The outlook for magazines in 2023 (2024)

Smartphones and tablet devices are contributing to the continued popularity of magazines. With greater availability of high-speed broadband, streaming and downloading online content has become even more popular. Publishers are creating content in digital formats for mobile users to improve customer engagement and reach a wider audience.

Increasing use of interactive advertisem*nts in print magazines is also having a positive impact that is contributing to the anticipated growth.

Magazine publishers have found innovative ways to allow their readers to interact and relate with magazine content and advertising. This includes attracting readers to websites using campaign-specific links and interactive printed advertisem*nts that attract attention and build brand awareness. Some alter the content readers see, depending on their responses in real time.

GQ France, for example, launched a new mobile app to improve the digital experience for its subscribers. It offers content from the printed magazine adapted for digital devices, a daily feed of exclusive content about style, fashion, food and wellbeing, especially curated for its subscribers with shoppable content. It also offers additional masterclasses, podcasts, and weekly competitions.

The evolution of automated programmatic advertisem*nt buying is also increasing adoption of magazines as focused advertising platforms. These advertisem*nts look like a part of the editorial content on a page to increase the likelihood they will be noticed.

Companies are also launching their own magazines to market products and services, especially in Europe. These include the automotive and consumer goods sectors. Other European magazine publishers are updating their magazines and improving content to build customer loyalty and to attract new customers.

Magazine advertising continues to appeal because audiences can be clearly targeted, content is good and often very creative, reproduction quality is high, and readers can choose what they browse – all of this helps to increase reader involvement. There’s also a growing interest in the level of brand awareness that can be generated to complement other platforms.

Demand for creative and interactive print advertising is increasing, especially due to the diversity of magazine titles that focus on education, entertainment, information, and other customer needs, both privately and in business. These high-interest readers offer added value to advertisers.

Complementary content such as podcasts will provide additional access to an audience that increasingly likes to use voice searches and voice assistants.

Printed magazines are expected to have a significant share of the predicted growth. Print magazines like Pulse are published periodically, so reliable delivery is an important consideration. Managing the whole supply chain can be difficult and this can have an effect on costs. However, people still prefer to read printed magazines and trust the content they find there, which is helping to drive growth.