Media: Publishing brands

Circulation figures continue to reward Tu Style, the Mondadori weekly edited by Marisa Deimichei, re-launched in mid-July with a completely new look.

The appreciation of readers has been immediate, with a circulation in the July/August period of 260,000 copies, a 32% increase on the already excellent results of the previous months.

These summer results consolidate and give a new impetus to the positive trend recorded by the title since its initial launch, just over a year and a half ago. A success that the latest ADS figures, for the 12 months May 2009 – April 2010, had already established at 192,646 copies.

There has also been an extremely good response from the advertising market, with revenues up by 49% in July and 72% in August.

“Tu Style is the advertising phenomenon of the year,” declared Angelo Sajeva, chairman and chief executive of Mondadori Pubblicità. “Advertisers have understood the evolution of the title and have particularly approved of the format and the new layout, which is both more modern and, in line with Mondadori’s activities, has an international feel. We immediately noticed a very positive attitude and the results were quick to follow,” underlined Sajeva. “Despite the low season, the revenues of Tu Style have increased considerably, as has the number of clients and the average price of the title. There has been constant growth in all sectors, especially fashion, which has become the main sector even in a title that is not seen as a priority in planning terms. September is also showing an overall increase of around 60%, with fashion and cosmetics reaching 76% of total billings,” concluded Sajeva.

Tu Style has captured women’s attention thanks to an original and revolutionary editorial formula: the large format and completely new layout amplifying the title’s characteristics and giving readers a product with a big impact.

For the editor Marisa Deimichei: “the new Tu Style is increasingly glamorous and exciting. Fashion, beauty and shopping have become more appealing, thanks to an impeccable redesign of the layout and use of photographs, the increase in the number of pages and an even more focused selection of content. Readers are happily captivated by the desire to go out an buy the up to date items shown, even in their super-accessible versions. Just as they are drawn into the world of women that is reflected in Tu Style: stories about celebrities and ordinary women that alternate to give a picture of the many shades and variety of real life,” Deimichei.

Paola Girardi has been appointed as the new editor of Casaviva from 2 November.

Girardi, born in Bari, she began her career at Mondadori, in 1982, in the graphic design area. She became a qualified journalist in 1985, and the following year she moved to Casaviva where she remained until 1989. From ’89 to ‘98 she was head of the design and layout department of Elle Decor (Edizioni Edif) before returning to Mondadori, to work on the weekly Grazia, where she worked also on the title’s supplements. In 2000 she was appointed editor of Sposabella (Condé Nast) and, after editing the travel magazine V&S (Edizioni Quadratum) from 2006 to 2009, she took the helm at Home (Hachette Rusconi), where she remained until now.

Casaviva is the leading title in the homes and furniture segment, in which Mondadori operates with a number of established titles that cover all of the circulation and advertising targets in the sector.

With a formula based on lifestyles, the evolution of tastes, the pleasures of the home and a constant update on production, Casaviva is an essential point of reference in the interiors market.

Mondadori France launched Grazia in France a year ago, on 29 August 2009: a new up-market title that – in line with the company’s innovation and development strategy – has enriched the French women’s magazine market, and rapidly became a new point of reference.

With Grazia Mondadori France has created a new up-scale women’s weekly that is both different and immediately recognisable..

With the benefit of the international experience of the Mondadori Group and the strength of a brand that is currently present in 16 countries, Grazia made its debut on the French market with an original editorial concept that combines news, celebrities, fashion, beauty and culture.

The excellent results achieved by the title confirm, one year from the launch, the validity of the Grazia identity as a “news fashion magazine”: a formula that is highly appreciated by readers in the 25 to 44 year-old age range who are active, metropolitan, independent, passionate about news, fashion, new technology and with a high level of purchasing power.

Circulation:
Since its launch Grazia France has reached an average weekly circulation of 177,360 copies (OJD/dsh 2009-2010): +11% on the declared target of 160,000 copies.

