Industry

• ‘Hearst UK’ is a publishing organisation (conglomerate) which publishes 21 magazines in the UK, including; ‘ELLE’, ‘Good Housekeeping’, ‘Women’s Health’ as well as ‘Men’s Health’. It is owned through horizontal integration by ‘Hearst Communications’ (an American mass media company based in New York that is over 130 years old)
• The Magazine was founded by Mark Bricklin in 1986. Originally, the content was solely based on health.
• “The worlds largest men’s magazine brand” – 38 editions in 64 countries.
• “More than 21 million readers across social and digital platforms”

Audience

Statistics from Jan to Dec 2021:

• An average of a 89,811 circulation per issue (how many copies distributed)
• 26% of copies were purchased digitally
• 74% of copies were purchased as paper copies

Statistics from Men’s Health Media Kit:

• “It’s (Men’s Health) the brand for active, successful, professional men who want greater control over their physical, mental and emotional lives.” This links Young and Rubicam’s theory on psychological profiles and how media audiences are often segmented into groups, based on what they want to gain. Perhaps, Men’s Heath are trying to connect with ‘The Explorer, The Aspirer and The Succeeder,” Men who are motivated and up for adventure and action.
• Their consumer profile states that 67% of their readers are married, engaged or with a partner. Additionally, 66% of the readers are college educated. The consumer profile also highlights that 5.3 Million of readers are adventure/ thrill seekers and 11.4 Million strive to live healthily. Perhaps, the magazine is trying to project to a more wealthy, educated, middle class audience who travel, can afford good quality products and are motivated by affluency and culture. This is evident in the advertisements featured throughout the edition.
• The most common demographic is men, aged 18-45. Implying that the magazine tailors its content to the younger population.
• Social Media presence ——–> 8.9 M – Facebook, 4.4M – Twitter, 1.7M – Instagram.

On the Hearst UK website, they offer three different plans of how to access the magazine. The ‘Print Magazine plan’ only gives access to the print version whereas the other two plans give you access to the digital subscription and other benefits, including fitness plans, advice from coaches and full access to the website. Perhaps the magazine is trying to move away from the paper world and is trying to go digital because this brings about new benefits/ more interactivity.

• ‘MH-18’ a spin-off magazine of Men’s Health was produced in August 2000 to try to engage with a teenager demographic. This links to David Hesmondhalgh’s idea that media companies need to find ways to find new audiences, whilst keeping the loyalty of avid readers as a way of reducing risk.