July 10, 2017 | Vol. 70 No. 26 Read more at: minonline.com Closing the Gap: How Magazine Media is Solving for Print Losses Time Inc., New York Media and Atlantic Media offer three unique solutions. Among all the changes magazine media faces—consolidation, layoffs, digital—the one consistent trend is the decline of print advertising. Moody’s estimates that print ads will continue to fall 10% through mid-2018, providing little hope for a turnaround in the traditional revenue stream that media companies used to rely on. But, it’s also true that some companies, like New York Media and Atlantic Media, have long looked past the traditional advertising spigot, to find more reliable resources of growth. This has created some innovative strategies, where organiza- tions have sought to use their knowledge and prestige to test new revenue streams. We take a look at three different initiatives that may not replace the advertising losses, but provide a new way of viewing the potential still inherent within media brands. Continued on page 6

AIM Sells Premium Courses in a Sea of Internet 'Free' Does Active Interest Media prove that brands are now a plaform? If you're looking to perfect your vegan cooking techniques, the internet makes it pretty easy, and cheap. Plug the relevant key- words into YouTube, and about 191,000 hits float up, including numerous vegetarian cooking tips from no less than Gordon Ramsey (who has his own YouTube channel), tofu tips from the even more specialized “Vegan Zombie” (who showed us how to make vegan s’mores with a flamethrower for July 4th), and affordable meal plans from the “Cheap, Lazy Vegan,” some of which have topped 700,000 views. Continued on page 7

Our Exclusive Index: Advertising Confidence Declines in June Magazine-media executives are less optimistic as summer doldrums hit. In min’s second iteration of our Magazine Media Advertising Confidence Index, we find that advertising confidence has de- clined as we start the month of July from the same period last month. Our respondents combined for an average confidence rating of 6.5 on a scale of one to 10, down from 6.8 in early June. A slew of factors in the participants' individual businesses played a role in this new sentiment, with some more optimistic, but most less. For example, one CEO says, “The reason for my optimism is that June was one of the strongest months in company history, and was 135 percent higher than June the previous year. Continued on page 4

In This Issue The Pioneer Women Pio- Not Another Average Approach Hey Magazines: Why All 2 neers Content Marketing 3 to App Personalization 8 the Instagram Video?

© 2017 Access Intelligence, LLC. Federal copyright law prohibits unauthorized reproduction by any means and imposes fines of up to $150,000 for violations. minonline.com CAYSEY WELTON’S MAGAZINE REVIEW