The web site Grazia.fr:
910,000 unique visitors and 5 million page views (Source: Nielsen, June 2010).

iPhone app:
71,000 downloads since the app was launched in February 2010.

Advertising sales:

A total of 1,600 advertising pages sold for the first 52 issues of the magazine (an average of 30.8 pages per week): +60% on the declared target of 1,000 pages.

Grazia France has won the unanimous approval of advertisers, 63% of the client portfolio made by up-market advertisers. A success that has also resulted in an evolution of the overall composition of the advertising revenues of Mondadori France, 22.4% of which now comes from the up-scale sector (compared with 6.5% in 2009).

Innovation
The strategy of the Group is to reinforce its portfolio of historic mass market titles, including Télé Star, Closer, Science & Vie, Auto Plus, Biba, Nous Deux, Modes & Travaux and Top Santé, thanks to the constant updating of the editorial offer supported by a focused marketing policy.

Significant events in recent months:

– significant growth for the monthly Biba in its sector: with an increase of 5.1% in the first half of the year, raising the title’s circulation to more than 300,000 copies. A success that has resulted in an increase of 44% on the performance over the previous four years. Meanwhile, advertising revenues in the first seven months of the year were up by 30%.

– For the second year in a row the weekly Closer has confirmed its position as the undisputed leader in the people sector: advertising pages were up 10% on 2009, and market share up by 2.8%.

– The new formula for the monthly Modes & Travaux – launched in June – has met with exceptional success, with a 30% increase in circulation compared with the months prior to the re-launch.

– With annual sales of 15 million copies, Nous Deux continues to be very popular with readers, thanks to a strengthening and renewal of the title. Among the most successful initiatives were a series of twelve previously unpublished novels sold along with the weekly, the publication of five special issues and the launch of “Miss Nous Deux” in June. The solidity of the Nous Deux brand is an authentic point of strength for the Group.

– Following the launch of the new formula, the magazine L’Auto-Journal saw circulation grow by 16% in the period January-July 2010.

First half 2010: a comment on the results

In the first six months of the year Mondadori France generated revenues of €1684 million, an increase of 6.6% (on a like-for-like basis, excluding titles no longer in the portfolio and includingGrazia) compared with the first half of 2009, thanks to a good performance in terms of circulation (+5.3% on a like-for-like basis) and, above all, a significant increase in advertising revenues (+21.1%), mainly due to the success of Grazia.

There was also a big improvement in gross operating profit, which came to €16.4 million (+35% on the €12.2 million of the first half of 2009), and equal to 9.7% of total revenues.

With a portfolio of 28 titles, including Télé Star, Closer, Science & Vie, Auto Plus, Biba, Top Santé, Nous Deux and Modes & Travaux Mondadori France is the France’s third largest magazine publisher in terms of circulation.

With total sales of some 200 million copies, Mondadori France publishes three of the top selling consumer magazines in the country: Télé Star, Télé Poche and Pleine Vie.

In the last two years the company has distinguished itself in the “Magazine de l’Année” competition, organised in France by the Syndacat de la Presse Magazine et d’Information (SPMI), winning four prizes in 2010 (including the prizes for “the best new magazine” for Grazia France; “best people magazine” for Closer; “best passion magazine” for Réponses Photo; and “best TV magazine” for Télé Star) and five awards in 2009, including “best magazine of the year”.

With a staff of around 1,000, Mondadori France generated total revenues in 2009 of €343.5 million.

From 14 September Annalisa Monfreda will take over as editor of Cosmopolitan, the Italian edition of the world’s top-selling monthly, with 60 international editions, managed by the Hearst-Mondadori joint venture.

Annalisa Monfreda, 32, was born in Bari, and began working as a journalist in 1996. In 2002, after a Master in Journalism from the University of Urbino and an internship in the “home news” department of Corriere della Sera, she began a series of collaborations with different magazines. In 2004 she joined the staff of Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori working on the monthly title Geo. In 2008 she was appointed editor of Topgirl and in November 2009 became the editor of Geo.

