Why more brands are starting print magazines

Despite what you might have heard about the death of print, more and more businesses – especially young companies looking to build their brand – are establishing their own print magazines.

One notable recent example is luggage company Away, which started publishing its in-house magazine Here in 2017 after noticing that people were calling its customer service line looking for travel tips.

Away hired an in-house editorial team to curate content for the publication, which features crisp design, beautiful images and stories from around the world. The magazine is included with each luggage order, so anyone receiving it has a certain amount of income and is about to travel. As a direct-to-consumer company, Away understand the demographics of their customer base, which has a clear appeal for advertisers and partners.

What are the benefits?

In the smartphone-worshipping 21st century, print may not seem like the obvious choice, but a successful brand magazine will add value to your customer’s experience, provide useful information about your audience demographics, and can even generate advertising revenue. Creating and sharing curated content that appeals to your target market is and has always been one of the most rewarding ways to attract new customers and nurture brand loyalty.

It’s not necessary to take on a whole new team of staff, either. An external partner with editorial, content and print expertise can lessen the financial commitment and the time needed to get your magazine out into the world. Most important is to remember to:

• Build your product stories around people.
• Balance high quality, independent editorial content against commercial goals – this isn’t a catalogue.
• Use great visual design and photo-heavy stories that speak of your brand values.
• Combine print and digital for maximum success: print provides a unique offline experience, whereas digital can be set up to convert sales more easily.

Away is far from the only business to launch a magazine as a way to help expand their brand. Mattress brand Casper have Woolly Magazine, and skincare brand The Lore Company recently launched The Lores. ASOS magazine, launched way back in 2006, is often cited as a successful example of a brand using a print magazine to engage its audience, featuring celebrity interviews and photo shoots as well as other content relevant to the demographic.

Though some advertisers are hesitant to invest in print to the extent they have in the past, user behaviours don’t match this prejudice against the medium – people still enjoy the experience of reading magazines. The tactility of print and the ritual of sitting down to read a magazine won’t be replaced soon or easily.