Editorial VP, Content: Tony Silber ([email protected]) The Pioneer Woman Is Consumerism at Its Finest 203/899-8424 Group Editor: Caysey Welton The new Hearst title is on brand with readers and marketers. ([email protected]) Last week we spoke with Christine Guilfoyle, SVP and 203/899-8431 Digital Media Editor: Steve Smith Group Publisher of Meredith's Women's Group, about the ([email protected]) value print offers as a marketing channel. The im- 302/691-5331 Editorial Assistant: Jameson Doris petus of that conversation was the success of HGTV stars ([email protected]) Chip and Joanna Gaines' print magazine, The Magnolia Jour- Contributing Editor, Analytics: nal, which has increased its rate base after each of its first Stacy Hill ([email protected]) Business three issues. Well, here we are again talking about another Publisher: Roberta Caploe -inspired magazine. This time the publisher is Hearst ([email protected]) Magazines, and the celebrity is Ree Drummond, or better Director of Event Operations & Logistics: Kate Schaeffer known to her fans as "The Pioneer Woman." ([email protected]) Hearst launched Drummond's magazine, unsurprisingly Senior Marketing Manager: Danielle Sikes ([email protected]) titled The Pioneer Woman, at the start of June. The pilot issue Marketing Coordinator: Zoe Silverman was sent out to approximately 4,000 Wal-Mart locations and Drummond's retail shop. The ([email protected]) initial print run was set at 150,000 units, but another 100,000 copies were printed because Senior Account Executive: Tania Babiuk ([email protected]) the company said it had nearly sold out. That inspired us to take a closer look at the magazine Production to see what all the fuss was about. We're glad we did, because it's a fascinating case study Production Manager: in how content can be married with effective branding and marketing to provide readers with Sophie Chan-Wood ([email protected]) a quality experience. Graphic Designer: Yelena Shamis The magazine isn't trying to achieve the visual aesthetic of a Harper's Bazaar or Esquire, in- ([email protected]) stead it stays well within its lane and focuses on what will sell this issue—Ree Drummond. If Access Intelligence, LLC President & you're familiar with her brand this cover should grab your attention. It's got rustic appeal with Chief Executive Officer: Don Pazour SVP, Media Group: Diane Schwartz its typography and barn board backdrop, and mixes that with bright colors and inspirational Chief Operating Officer: coverlines (three exclamation points, but who's counting?). Heather Farley Subscriptions/Client Services: When you open the book, the TOC is followed by a two-page L'Oréal Paris spread—one 888-707-5814 of the launch sponsors who is very present throughout the issue. The TOC mimics a tiled im- List Sales: MeritDirect, 914-368-1090 ([email protected]) age approach that we can thank Pinterest for. A perfect navigation approach for its audience. Advertising: 203-899-8498 The content inside the book is a mixed bag, and one that we can imagine will inspire read- Reprints: Wright’s Media, ers to pick up the magazine more than once. It features lifestyle content, beauty tips, more 877-652-5295 ([email protected]) recipes than we can count, and even fashion. (As it turns out, gingham should be considered a Editorial Offices: 1761 Main Avenue, Norwalk CT, 06851; neutral. Who knew?) But when you really look closely at the content you'll see the real genius 40 Wall Street, 50th floor, New York, in The Pioneer Woman­—it's a marketer's playground. Nearly everything is connected to con- NY 10005; Faxes: 203-854-6735, 212-621-4879; www.minonline.com sumerism, but none of it feels unnatural. In fact, it seems like more of a service than a hinder- Access Intelligence LLC, 9211 ance. The feature that really stands out is really nothing more than a content-marketing play Corporate Blvd, 4th Floor, Rockville, MD 20850; Ph: 301-354-2000 Published to promote Drummond's retail store, The Mercantile. However, 2017 © by Access Intelligence LLC. the feature makes you feel like you are getting a behind-the- The Pioneer Woman Distributed via email and online. For scenes look at the store, instead of just being prompted to visit email and postal address changes, User Experience A+ allow 2 weeks notice. Send to: Client and buy her products. It also provides tangible value by giving Services or call 888-707-5814. For advertising info contact 301/ 354- readers a recipe from the store's bakeshop. Smart. Overall Design A- 1629. Contents may not be reproduced The book is 121 pages and loaded with ads, including con- in any form without written permission. Content Mix A- Subscription Rate: $1,199.97 tent integrations with brands like L'Oréal and Dr. Pepper. Overall this is an excellent magazine for Drummond's brand, Advertising A and a great value to her fans at only $3.99. Expect to see this Consumer Value A+ title get a more aggressive frequency, and maybe extended distribution in 2018 after its second test issue. This is an ideal Final Grade A approach at giving readers and marketers what they want.