Piemme and Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori have announced the launch of an original editorial concept: Focus Geronimo Stilton, a new monthly for children between the ages of 6 and 10. The magazine, edited by Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, will be on newsstands from Saturday 7 August.

This joint initiative by the two publishing houses aims to combine and valorise the great experience of both in the children’s segment.

“Focus Geronimo Stilton is really something new in the panorama of editorial products for children. And it marks the first time that an international publishing phenomenon and a leading publisher of magazines for younger readers have joined forces,” declared Giacomo Moletto, managing director of Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori. “We are proud to be able to exploit the experience and success of Focus Junior for such an innovative format, full of educational themes and content, that also brings together fun and knowledge,” Moletto concluded.

“We are delighted with this opportunity to work with Focus Junior, which will allow Geronimo Stilton to open up a new channel of communication with his young readers, helping them to develop their imagination and creativity through reading, and facilitating learning and individual growth while having fun,” explained Laura Donnini, managing director of Piemme.

Piemme will contribute its most celebrated personality, the mouse Geronimo Stilton: a truly extraordinary publishing phenomenon which, since 2000, when Piemme published the first books, has become famous not only in Italy but around the world and can now be considered a “classic”, that will both continue to grow and is destined to last well into the future.

Translated into 35 languages, the books have sold more than 20 million copies in Italy alone, and more than 40 million worldwide.

Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori meanwhile will contribute its leadership position in magazines for children. With a circulation of 160,000 copies, Focus Junior is Italy’s top monthly for young readers and is conceived as an educational and entertaining tool that allows kids to “have fun learning”.

THE CONTENT

The content mix of the new monthly is a perfect balance of fun and learning. The character of Geronimo Stilton and his numerous family members accompany readers through pages of games, jokes, cartoons and English, as well as diversions into the worlds of art, history, literature and, of course, science.

The magazine has 64 pages and will sell for €3.50 with, as a gift, the poster of the “Isola dei topi”. The planned print run for the first issue is of 150,000 copies.

Advertising sales for Focus Geronimo Stilton are managed by PRS.

Focus Brain Trainer is rolled out with a new look and important new offerings inside.
The Gruner+Jahr/Mondadori monthly dedicated to “gymnastics for the brain” lands on the newsstands with a completely new layout and updated and engaging games (cover price 2.90 euros). The makeover is immediately visible on the cover, which is itself a logic game that puts readers immediately to the test.

“We are proud of the results obtained by the new Focus Brain Trainer”, said deputy editor Mauro Gaffo. “It is the fruit of reflections, experiments and a regular exchange of ideas over the last six months with our readers. The new release has above all more space for images and various news items and curiosities from the world of logic games.”

With the objective of being ever more stimulating for its readers, the new Focus Brain Trainer is divided into four sections that vary continually. There are logic and number-based games as well as those based on words and intuition. The true novelty is the introduction of image-based exercises (sketches, photos, comic strips) that have a strong visual impact. Almost every page of the monthly is accompanied by an aphorism from a famous author that refers to the theme of the game.

A true novelty of the restyling is a new section for online games that enriches the print copy of the magazine. Clicking on www.focus.it (in Brain Trainer) it is possible to have fun playing new games such as “circuito chiuso.”

The success of the new editorial formula of Focus Brain Trainer is consolidated with other editorial initiatives for the summer of 2010. For Sudoku fans, beginning on July 10 Scuola di Sudoku, a special dedicated to the celebrated Japanese game, will be available on newsstands (cover price 5.90 euros). It will have 12 complete lessons and 84 diagrams as part of a new course for all adults whether they be Sudoku neophytes or cunning experts. Together with the magazine, readers will also find the rerelease of n. 1 and n. 2 of Sudoku 10 e lode, the pamphlet with hundreds of diagrams of varying difficulty. To conclude the rich summer offering of Focus Brain Trainer, there will also be in August the release of Super Logik n. 4, the magazine-book dedicated to the best puzzles in the world.

