“How Does Cosmopolitan Magazine Maintain Relevance in an Ever‐Fragile Marketplace?”

BA (HONS) JOURNALISM SOPHIE TAYLOR CASE STUDY JSM2003 YEAR 2 “HOW DOES COSMOPOLITAN MAGAZINE MAINTAIN RELEVANCE IN AN EVER‐FRAGILE MARKETPLACE?” CONTENTS: Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………pg.3 Opening Vignette…………………………………………………………………………..pg.5 History…………………………………………………………………………………………pg.6 Cosmopolitan Today……………………………………………………………………..pg.7 Growth of Organisation…………………………………………………………………pg.9 The Nature of the External Environment in which Cosmopolitan is received………………………………………………………………………………………..pg.9 Internal Strengths…………………………………………………………………………pg.10 Internal Weaknesses……………………………………………………………………..pg.11 Diversification………………………………………………………………………………pg.12 Marketing Strategy………………………………………………………………………..pg.14 Statement of Major Problems………………………………………………………...pg.15 Proposed Solutions………………………………………………………………………..pg.17 Closing Vignette………………………………………………………………………….....pg.18 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………............pg.19 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY All over the UK, there are businesses closing due to the current recession. Hardly a day goes by without a major retailer, bank or car manufacturer reporting huge losses. The recession has hit almost every industry to some degree, but possibly one of the worst instances is that of British media. More than 4000 jobs in media have been lost since July 2008.The magazine industry in particular, has always been fickle to some extent, but none more so than the present. So with budgets tighter than ever, where does that leave consumer magazines, namely the women’s glossy magazine sector? Cosmopolitan has been one of the top‐selling women’s magazines for years, but how do they fair in today’s economic climate and what are they doing to remain on top? On 26th February 2009, NatMag’s, the owner of Cosmopolitan, announced they were to slash 15 per cent of its UK workforce, close to 100 jobs, in an attempt to reduce its cost base and meet the challenge of the tough economic climate. These are bleak days for the economy, and bleaker days for the magazine industry. As advertising crashes and forfeits glossy pages, freelance budgets and jobs, many magazines are frantically trying to stay alive. However, in order to do so, the publication must perform a balancing act between holding on to their high‐end advertisers, remaining fun, luxurious and escapist, and yet not alienate readers whose own wallets have become as emaciated as the featured models themselves! Despite all the doom‐and‐gloom, high quality women’s magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, experienced a surprise increase in the last half yearly circulation figures, showing the strength of up‐ market titles in face of the credit crunch. Perhaps this display of resilience reinforces the theory that women will still fork out for affordable luxuries in a recession. It would seem that more women are buying one quality glossy a month rather than three or four cheap weekly magazines. This desire for quality is perhaps a reaction to the economic downturn. Instead of a quick read they want something that will last and more up‐ market glossies provide them with that. With recession coverage overkill and the sobering reality of tightened purse strings, distraction and a bit of relief are what people both need and want. The Internet will continue to pull money from print and in these difficult times commercial and editorial must work together to combat huge losses. NatMag is making its consumer titles available to download in digital form, having signed a deal with John Menzies Digital. The publisher follows felloe media companies Bauer, IPC Media and Hachette Filipacchi, which have already launched digital versions of their titles on the newsagent’s website, magazineondemand.co.uk. To raise consumer awareness of the rollout, NatMag has tied up with The Telegraph to launch a three‐month promotion, offering the newspapers’ readers free access to the digital magazines. 3 To a large extent, the survival of Cosmopolitan will depend greatly on the money that advertising brings in. It is no longer appropriate to assume that the magazine is only useful for advertising expensive perfume and branded make‐ up. The magazine needs to increase the range of products it advertises to ensure consistent and ongoing revenue. Titles with falling circulations all target younger groups who have less disposable income and are more likely to be affected by job cuts. That's certainly the case in the women's weekly market. Women's magazines, especially fashion magazines such as Cosmopolitan, tend to address well‐educated young readers who are seen as loyal, independent, and ready to spend. This explains the overall in conformity of magazine content, with their sections devoted to celebrity features, fashion, beauty, health, interior and lifestyle. But magazine publishers, like the media industry in general, are now viewing youth as an increasingly elastic category.1 1 Ann Gough‐Yates, Understanding Women’s Magazines, Routledge, 2004, pg.4 4 VIGNETTE “Nice to meet you Sophie. I’m afraid Lindsey Higginson; the lady you organized your work placement through is no longer with us. We’ve just had a big redundancy cull. You know‐ the credit crunch and all!” said Rosie Mullender, senior features writer, on my first day at Cosmopolitan. As I sat at my well‐ equipped desk reading a work experience manual that Rosie had so kindly put together for me, I overheard Tracy Ramsden, one of Cosmo’s columnists talking to Mel Hunter, the News Editor. “Can I see a copy of the 2006 June edition please Mel?” said Tracy. Mel scurried around in her drawer and finally pulled out a battered and well‐worn copy. “God, look at how much fatter it was‐ it’s like an Elle magazine,” she said with a look of horror, as Mel held her head in her hands! 5 HISTORY Cosmopolitan has always played its part in the ever‐changing role of women’s magazines and has been a major influencing factor in the many publications that comprise the UK’s 300‐year history in the industry. It came to occupy a crucial place in popular reading and in the contested meanings of femininity. Cosmo, its characteristics and its cultural significance are the product of a specific cultural and material history. “How Liberated Are You?” a quiz from a 1978 issue of Cosmopolitan asks. “How Good Are You In Bed?” asks Cosmo today. The former invited readers to reflect on gender roles in their relationships, home life and workplace 30 years ago. The latter asks you to be slightly more experimental in the bedroom and dare to be adventurous. Cosmo is famous for, amongst other things, changing the face of women’s magazines but also changing and pioneering the roles of women in society. The magazine itself hasn’t always been female dominated. Launched in 1886 by Schlicht and Field as a family magazine, named ‘The Cosmopolitan’, it changed hands a number of times before reaching the iconic status it has found today. Paul Schlicht told his first‐issue readers that this publication was a “first‐class family magazine”, adding “…there will be a department devoted exclusively to the interest of women, with articles on fashions, on household decoration, on cooking and the care and management of children etc… also with a department for the younger members of the family.” After only two years of launching the company, Schlicht and Field went out of business leaving it wide open for the ex‐editor of Harper’s Monthly, E.D Walker, to purchase the rights to the magazine and send the title soaring. Instead of following tried and tested formats, Walker introduced new sections into the magazine such as colour illustrations and reviews pages. Walker sold the company to John Brisben Walker after popularising the title within just one year. It was later sold to William Randolph Hearst in 1905 who immediately began to expand the magazine, by employing top writers and investigative journalists. The National Magazine Company (NatMags), where the UK edition of Cosmo is written and produced, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst, established by William Randolph Hearst in 1910. The business comprises NatMag’s with two joint ventures, NatMag Rodale and COMAG. NatMag’s produce 14 consumer titles in the UK and websites for these titles through Hearst Digital. As decades past, Cosmopolitan changed from strictly articles, to short novels and stories, ensuring sales soared to somewhere near 1.7 million by the 1930s. The title had proved to be a triumph and even after the Second World War, magazine sales topped the two million mark. Sadly, demand for the magazines content decreased in the 50s and circulation figures slumped. Despite the reduced revenue, the magazine subscriptions alone were enough to get the title through a hard time. Even today, Cosmo is one of the most subscribed to magazines in the world, reflecting this profitable venture. At a time when magazines were being over‐shadowed by the rise of paperbacks and television, it seemed that the ‘Golden Age’ of magazines had given way to special interest publications targeting specialised audiences. 6 Circulation figures continued to decline for another decade until Helen Gurley Brown took over as editor‐in‐chief, during 1965, renaming and remodelling the title as ‘New Cosmopolitan’. After only two years, it was decided that the magazine should convert back to its original name ‘Cosmopolitan’, which thankfully seems to have stuck. Brown took the title to new lengths, initially by emerging as a solely women orientated magazine with a demographic exclusive to females. In Brown’s early years as editor, the magazine received a lot of criticism. Many people were shocked at the new message of the one‐time literary magazine. Brown however took no notice and continued to print the magazine that she had envisioned. The UK edition of Cosmo began in the early 1970s and was well known for its sexual explicitness, with strong sexual language, male nudity and coverage of subjects such as rape. It caused a sensation. It was the first magazine aimed at young women that dared to tackle sex and relationships head on.

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