2 Magazine Media’s Most Trusted Source Since 1947 7/10/2017 minonline.com STEVE SMITH'S REVIEW Bleacher Report Brings Personalization to The Edge For most niche content providers, personalization has been a dubious development in digital media. Getting users to proactively personalize an interface has always been hard. And even if you do get buy in for personalization, it only raises a whole host of questions about editorial voice and control. How much should even the most digitized media brands let their customers roll their own content and deconstruct what had been traditionally a sculpted and deliberate media environment? Sports, of course, is a category with so many leagues and teams that some degree of person- alization is expected. However, Turner’s direct competitor to ESPN—Bleacher Report—is an exercise in extreme personalization that has much to teach about the risks and rewards of custom- ization. It's the highest-rated sports app in the iOS store, and second in popularity only to ESPN Watch Live. That alone should make publishers take notice. First, the app seems to take as a given that media app users are a core constituency that will and should personalize their favorite content. The app essentially makes you choose the teams, topics, even authors you want to see in your stream, and then build your sports news environment out of that. This is no small thing. In some ways, the audience for medi-branded apps is also an op- portunity for publishers to break some of the editorial rules that constrain them elsewhere. Mobile media apps are used primarily by the loyal few, so why not super-serve them with hyper-personalization? But BR doesn’t just allow the user to pick teams. It uses geolocation to gather teams near you, it lets you choose fantasy teams, specific player tracking, and curious topics such as uncensored athletes. This is granular. The app also pushes some of its own curation as a choice—highlights, trending stories, etc. There are even emojis from the brand and an Apple Watch extension. Yet, beyond choice, the app excels at helping you manage those choices—editing them on the fly, seeing them in a persis- tent carousel of icons atop the main feed of each topic and mobile alerts. If anything, BR seems to have almost too much confidence in its power among loyalists. Granted, the sheer utility of the app seems to draw some of the greatest kudos from fans. They rightly praise the high volume of content, as well as the easy lookups for game scores and upcoming game calendars. But the branding is so light on many of the article pages that it's easy to forget who is aggregating the otherwise good experience. Even BR’s own Bleacher Report article pages have little top line branding. I like that their pages weave into the scroll multiple User Experience A related-article links rather than clump them together or save them until the end. On the whole, more persistent branding would strengthen the app’s impact. Overall Design B And BR isn't immune to the common mobile app traps. Its monetization is commonplace, Social Integration B which is to say interruptive in the feed and cluttered by “Around the Web” content-marketing crap. There should also be more control over alerts—which topics trigger them and how often. Mobile Utility B- As an exercise in sheer over-the-top personalization, Bleacher Report is among the best Monetization C examples, good and ill, that I've seen. It makes the customization process easy and manda- tory—building it into the expectations for the app. It also suffers from a lack of distinct edito- Final Grade B- rial voice and branding. It solves for one challenge but not the other.

SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT Spotlight your open CANDIDATE? WE CAN HELP. positions on min’s Job Board to spread the word to our industry’s most innovative media professionals.

7/10/2017 Magazine Media’s Most Trusted Source Since 1947 3 minonline.com 29876 min Job Board House Ads_Strip.indd 1 4/4/17 10:55 AM MIN’S MAGAZINE MEDIA CONFIDENCE INDEX Advertising Confidence Most Confident Declines in June (Continued from page 1) "And the reason for caution is that we an- nounced a fairly healthy price increase ef- fective July 1st. We had a number of long- term clients who locked in campaigns under the old pricing. We may have just pulled

forward our normal sales. Historically, July PRINT DIGITAL is a decent sales month, with August being light,” the executive added. "We'll see what happens over the next 60 days.” A second executive, a chief revenue officer, points out that his growth is going to come from digital, primarily. “The reality is that print revenue is limited, whereas "digital" does not truly exist in the same manner— it represents all digitized media—thus, Least Confident naturally provides more opportunities for How will you get there, print or digital? brands.” A third executive noted that he down- graded his confidence. "I think auto sales are slowing down, so that might lead to more budget cuts in the back half otherwise I’d say 10, not eight,” he said. "Our goal is to stabilize declining revenues in print while Month-Over-Month we secure growth and new revenue through 10 our emerging channels. And not just ad rev- 9 enue, but also direct-to-consumer revenue.” 8 7 6.8 6.5 6 PARTICIPATING COMPANIES/BRANDS 5 Meredith ▪ Rodale ▪ Bloomberg ▪ Bonnier ▪ Bauer 4 Trusted Media Brands Inc. ▪ Active Interest Media TEN ▪ New Bay Media ▪ Breaking Media ▪ 3 Confidence Score Advertising Specialty Institute ▪ Northstar Travel 2 Group ▪ Garden & Gun ▪ Industry Dive ▪ SheKnows Questex ▪ Harvard Business Review ▪ Praetorian 1 Digital ▪ Watt Global Media ▪ 5280 Media ▪ Hour Media Light Reading ▪ Government Executive Media May June July Aug.