Mondadori and ITP have signed an agreement for the publication of the Bahrain edition of Grazia, which is expected to hit the newsstands in September, bringing the total number of international editions of Grazia to 16.

Grazia Bahrain will be published monthly and in English. Circulation for the new foreign edition of the title, a symbol of Italian fashion and style, is expected to be over 10,000 copies and it will be distributed both through newsstands and at large-scale retail outlets with special display stands. The Bahrain edition will operate alongside Grazia United Arab Emirates, which was successfully launched (also under a licensing agreement with ITP) in November 2005.

“Mondadori is delighted to have reached this new agreement with ITP,” declared Zeno Pellizzari, the Mondadori Magazine Division’s head of International Activities and Syndication. “This is another step in the direction of ever-closer cooperation between our two companies. ITP already publishes, successfully and to very high standards of quality, the edition of Grazia for the market of the United Arab Emirates and we are confident they will do the same with Grazia Bahrain,” he concluded.

Uniquely in the market, Grazia Bahrain will be an innovative up-scale monthly aimed at meeting the needs of an evolved and style-conscious readership.

The sections of the magazine will range from fashion and beauty, and from international celebrities to unmissible news, and will target the constantly growing number of women interested in keeping up with new trends in fashion and beauty.

“The launch of an edition of Grazia specifically conceived for our country is the direct result of the rapid emergence of Bahrain as the fashion hub of the Middle East,” claimed Ali Awaki, managing director of ITP Consumer Publishing. “With the opening of the exclusive Fashion Mall, which has given Bahrain its first show rooms for up-scale brands and led to the opening of other icon stores, such as New York’s Saks Fifth Avenue, there was a need for an internationally renowned, high-quality fashion magazine to meet the growing expectations of the market,” concluded Mr Akawi.

ITP

ITP is the biggest publisher of business and consumer magazines in the Middle East. In addition to magazines, the internet and online titles, the company’s activities also include specialised magazines and event organisation.

Mondadori has signed an agreement with the publisher Rayli Magazine House Beijing concerning cooperation between the interior design monthly Casaviva and the Chinese magazine Rayli Home which, starting with the July issue, will also carry the logo of the Italian title on the cover.

This initiative expands and consolidates the partnership between Casaviva and Rayli Home that began five years ago when content from the Mondadori title began to successfully appear in the Chinese magazine. “The Casaviva brand and logo will now make a direct appearance in the country, the first step towards the title’s penetration of the market with the world’s highest growth rate,” affirmed Zeno Pellizzari, the Mondadori Magazine Division’s head of International Activities and Syndication.

“This is a great opportunity for us to collaborate with Mondadori and we hope to be able to continue consolidating this partnership, also by expanding into new areas,” declared An Na, vice president of Rayli Magazine House Beijing.

Rayli Home, which was launched in China in 1998, is the most acclaimed and widely circulated interior design magazine in the country. The title has already won two important awards; in 2009 it was included among the “Top 30 valuable magazines for Ad Placement in China” and, for two years running, it was awarded the “Home Magazine Benchmark Brand” prize of the Columbia Journalism Review.

Casaviva, the Mondadori interior design monthly, leader in the sector in Italy, has also been published abroad since 2006, with editions in Thailand, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and India.

Grazia Cina is a media partner of the Italian Pavilion at the Universal Exposition in Shanghai which begins on 1 May.

A showcase for made in Italy excellence in China, the area dedicated to Italy has in Grazia – an international ambassador of Italian style – the ideal partner. Grazia is the only weekly in the world published in Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy as well as other leading foreign markets.

