Research Task Three: Conde Nast Style Magazines

 Research Task Three: Conde Nast Style Magazines

TATLER

History

Established by Clement Shorter in 1901, as a weekly issue, under the name of "The Tatler", the magazine primarily featured entertaining news, regarding celebrity affairs and other matters of interest, a style which has stayed the same to this day.

In 1979, Tina Brown became the Editor of TATLER, and brought life back into the magazine, after being sold and relaunched under the name of "Tatler and Bystander" in 1977.

In 1982, TATLER was purchased by Conde Nast, as part of the business' expansion strategy, and Brown stepped down in 1983, transferring to another Conde Nast-owned title, Vanity Fair.

In the 1990s, Jane Proctor managed to boost TATLER's circulation to over 90,000, and the magazine was more successful than ever. In 2011, Kate Reardon, previous fashion assistant for American VOGUE, another Conde Nast title, became editor, and the magazine's popularity has continued to this day, now under the leadership of Richard Dennen.

TATLER has featured some of the most famous figures in the world on their covers, from celebrities such as Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham, to politicians, such as Margaret Thatcher, and even royalty, with both Princess Diana and Meghan Markle, among other royals, appearing on covers. 

International Presence

Initially targeted towards the middle and upper class British population, the magazine began to expand internationally, primarily into Asia, with titles such as Tatler Hong Kong (in 1977) and Tatler Singapore (in 1982) both of which continue to be in circulation to this day.

Tatler continued this pursuit into the Asian market, with their only exception being Tatler Russia, in 2008, which was later taken down, primarily due to their attempted invasion into Ukraine. The most recent introduction into Tatler's international portfolio came in 2024, in the form of Tatler Vietnam. Tatler now owns eleven international editions, and is likely to continue this pursuit further into foreign markets.

British Gentleman's Quarterly (British GQ)

History:

Founded by Bernard G. Buchman in New York 1931, under the title of "Apparel Arts", the magazine was initially a fashion-based men's magazine, primarily targeting those working in men's fashion, helping them to advise their customers in the most effective ways.

In 1957, Apparel Arts was rebranded, becoming a magazine issued four times a year. After nine issues of this quarterly release, in 1958, the more appropriate title of "Gentleman's Quarterly", was introduced, or simply, "GQ".

However, in 1967, leading to GQ returning to monthly releases in 1970, despite still maintaining their "Quarterly" title. In 1979, the issue was purchased by Conde Nast, and new editor Art Cooper would go on to revolutionise the issue, transforming it from a men's magazine based purely on fashion, to a more generally masculine issue, introducing more metrosexual elements, such as fitness, movies and food.

In 1984, Nonnie Moore was unexpectedly introduced as fashion editor, despite both being female and having closer affiliations with more feminine magazines, such as Mademoiselle. However, she had a great impact on the issue, helping to make the issue's covers far more approachable for men, helping to boosting sales.

In 1988, GQ expanded across the Atlantic, and British GQ was born, sporting megastars such as Idris Elba, Cillian Murphy and even 007, Daniel Craig.

In 2016, GQ released a separate issue, GQ style, launched by the former style editor, Will Welch, who became editor-in-chief in 2018. Finally, in 2020, GQ released their webstore and merchandise.

VOGUE

History

Founded in New York by Arthur Baldwin Turner in 1892, VOGUE was initially sold as a weekly newspaper, with the Turner's objective being to create a publication that represented and targeted New York's social elites, both male and female, with content surrounding their leisure activities, their fashion, and there general lifestyles.

Turner passed away in 1906, and three years later, Conde Nast purchased VOGUE, making it the longest-owned magazine still in their portfolio today. Nast made the magazine more feminine, specifically targeting the upper class women of New York, along with raising the magazine's price, which led to exponential growth. As a result, during the 1910s, Nast began to internationalise the magazine, setting up British VOGUE in 1916, and French VOGUE in 1920.