4 Magazine Media’s Most Trusted Source Since 1947 7/10/2017 minonline.com THIS WEEK’S FEATURE

How Magazine Media is Solving for Print Losses (Continued from page 1)

The Recommendation Business wear? Did they buy more often from , Macy’s or Last year, New York Media’s executive Director of Busi- Nordstrom’s websites? ness Development and Strategy, Camilla Cho, decided to take “After a period of five months we blew through the KPIs,” a closer look at the management of affiliate links. The parent says Cho. “We were able to prove a real viable business of New York Magazine had a few partners that provided its here.” sites revenue for when readers clicked to the partners’ web- That’s when the company decided to take its long-running site, but it contributed only a tiny portion of the business. magazine section, The Strategist, and turn it into a website Cho, however, noticed that engagement rates were “very of the same name that provides reviews—and affiliate links healthy.” mixed within—for a variety of products that its writers enjoy. The numbers indicated that readers took the advice that Article topics range from the best bed sheets, to the best writers gave concerning what’s in style, what’s worth buying, gifts for a one-year old. Alexis Swerdloff runs the editorial and what they can ignore. Cho wanted to see if her team side of the project, and she has a full-time staff that includes could better monetize this trust. a senior editor, three staff writers and a number of freelanc- They began by testing out affiliate links on e-commerce ers. They work in tandem with Cho and her team on the busi- articles developed by her team. They posted them, primar- ness side. The site only offers suggestions to products that ily on The Cut, the site’s fashion and politics page geared “the editors or writers stand behind,” adds Cho. towards women, to determine what made readers click. Did more readers want shoes? Were they interested in sun- Continued on page 6

Get The Story Behind The Story

The Skinny from min delivers the latest news and insights on the magazine media industry. We cover the latest happenings and how they’ll effect your job and your business—all in one concise email. Signing up for the weekly eletter is FREE and easy, so get it in your inbox today!

GET THE SKINNY

29514

7/10/2017 Magazine Media’s Most Trusted Source Since 1947 5 minonline.com THIS WEEK’S FEATURE

The Strategist launched in October, and e-commerce affiliate revenue has grown 20 to 40% per month since, in part because it was start- ing at a very low level. But " it has encouraged offshoot opportunities, like a pop-up shop, which debuted at the Vulture Festival in May. “We’ve always been in the recommendation business,” says Cho, now We were concerned for more so than ever. the long-term viability of the The Advice Business digital native ad market. Like most organiza- tions, Atlantic Media has seen a dramatic flip in its It’s now the fastest growing division within the Atlantic revenue. A decade ago, print accounted for 80% of sales, Media portfolio, doubling its staff to 40 since 2014. Last year, but it's now about 15%. While digital advertising makes up AMS revenue jumped 29% and that’s expected to improve to a large portion of the new normal, a digital agency, Atlan- 32% this year. tic Media Strategies (AMS) has become an ever-growing " presence. The Licensing Business In 2012, The Atlantic wanted a way to capitalize on its Time Inc. has struggled adapting to the modern media knowledge adapting to the digital world. Plus, it worried that landscape. In June, it announced another round of layoffs clients would take native advertising development in-house. that impacted 300 staffers. This came shortly after its deci- “We were concerned for the long-term viability of the digital sion not to sell the company and after posting a first-quarter native ad market,” says Michael Finnegan, president of At- print advertising loss of 21%. lantic Media. So he thought, “why don’t we build the disrup- But one area that’s showing promise for Time Inc. (my pre- tion ourselves?” vious employer and a company I still write for at times) is in Out of the disruption came AMS, which provides adver- licensing its brand names to retail outlets. Although original- tisers with audits of their current digital efforts, offers sup- ly launched over a decade ago, the licensing unit has become port for ongoing digital projects or develops and runs entire an increasingly important focus of Time Inc. over the past two content-focused campaigns. years, expanding programs for Real Simple, People, Food & One of its largest clients, the insurer Allstate, came to Wine and others. AMS looking for ways to promote community renewal and Southern Living, for instance, has an exclusive line of innovation. This turned into a multi-pronged campaign, in- products in Dillard’s department stores. Products range from cluding the development of TheRenewalProject.com, which bed spreads, to rugs to kitchenware, and has become one of includes at least three new pieces of original content each the store’s top-selling home collections, according to Bruce week, and the creation and management of a number of so- Gersh, Time Inc.’s SVP of strategy and business development. cial channels. But these efforts can bleed into other parts The number of products sold in the store has increased by of Atlantic Media’s portfolio of businesses, like pieces of 110 since 2015. original , sponsored by Allstate, and the creation of a rewards program for innovative non-profits, to which Allstate provided $20,000 in grants for each winner. “AMS Ryan Derousseau is a writer, journalist and content consultant. He’s written and worked for national magazines and websites, including Money, Fortune and the is the hub that ties it together,” says Bob Cohn, president of Washington Post. He’s also developed stories for Inc., Fast Company and U.S. The Atlantic. News & World Report

