The personal character of individual titles

There are differences not only between main categories of magazine but also between individual titles within a category. It is the subtle between-title variations of character which make the relationship between the reader and the chosen magazine such a strong personalised bond.

A good illustration of this is the women’s weekly magazine sector. To people who do not read any of these magazines they may seem rather similar, but to those who read them there are important distinctions to be made.

This was brought out by a qualitative survey called “Editorial Dynamics” conducted by Guidelines Market Research and published by Best magazine [10]. It interviewed regular readers of several of the leading women’s weeklies in order to establish the key differences between them, and the editorial strengths of each.

The predominant aspects of the self-image of the regular readers of each title were summed up in this way:

Magazine A readers saw themselves as trustworthy and reliable.
Magazine B: Caring and feminine.
Magazine C: Modern, sociable.
Magazine D: Chatty, “happy with my lot”.
Magazine E: Easy-going, family oriented.

The editorial approach of each weekly was characterised by its regular readers as follows:

Magazine A: Informative, friendly.
Magazine B: Caring, true to life.
Magazine C: Easy to read, young.
Magazine D: Varied, relaxed.
Magazine E: Entertaining, familiar.

These are substantial variations in the way the self-selected readers of these weeklies see themselves and their chosen titles. The women are different, they perceive the magazines as different, and accordingly they choose the magazines that closely match their own selves.

In the same way, there are vital distinctions between women’s fashion and style monthlies, even though they are often grouped together as though they were similar.

Evidence comes from a study carried out by RSGB and published by Vogue titled “Defining the Vogue Reader” [11], in which 677 in-home interviews were carried out among ABC1 women aged 20-54 who were readers of at least one of five magazines. The characters of the monthlies can best be summarised by the images created by words and phrases which readers associated with each title. The following list gives in rank order those words and phrases cited by 35% or more of readers:

Magazine F: good beauty ideas, good fashion ideas, credible, useful advertising, sex & relationships, intelligent.
Magazine G: prestigious, glamorous.
Magazine H: glamorous, the fashion bible, prestigious, good fashion ideas, trend setting, good beauty ideas.
Magazine I: sex & relationships, good beauty ideas, useful advertising, good fashion ideas, credible, trend setting.
Magazine J: (This magazine had a less well-defined image with no words or phrases being cited by 35% or more of readers. Those cited by more than 30% were good beauty ideas, good fashion ideas, and trend setting.)

While there is a certain degree of overlapping of image there are also many differences. Each magazine has it own unique positioning in the market.

The same is true in all sectors of consumer magazines, and many more examples could be cited.

The more graduated and subtle distinctions between publications are made not so much in terms of the topics covered but the tone of voice they convey. For example, for women’s magazines a division at the broadest level is whether their prime orientation is towards others (e.g. family, home, work) or towards ‘self’ (an informant in one discussion group commented “I want to feel I’m not just somebody’s mother, I’m a woman as well”); and in short what kind of emotional world they create.

While some people want to live in a brisk world of independent views, others want publications that are less demanding, less aggressive, and more cosy, motherly, friendly, domesticated and conservative. Or the same person at different times may be in different moods, and thus feels like reading a magazine to match the mood. The range of different psychological worlds offered by different magazines means that readers can select ones which are exactly ‘me’.