The journalists of Grazia China were able to have a preview, accompanied by the Italian government’s General Commissioner for the 2010 Shanghai Universal Exposition Beniamino Quintieri, of the Italian pavilion and to complete an exclusive fashion shoot Song Jia, one of China’s most talented actresses. The photographs, published this week in the magazine, have as a running theme the multiple facets of Made in Italy, as inspired by a range of Italian designers.

Grazia China will also produce an official guide for all of the events organised at the Italian Pavilion: ‘Grazia Expo Express’ will be a live showcase of the Expo, what’s new and what should not be missed. The guide is published from today across China as a monthly supplement to Grazia (a circulation of over 600,000) and will be distributed with an extra print run directly from the Italian Pavilion, in six separate issues over the course of the Expo.

Grazia China, the country’s first news and style glossy, was launched in 2009 thanks to an agreement between the Mondadori Group and SEEC Media Group Limited. The magazine celebrated its first anniversary in March with a special issue, which sold out in just two days, and a series of promotional activities that were widely successful around the country. Grazia China is also online at www.grazia.onlylady.com.

Mondadori and Mediengruppe Klambt signed an agreement for the German edition of the weekly Grazia, which is expected to make its first appearance in German newsstands from next February.

Following the successful launches in the UK and France, with this licence the international expansion of the Grazia brand adds a significant new area of the European market. Indeed, Germany is one of the most important countries in terms of circulation and revenues in the magazine sector, with annual sales of more than 2 billion copies (2008 IVW figures) and €3.1 billion in gross advertising revenues (Nielsen Media Research figures for 2008). The women’s sector on its own – which includes entertainment and celebrity titles, service titles and fortnightly and monthly lifestyle titles – last year sold some 801.4 million copies and generated gross advertising revenues of more than €1 billion.

“The launch of Grazia Germany consolidates the reach of the Mondadori weekly in Europe’s most important and profitable markets”, declared Zeno Pellizzari, head of the Mondadori Magazine Division’s international activities and syndication area.

“The UK and French editions have achieved exceptional results and, along with the Italian edition, these four editions will represent a unique and unparalleled proposal: no other international publisher has such a vast weekly offer. Grazia Germany will also fill a gap in the already rich German women’s magazine market as the only weekly lifestyle title,” concluded Pellizzari.

The other strong European markets, the United Kingdom and France, are producing very positive results.

Grazia UK reported average sales of 228,694 in the first half of 2009 (source: ABC) with a significant increase in terms of value (+18.3%) and pages (+19.8%) on the advertising side in the third quarter of the year, especially when compared with the average trends in the up-market women’s segment (-14.3% and -14.2% respectively; source: Nielsen).

Grazia France, which was launched in August 2009, reached a total average circulation of 198,521 copies with the first fourteen issues (OJD figures to 30 November 2009) with an average of more than 30 advertising pages per issue.

Alongside the increasingly strong presence of the brand in Europe, the expansion of the Grazia International Network has continued to be marked in countries with the highest growth potential – Russia, China and India – as well as South East Asia, with recent launches in Thailand and Indonesia.

MEDIENGRUPPE KLAMBT

The origins of the company go back to the publishing house in Silesia founded by Wilhelm Wenzel Klambt in 1843. In over 160 years of publishing activities, magazine publishing, in particular, has remained at the centre of the company’s attention.

There are currently more than 50 titles in the portfolio; including, the Germany edition of OK! which is published in a joint venture with Northern & Shell and is the country’s most recent and fastest growing people title which, with a jump of 34% in the third quarter of 2009, has reached sales of 239,000 copies. Klambt also publishes, in a joint venture with Gruner+Jahr, Healthy Living and in – Das STAR & STYLE Magazine: a new German format celebrity title that is among the most dynamic in the German market and recorded 20% growth in the third quarter of 2009 reaching sales of 295,000 copies. In a joint venture with Bauer, Klambt is also the publisher of Freizeitwoche, a mass-market weekly with a circulation of 500,000 copies.