this new idea of the idea of creating a wider range of products under the publications brand name.
9) What signs for optimism might there be for traditional magazine brands?
Because of the interest of digital media there isn't much hope for traditional magazine brands, however some traditional magazines may still show signs of optimism as they offer entertainment and news that you wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. Also a lot of old people are less interested in digital media therefore traditional magazines would be much better for them.
10) 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?
Men's Health is so successful as it offers advice for many different things that'll help people with their daily lives which will always be profitable as people are always trying to better themselves. Men's Health will continue to publish for many years as it is what the audience enjoy and as long as they have a large following they won't die down.
The Men's Health website and social media
Visit the Men's Health website, Twitter feed and Instagram. You may need to complete this part of the case study at home if it is blocked in school.
1) What similarities do you notice between the website and the print edition of the magazine?
The font and the logo are all the same so that audiences will easily be able to recognise the publisher. The colour scheme is also very similar as they use very masculine colours.
2) What is the Men's Health daily newsletter and what does it include? How does this help Hearst UK to make money?
The Men's Health daily newsletter is for readers to sign up to so they can get information on weight loss and just general health tips. It allows Hearst UK to make more money as it has sponsored advertisements.
3) Look at the menu bar along the top of the website. What are the menu options? What does this suggest about the representation of men and masculinity associated with Men's Health?
The menu options are:
4) Choose one of the menu sections and write a list of the features in that area of the website. What target audience are these features aimed at?
In the style section you can see that the audience demographic is ABC1 as the products featured are extremely expensive and for upper classed people.
5) Do you think the Men's Health website is trying to sell the print version or simply build a digital audience? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a 'digital first' strategy?
I believe that they are trying to build up a digital magazine industry as in this era everything is more digitally focused therefore Men's Health has to be able to bond with the readers. However a disadvantage of this digital first strategy is that they will be getting less magazine as they move further away from magazines.
6) How does the Men's Health Twitter feed use 'click-bait' 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.
Men's Health uses different language techniques, such as click-bait imagery and persuasive language to lure the audience in much efficiently.
7) How does the Twitter feed uses images and video content alongside text and links?
Men's Health uses images of men with the ideal body type and videos along with motivational captions in in order to get their audience to aim to be in the best shape they can.
8) 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?
Men's Health's Instagram suggests that they are about inspiring others and helping them find confidence in themselves.
9) Is the Men's Health social media designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?
It is designed to build a digital audience, in order to remain in the market so that if something bad occurs then they can still have a backup, making them a more stable brand than any other.
10) 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?
I believe that the Men's Health brand is successful in communicating with its target audience as they use many different platforms and techniques to appeal to their audience more efficiently. I don't believe that digital magazines will replace the print magazines as people still enjoy being able to just read a magazine in places where necessary like on the train or just in a cafe where they just want to wind down.
Research Hearst publishing by looking at the Hearst UK website and the Wikipedia entry for parent company and conglomerate Hearst Communications.
1) Hearst UK is part of Hearst Communications. What is Hearst Communications and where is it based?
Hearst Communications is an American mass media and business information conglomerate based in New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, television channels and television studios. In addition, it owns 50% of the A&E Networks cable network group and 20% of the sports cable network group ESPN, which are both in cooperation with The Walt Disney Company. Hearst communications is based in the Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan. The company was originally founded by William Randolph Hearst.
2) What media industries and brands make up the Hearst Communications conglomerate?
There are a total of 25 brands that make up the Hearst Communications conglomerate, these being:
The Good Living
Best
Cosmopolitan
Country Living
Digital Spy
Elle
Elle Decoration
Esquire
Financially Fabulous
Good Housekeeping
Bazaar
HouseBeautiful
InsideSoap
Journey
Liz Earle
Men's Health
NetDoctor
Alive
Prima
QP
Real People
Red
Runner's
Town&Country
Women's Health
3) What was the global revenue for Hearst Communications (in dollars) for the most recent year on record?
The global revenue was $10.8 billion in 2016
4) 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?
Other magazine brands part of Hearst UK publishing are Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Good Housekeeping and Esquire. The viewing numbers online in the UK is 17 million digital users.
Read this Campaign interview with Hearst UK CEO James Wildman.
5) What is James Wildman's plan for Hearst UK?
His plan is to grow share in print to stem decline, accelerate growth in digital, look at acquisitions and to diversify revenues through events and partnership deals.
6) What percentage ad decline are consumer magazines facing?
Consumer magazines will be facing ad declines of more than 10% as money is flowing to brands like Google and Facebook. In addition online influencers are chipping away at print brands.
7) What Wildman think about premium content and paywalls?
He thinks that premium content must be paid for and that conglomerates such as Hearst Communications should charge for their premium content.
8) How has Hearst used diversification to grow the business?
