Could the winter of magazine publishing be coming to an end? If we take Magazine Media 360 as a bellwether for consumer publishing then their latest numbers are encouraging.
The January 2015 year on year numbers show all areas of magazine media having a positive growth. Granted that print and digital editions combined are at a modest 0.2% as is Web through desktop and laptop at 0.5%. The continued growths are mobile at 73.3% and video at 28.7%.
In total this gives us a promising 10.1% growth year on year for magazine media.
Looking a little closer at these numbers there is still plenty to be upbeat about. Print and digital combined still represent the largest slice of the cake at 67% so any growth here is significant. The leveling off of what appeared to be a decline in Web numbers is a sign publishers have started to address the legacy website requirements. Where video only represents 2% of magazine media as a whole, it is still a rapid and sustained growth and an area to keep an eye on. Which leaves us with the current star of magazine growth, mobile. Mobile already represents 16% of overall magazine media and with continued growth at 28.7% Y.O.Y. it is mobile that is really making the difference.
The move to adaptive websites and adaptive applications is the start of making sure magazine content gets to the readers wherever they are and whatever device they use. However, it doesn’t stop there. Each brand needs to evaluate which of the social channels to be active in and how to enhance the readers experience appropriate to the channel. The 360 approaches will be different from brand to brand and requires significant mind shift in what remain mainly print publishing focused environments.
Still the first signs of spring growth are here. What we need now is some serious gardening if we are to have a glorious summer.