6 Magazine Media’s Most Trusted Source Since 1947 7/10/2017 minonline.com AIM Sells Premium Courses In a Sea of Internet 'Free' (Continued from page 1)

You may have to root around a bit to create your own vegan outcome like certifications, but the marketing taps into the education, but the trove feels bottomless, and much of it has social personality’s online following to expand prospecting. at least semi-pro production values, and it is all free. The idea that these courses productize relationships and not Or you can click over to Active Interest Media’s AIM just instruction infuses the format. Unlike YouTube and its du- Healthy U and pay $250 for a two-part, 23-week “Vegan Fu- bious comments section, “We want there to be some level of sion Academy” online course from Vegetarian Times. interaction with instructors,” which include live chats and live Say what? $250 versus $0? Good luck with those digital streaming video sessions, Stewart says. “One of the most effec- economics, one may think. tive channels for us is to have a closed group for each “We are seeing immense growth in online education— one of the courses.” Within that environment, students can inter- hundreds of percent for the healthy living brand” in the course act with the instructor, join Facebook Live video sessions that of a year, says Collin Stewart, director of consumer marketing include some of the students, and engage webinars. Compared at AIM Healthy Living. to free, the value add is designed around curated content, videos In fact, enthusiast publisher AIM is proving that premium and recipes, immersive interactive environments, relationships pricing and consumer-direct paid digital media can thrive even with personalities, and follow-along structured progress. “You- in a sea of free. For the last several years, AIM has built two Tube is a low barrier and a lot of noise. We see ourselves as virtual academies “Healthy U” a huge step up from that,” he says. around its fleet of titles like Yoga Still, finding the audiences Journal, Vegetarian Times, Clean that buy into such a value propo- Eating and Adventure U around sition has never been easy. Stew- Backpacker, Climbing, SKI and art says that in addition to lever- other titles. The courses can be aging an instructor’s own social as ambitious as a $250 25-week accounts and the existing AIM vegan-fusion cooking class to $149 lists, Healthy U has seen consid- wilderness first-aid basics, $159 erable success on Facebook paid yoga for skiers and a $890 busi- advertising. It is also testing Ad- ness toolkit for yoga instructors. Words, as well as content mar- The paid coursework started in keting distribution via networks 2014, but quickly showed promise, so like OutBrain. And they find that AIM started ramping up investment lengthy video profiles and intro- throughout 2016. The 50-plus Healthy Living course packages now ductions to the instructors (especially to the trainers in the attract thousands of paying customers, and 15 more are launching Oxygen fitness challenge products) can help sell the enthu- this year. “As a company, we looked at our strengths, and those siasm and engagement value of the course. are that we have extremely strong brands,” Stewart says. “And Staffing for the online courses has evolved quickly from its the brands are a platform on which we deliver products.” early days when the individual magazine brands shouldered But traditionally, media brands have not competed suc- the additional task of production and promotion. Now, a dis- cessfully with free online, especially when looking up instruc- crete marketing and production group works in partnership tional videos on YouTube has become pretty much a digital with the magazines. reflex. For Stewart, the secret of Healthy U packages is in the For magazine brands interested in extending their brand relationships and interactivity both in and around the prod- prestige, social and personality relationships into paid ucts. The pricey Vegan Fusion Academy, for instance, doesn’t coursework, they are entering a growth market. According to just buy you killer tofu prep, but a direct connection with fa- elearning analyst Docebo, the market for self-directed on- mous book author and Blossoming Lotus Restaurant founder line education is over $23 billion in the U.S. alone, although Mark Reinfield. Many of the AIM courses form around per- much of that encompasses professional development and sonalities—noted figures in these enthusiast fields. Featur- academics. After a recent lull, the infusion of social platforms ing noted figures in the field who have existing followings and mobile are helping reignite consumer interest. helps with both the value-add aspect and with promotion. Steve Smith covers digital trends and innovations as min's digital media editor. AIM provides enhanced production values, and a tangible Send him tips or feedback: [email protected]

