Condé Nast to Cease Print Edition of Self Magazine

Another print magazine bites the dust. Last week Condé Nast announced that it would shut down the print edition of Self magazine after the

Subscription News: Condé Nast to Cease Print Edition of Self Magazine

Source: Self

Another print magazine bites the dust. Last week Condé Nast announced that it would shut down the print edition of Self magazine after the February 2017 issue. Executive digital director Carolyn Kylstra has been named the editor-in-chief, replacing Joyce Chang who joined Self in 2014. Chang will be among approximately 20 job cuts, reports WWD.

Discontinuing the print edition is part of Condé Nast’s plans to revitalize Self, transforming it into a digital, video and social brand. Self will publish special editions throughout the year, and it will continue to print the Chinese edition of the magazine, said Condé Nast in an announcement. The changes are an extension of changes made earlier this year with a redesign and relaunch of Self.com.

According to statistics, the online rebranding of Self has been successful thus far. In September 2016, Condé Nast had a banner month, drawing 5.3 million unique viewers, a 56 percent increase year-over-year. The magazine also had its highest engagement with 49 million total minutes spent, a 460 percent increase over the same period last year.

Subscription News: Condé Nast to Cease Print Edition of Self Magazine

Source: Self

“Audiences are more discerning than ever about how they live, and in Self, we have a popular and established brand that speaks directly to the burgeoning health and wellness movement,” said Anna Wintour, artistic director of Condé Nast and editor-in-chief of Vogue. “Carolyn has played a pivotal role in refining and focusing Self and understands how to create content that excites and inspires our audiences.”

Jim Norton, chief business officer and president of revenue for Condé Nast, commented on the new strategy:

“By many estimates, the health and wellness industry has surpassed pharmaceuticals in overall dollars spent, and at $3.4 trillion dollars annually, has become a leading growth category for both audiences and advertisers alike. By re-imagining how Self creates content -and how we distribute it, we are uniquely positioned to give consumers more of what they love while creating innovative and engaging opportunities for our advertising partners,” Norton said.

WWD reports that paid and verified circulation for Self was under 1.5 million with single-copy sales around 44,000 for the first half of the year (per Alliance for Audited Media). Circulation in 2014 was just over 1.5 million with single-copy sales just over 148,000. Last November Condé Nast completely closed Details magazine, a fashion magazine for men in their late 20s and 30s.

In early November, Condé Nast announced it was reducing the frequency of Teen Vogue from monthly to quarterly, citing the same strategy – a more digital, video and social brand – as the reason for the change.

Insider Take:

Similar to newspapers, magazines are struggling to transition from print to digital, failing to generate enough digital revenue to offset the decline in print subscriptions and single-copy sales and reduced print advertising. Condé Nast is not alone in reimagining and redirecting its energy to a multi-tiered strategy.

Last week we wrote about Bloomberg’s planned reinvention of Businessweek which will see “deep change” early next year under new leadership. In September, Consumer Reports announced its own redesign, adding changes in content, a new color scheme, rating system and memberships to the mix.

We expect to see more of this in 2017 as magazines continue to rebrand themselves through print redesigns, website relaunches and a greater focus on digital and social. Like Consumer Reports, we also see the possibility for business model shifts whether it is adding other revenue streams like subscription box offshoots, VIP subscriptions or other changes. Some magazines will make the cut and continue on, and those that aren’t gaining ground will be permanently shuttered.

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