Further surges in profits, as a result of both The Great Depression and World War Two. In 1932, VOGUE released their first ever coloured front cover image, a monumental moment in the company's history.

Nast himself is widely regarded as the main reason for the exponential growth of VOGUE over the last century, making ground-breaking discoveries in the world of journalism, such as colour printing and "the two-page spread", well beyond his death in 1942.

 

The 1950s became known as VOGUE's "Powerful Years", due to the growth in wealth in America, following the victory in the war. Jessica Daves became editor-in-chief in 1952, and made the most of the prosperous conditions within The States.

Her departure in 1962 meant the introduction of Diana Vreeland, who had opposing ideas on how VOGUE should be edited, and her command led to an influx in the popularity of the magazine among the youth of the sexual revolution, due to its new focus on contemporary fashion and the open discussion of sexuality.
In 1973, VOGUE became a monthly publication, and Grace Mirabella became editor-in-chief, keen to target VOGUE towards "the liberated women of the seventies". However, during the 1980s, this style began to age, and Mirabella was fired.

In 1988, losing market share to rival magazine "Elle", VOGUE declared Anna Wintour to become their new editor-in-chief, desperate for change. Renowned for her iconic bob haircut and sunglasses, she pioneered in making VOGUE more approachable to a wider audience, helping VOGUE to keep circulation high.

In 2012, still under the leadership of Anna Wintour, VOGUE released a copy of over 900 pages, making it the largest monthly magazine of all time. The magazine continues to run under Wintour's leadership, and continues to be one of the most popular and well-known magazines of all time.

Vanity Fair

History

In 1913, Conde Nast purchased the men's fashion magazine "Dress", before renaming the issue "Dress and Vanity Fair", publishing 4 issues throughout the year. This rebranded magazine began to gain traction across America, entering into the 1920s.

However, The Great Depression led to plummeting advertising revenues, although issues were reaching 90,000 copies in circulation. Despite these impressive figures, in 1936, due to financial issues, it was announced that Vanity Fair was to be absorbed by the more successful Conde Nast-owned magazine, VOGUE, which was reaching circulation figures of 150,000 during this period.

However, in 1981, after 45 years of absence, it was announced that Conde Nast was to revive Vanity Fair, and the first issue for nearly 50 years was released in 1983, edited by Richard Locke. Locke was keen for Vanity Fair to contain longer forms of journalism, such as lengthy articles, targeted towards the elites.

However, Locke was only editor for three Vanity Fair issues, before being replaced by Leo Lerman, another short-serving editor.

However, in 1984, Tina Brown was introduced as editor-in-chief, and made monumental changes to the issue, taking it away from exclusively the elites, hoping to appeal to the masses with information on controversial subjects, along with celebrity affairs. As a result, the magazine became renowned for its celebrity appearances and journalism.

in the 1990s, Vanity Fair introduced its annual "Hollywood Issue", which featured journalism centred solely around the film industry. This copy became one of their most well-known.

Under the ownership of Graydon Carter, from 1992, Vanity Fair became known for their bold and lively front covers. For example, in a 1991 issue, pregnant actress Demi Moore was pictured fully naked.

To this day, Vanity Fair remains one of the most popular magazines in the world, owning issues internationally, especially in Europe, with issues such as Vanity Fair London and Vanity Fair Italia.

Research Task Two: Who are Conde Nast?

 Who are Conde Nast?

What does Conde Nast do?

Conde Nast is a mass media company, founded by Conde Montrose Nast in 1909. The company controls a number of major magazines globally, such as VOGUE, Architectural Digest, The New Yorker and many more, attracting over 900 million consumers every year combined.

The Ownership of Conde Nast:

Conde Nast itself is a subsidiary company of Advance Publications, an American media company, which also holds ownership of another media giant, Reddit, along with partial ownership in Warner Brothers Studios.

