16 Mar How the Best Magazines are Surviving (and Thriving) in the Digital Age

How the Best Magazines are Surviving (and Thriving) in the Digital Age

by Rett Haigler

We work with the media every day, negotiating, researching, buying and providing artwork for advertising. And while there exists an insatiable urge among marketers to shift more of their budgets to digital outlets, we know that there is more to the story. Print is still very important to many of our clients’ target audiences, and the stronger publishers are getting even stronger. Why? The savvy ones are growing by adding digital capabilities to appeal to an even broader audience than print alone can reach.

Take Hearst Magazines for example, publisher of Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and Marie Claire, among others. Hearst is planning the launch of additional print titles and sister websites in 2016, according to CEO David Carey in a recent Ad Age article. The link between print and digital is increasing in importance because of the access it creates for its readers.

Over the last two years, Conde Nast’s Golf Digest has built its media assets to form a comprehensive portfolio consisting of both print and digital. And improvements to its digital video capabilities have proven to be its fastest-growing medium. As the golf equipment industry has changed, Golf Digest has had to adapt to offer more ways for manufacturers to reach their audience – and we think it’s working.

Cosmo, Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire and Golf Digest readers are loyal to their preferred media because of its content, whether it’s print, digital or social. These media companies are building their own brands and expanding their capabilities, which is helping them reach more people in more ways.

Print media will always be near and dear to the talented creatives in advertising. And digital media offers an exciting new canvas with measurable results, which data nerds like me absolutely love! We bring value when we can discern the impact that content and media will have on its core audiences. And for us, that’s what its all about.