7/10/2017 Magazine Media’s Most Trusted Source Since 1947 7 minonline.com ON BRAND | OFF PAGE Magazine Video Explodes On Instagram: But Does It Need To? Increased posting frequency led to increased engagement. Magazine brands have been some of the fastest-growing video publishers among major media on Instagram in the last year, and this is translating into substantial engagement. Social media analytics firm NewsWhip did the counting, comparing the top 30 publishers it tracks on the mobile social network to find that Sports Illustrated, for instance, went from eight video posts in May 2016 to 325 in May 2017. TV-centric brand ESPN only posted 101 videos to Instagram a year ago, but more than doubled that output to 249 this May. Turner’s Bleacher Report apparently was early to the trend, growing its clip count from 432 last year to a category-leading 479 this May. Other top video publishers on Instagram included Complex (148 in May vs. 121 last year), People (120 vs. 8), Thrasher (100 vs. 103), Time (68 vs. 7) and Inked (63 vs. 33). Time, SI, and ESPN now post nearly as many or more video than photo items to their feeds. While NewsWhip found that user engagement numbers were higher around photos (about 56,000 for photos from the 30 brands covered vs. 44,000 for videos), users are getting used to activating videos. Engagements for photos grew at a rate of 46.4% since last year (53% for video). Interestingly, photos tend to attract more likes while video attracts more comments. But it's complicated. Posting more video does not necessarily lead to greater engagement. It needs to be the right video. BBC News, for instance, posted 154 clips in May but was 18th in overall engagements with video among the top 30 media brands surveyed. Meanwhile, National Geographic posted merely 51 videos that netted over 20.6 million interactions, second only behind Bleacher Report (479 clips for 46.4 million engagements). Vogue only posted 34 clips but ranked 9th in video en- gagements (2.2 million) mainly from its beloved backstage clips from the Met Gala. As we are seeing elsewhere in social, quality is replacing tonnage. Flooding the zone is no longer a strategy for success. The Economist Expands #feedingthefuture Campaign Globally Confidence in agency partner Sense inspired a push into more than 10 cities. The Economist is extending its #feedingthefuture campaign with the launch of “Fast Forward Food” in New York City and London, as well as the launch of “Waste Not. Want Not” in San Francisco. This campaign is a part of the brand's live content- marketing program that attracts new readers through creative real-world experiences. Yanna Wilson-Fischer, director of North America marketing and global experiential at The Economist, indicates that suc- cess with its agency partner Sense in 2014 led to the decision to expand. "Initially we tested with Sense in London, earning a 171% return on investment. Experiential quickly proved itself to be an effective channel in earning new subscribers," she says. Although the brand has no sponsors for this expansion, Wilson-Fischer is focused on forging a direct relationship with potential subscribers. "We are operating as nimbly as possible" to ensure the right experience is brought to the right market. SOUND BITE NEXT WEEK READ MORE "We have a singular proposition: We are the magazine of the American idea." We Explore How Sports Brands are What Bonnier’s Mark MacKenzie Winning the Video Wars Does In His Downtime -Jeffrey Goldberg, EIC, The Atlantic

8 Magazine Media’s Most Trusted Source Since 1947 7/10/2017 minonline.com