The History of Conde Nast:

In 1909, Conde Montrose Nast purchased VOGUE, his first magazine, which was merely a New York fashion magazine at the time. By 1916, Conde Nast introduced British Vogue, making them the first ever publisher of an overseas edition of a previously existing magazine. Furthermore, in 1985, Conde Nast purchased The New Yorker, another popular New York magazine, for a whopping $200 million, and the company still holds ownership to this day.

Conde Nast is regarded to be the originator of the "class publication" magazine genre, which focused on a specific target market, rather than merely trying to appeal to the masses.

In 1959, Conde Nast was merged with Advance Publications, after being bought by Samuel Newhouse for $5,000,000.

VOGUE:

Established by Arthur Turnure in 1892, seventeen years before being purchased by Conde Nast, VOGUE was initially a weekly newspaper, with the intent of celebrating "The ceremonial side of life" according to the Turnure.With their initial price point being $0.10 ($3.50 in today's money) VOGUE instantly targeted upper-class New Yorkers, rather than the everyday public, with the intention of producing content tailored to their way of life.

Turnure died in 1906, three years before the company was purchased by Conde Nast, who would go on to completely remodel the company, transforming it into a more feminine magazine, raising its price, and even starting overseas editions in the following decade. VOGUE saw surges in profits during both The Great Depression and The Second World War. VOGUE began to become renowned for their celebrity appearances, which would dominate the front pages, further increasing sales. The company became a monthly magazine in 1973, after being circulated weekly for over 80 years. Finally, in 1995, due to the recent phenomenon of The Internet, VOGUE released its own website, where its magazines could be viewed digitally, as well as in print format.

New Yorker:

Founded in 1925 by couple Harold Ross and Jane Grant, with the intention of creating a magazine with more sophisticated humour than its competitors. Ross partnered with Raoul Fleischmann, forming the F-R Publishing Company. Over time, the magazine began to specialise in fiction writing, publishing short stories in every issue When it was taken over by Conde Nast in 1985, the magazine was generating just $6 million annually, however was still purchased for the immense figure of $200 million. Over recent decades, The New Yorker has utilised The Internet to show elements of their print copies, as well as exclusive online-only content, and in 2014, the magazine introduced a paywall into their website, requiring a paid subscription in order to access full content.

Developments in the 21st Century:

In 2011, Conde Nast began delivering digital subscriptions of their magazines for iPads, making it the first major publisher to do this.

In April of 2019, the current CEO of Conde Nast, Roger Lynch, took over, planning to further increase the revenue Conde Nast gained from its readers.

In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Conde Nast was recorded to have had a 45% drop in its advertising revenues, due to print copies becoming temporarily unavailable for purchase.

Research Task One: How has the UK consumer magazine industry evolved?

How has the UK consumer magazine industry evolved?

Task 1: Notes

Factors leading to the evolution of the magazine industry

• Technological Advancements (the development of digital copies and social media)
• The impact of COVID-19

Many successful magazine businesses have shifted their focus from the magazines themselves, as elements such as their digital copies and social media platforms now gain more attention than print copies. This means that many now no longer even consider themselves "magazine businesses".

UK Magazine Advertising Revenue

Expectedly, the revenue from print advertising has decreased, whereas the revenue from digital advertising has increased.

This fall in print advertising revenue has been detrimental to print magazines. The rate of this fall was accelerated by the arrival of COVID-19, which led a drop in the figure by 33%, in comparison to 2019, the year prior to the pandemic's arrival.

However, although the revenue from digital magazine advertising has risen, this has not occurred at a fast enough rate to compensate for the plummeting print revenues.

Fewer Magazines in Cycle

In the UK, the number of magazines in circulation generally has declined, from the heights of 1,700,000,000 copies circulating during the years of 2007-2008, to less than 500 million during COVID-19, an approximate decline of 70%.

UK Consumer Spending on Magazines

The amount spent by the UK public on magazines has declined by approximately 50% from 2000-2020. Unsurprisingly, there has also been a decline in the number of different magazines available.