It is believed that diversification is the best way to grow. This is reinforced as Hearst UK runs approximately 100 events a year, allowing them to gain a wider reach of audiences.
Read this Hearst UK press release for their late 2018 ABC figures.
9) Is Men's Health increasing or decreasing in circulation?
Men's Health has had a 1% increase in circulation.
10) What does the press release say about recent successes associated with Men's Health?
"These strong results, and the fact that several of our magazines are increasing their readership, highlight the extraordinary quality and continuing appeal of our print products. We are very proud to extend our market leadership position, and this best-in-class performance is testament to the creativity of our editorial teams and continued investment in our print products."
The impact of digital media on the print magazines industry
Read this BBC website feature on the print magazine industry and then this Guardian feature on the demise of NME magazine and print magazines in general.
1) Why are traditional print magazines struggling?
They are struggling due to the rise of digital media, traditional print magazines have been struggling.
2) What genre of magazines is currently bucking the trend and increasing sales? Why is this?
The two genres that are becoming increasingly popular are News and Current affairs. Most probably because people are using it to widen their knowledge.
3) In contrast, what magazine genres are struggling? Give examples of magazines that have declined or stopped printing altogether.
Entertainment and gossip magazine genres are struggling the most as they are currently on a constant decline.
4) 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?
Sales of the top 100 purchased print titles in the UK and those that readers buy or subscribe to fell by 42% between 2010 and 2017 and since the very start of the internet era in 2000 the decline is from 55%
5) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook?
Google and Facebook take 65% of the ad revenue from the UK digital display ad market.
6) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age?
The strategy they use is creating different events that link to their brand name but at the same time offer something new making it unique to the audience.
7) Why does the Hearst UK CEO James Wildman suggest that the magazine industry is not dead?
He states that print publications that are targeted towards a niche audience are most likely to still maintain a large readership number, as the interests reflected in these magazines wouldn't be found anywhere else.
8) 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?
There is this new idea of the idea of creating a wider range of products under the publications brand name.
9) What signs for optimism might there be for traditional magazine brands?
Because of the interest of digital media there isn't much hope for traditional magazine brands, however some traditional magazines may still show signs of optimism as they offer entertainment and news that you wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. Also a lot of old people are less interested in digital media therefore traditional magazines would be much better for them.
10) 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?
Men's Health is so successful as it offers advice for many different things that'll help people with their daily lives which will always be profitable as people are always trying to better themselves. Men's Health will continue to publish for many years as it is what the audience enjoy and as long as they have a large following they won't die down.
The Men's Health website and social media
Visit the Men's Health website, Twitter feed and Instagram. You may need to complete this part of the case study at home if it is blocked in school.
1) What similarities do you notice between the website and the print edition of the magazine?
The font and the logo are all the same so that audiences will easily be able to recognise the publisher. The colour scheme is also very similar as they use very masculine colours.
2) What is the Men's Health daily newsletter and what does it include? How does this help Hearst UK to make money?
The Men's Health daily newsletter is for readers to sign up to so they can get information on weight loss and just general health tips. It allows Hearst UK to make more money as it has sponsored advertisements.
3) Look at the menu bar along the top of the website. What are the menu options? What does this suggest about the representation of men and masculinity associated with Men's Health?
The menu options are:
- Your Summer Body
- Workouts
- Muscle
- Fitness
- Nutrition
- Weight loss
- Style
- Watches
4) Choose one of the menu sections and write a list of the features in that area of the website. What target audience are these features aimed at?
In the style section you can see that the audience demographic is ABC1 as the products featured are extremely expensive and for upper classed people.
5) Do you think the Men's Health website is trying to sell the print version or simply build a digital audience? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a 'digital first' strategy?
I believe that they are trying to build up a digital magazine industry as in this era everything is more digitally focused therefore Men's Health has to be able to bond with the readers. However a disadvantage of this digital first strategy is that they will be getting less magazine as they move further away from magazines.
6) How does the Men's Health Twitter feed use 'click-bait' 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.
Men's Health uses different language techniques, such as click-bait imagery and persuasive language to lure the audience in much efficiently.
7) How does the Twitter feed uses images and video content alongside text and links?
Men's Health uses images of men with the ideal body type and videos along with motivational captions in in order to get their audience to aim to be in the best shape they can.
8) 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?
Men's Health's Instagram suggests that they are about inspiring others and helping them find confidence in themselves.
9) Is the Men's Health social media designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?
It is designed to build a digital audience, in order to remain in the market so that if something bad occurs then they can still have a backup, making them a more stable brand than any other.
10) 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?
I believe that the Men's Health brand is successful in communicating with its target audience as they use many different platforms and techniques to appeal to their audience more efficiently. I don't believe that digital magazines will replace the print magazines as people still enjoy being able to just read a magazine in places where necessary like on the train or just in a cafe where they just want to wind down.
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