Many UK Consumer Magazines Have Closed

From 2000-2020, there has been a sharp decline in the number of registered UK magazines, from over 700 to just 241, a decrease of more than 65%.

The most impacted sectors of this decline has been men's magazines (dropping from 32.3 million in 2017 to just 3.6 million in 2021) and music magazines (dropping from 18 million in 2017 to just 1.8 million in 2021, a staggering 90% decrease).

Less impacted sectors include home magazines, dropping by just 15% from 2002-2021.

What's Driving The Decline?

Understandably, there is a correlation between the most impacted magazine sectors, and those most easily replaceable by an online equivalent.

In simple terms, the more digitally replaceable a magazine sector is, the more it will be replaced.

Less Culture of Magazine Subscriptions in The UK

In 2021, just 27% of magazine sales came from subscriptions. This figure dropped even lower during COVID-19, even falling below 20% at certain points. 

This has traditionally always been the case for the UK market, unlike other markets such as in the US, as newsstands have been popular with the British public for over 100 years.

The Growth in Subscriptions

Despite the UK's magazine market having always been dominated by one-off sales, the number of magazine subscriptions, in both digital and print formats, has risen from 2017-2021.

However, understandably, digital subscriptions have seen a much larger rate of growth (rising by over 250%)  than their print counterpart (rising by just over 30%).

In 2021, almost 60% of both digital and print magazine subscriptions, of which there were over 200 million of in total, were for news/current affairs titles.

Future: An Affiliate Marketing Masterclass

Future, a global specialist media platform, has turned to affiliate marketing in order to generate revenue for their company. This involves advertising other business' products, tailored to the content the readers are consuming, and gaining revenue when these products are sold, or often, even viewed.

This means that 70% of the company's revenue comes from their media, rather than from their magazines. Furthermore, 58% of this 70% comes directly from e-commerce, such as their use of affiliate marketing.

Task 2: Summary

There have been several factors which have led to the evolution of the magazine industry, primarily the advancement of technology in recent years, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In recent years, the advertising revenue of print magazines has dropped, symbolic of their decline in popularity. This downfall was worsened further by the arrival of COVID-19, which is noticeable in the fact that in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, the advertising revenue dropped by 33%, in comparison to 2019, just a year earlier, but before the pandemic struck. On the other hand, the advertising revenue of digital magazines has increased, which is likely to have been aided by the pandemic, rather than hindered.

However, despite this progress, digital magazines have inclined at a slower rate than print magazines have declined, leading to a decrease in overall magazine advertising revenue across the UK.

The number of magazines in cycle has also decreased, from the highest circulations of around 1.7 million in 2007/2008, to the less than 500 million during COVID-19 (an approximate 70% decline).

The consumer spending on magazines halved between 2000 and 2020, which triggered a 65% decline in the number of magazine titles on sale during the same period. The most affected sectors being men's magazines (facing a 90% decrease in circulation during this period) and music magazines (facing an 89% decrease in circulation during this period).

The amount of impact recent technological developments have had on different segments in recent years is correlative with how easily different segments can be replaced by online equivalents.

The UK magazine industry, unlike the USA's equivalent, does not rely heavily on subscriptions for its copies, as in 2021, just 27% of magazines sold were done so via a subscription. This means that the UK magazine market is more prone to decline in years to come, due to its low tendency to utilise customer loyalty.

However, the number of magazine subscriptions, of both online and print variations, has risen in recent years. For example, from 2017-2021, the number of UK online magazine subscriptions has risen by a staggering 250%. However, understandably, the number of UK print magazine subscriptions, has risen by just 30% over the same period.

Future, a global specialist media platform, has began to utilise affiliate marketing in their online magazines, meaning that it is able to draw over 35% of its revenue from e-commerce, which may be a path that other online magazines may look to go down in order to increase their number of subscriptions further.