Men's Health - Industries case study

Men's Health - Industries case study blog tasks

This is a comprehensive case study covering a range of Industry contexts. It is divided into three sections: Hearst publishing, the impact of digital media and Men's Health online platforms. You will need to allow for at least two hours to work through the following tasks.

Hearst publishing


1) Hearst UK is part of Hearst Communications. What is Hearst Communications and where is it based?

Hearst communications is a mass media and business conglomerate based in New York.

2) What media industries and brands make up the Hearst Communications conglomerate?

The brands/industries that make up Hearst communications would be Cosmopolitan, Esquire, San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle.

3) What was the global revenue for Hearst Communications (in dollars) for the most recent year on record?

In the recent year their global revenue was 
10.8 billion.

4) Focusing on Hearst UK, what other magazine brands are part of Hearst UK publishing? How many UK people do they reach in print and online?

Hearst UK have been made up of Men's Health and cosmopolitan. They sell 4 million print magazines and reach 17 million digital readers.

CEO James Wildman's campaign interview about Hearst UK.

1) What is James Wildman's plan for Hearst UK?

James Wildman's plan for Hearst UK was "grow share in print to stem decline, accelerate growth in digital and diversify revenue through events and partnerships".

2) What percentage ad decline are consumer magazines facing?

The percentage ad decline that are displayed more than 10% this year.

3) What does Wildman think about premium content and paywalls?

Wildman states that premium content is something consumers should pay for however paywalls haven't been decided.

4) How has Hearst used diversification to grow the business?

Hearst has used diversification to grow through having partnerships with many firms and events.


Finally, read this Hearst UK press release for their late 2018 ABC figures and answer two simple questions:

1) Is Men's Health increasing or decreasing in circulation?

Men's Health is increasing with circulation by 0.51% with their newest campaign which spreads awareness about Men's mental health.

2) What does the press release say about recent successes associated with Men's Health?

The press states that Men's Health captures great success and is confident with retaining profit as Men's magazine.



The impact of digital media on the print magazines industry


1) Why are traditional print magazines struggling?

Traditional print magazines are struggling because the increase of digitalisation for magazines.

2) What genre of magazines is currently bucking the trend and increasing sales? Why is this?

The genre if magazine that is currently in trend and increasingly captivating sales are 'News and Current Affairs', this is because we've become more aware to our environment and want to be knowledgeable.

3) In contrast, what magazine genres are struggling? Give examples of magazines that have declined or stopped printing altogether.

Magazine genres that are currently struggling would be gossip and celebrity magazines as people are losing intrests in their agenda. An example of a magazine no longer or have declined in printing would be 'Redbook' no longer in print edition (2019).

4) Look at the Guardian article in detail. What statistics are provided to demonstrate the decline in the print magazines industry between 2010 and 2017? What about the percentage decline from 2000?

The print magazine decline between 2010 and 2017 was 42%. The percentage decline in the 2000s were less. 

5) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook?

The ad revenue taken by Google and Facebook has increased by 65% and generating about 4.7 billion dollars.

6) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age?

To be relevant in the digital age magazine publishers should diversify their content and give audiences something different to read from.

7) Why does the Hearst UK CEO James Wildman suggest that the magazine industry is not dead?

Wildman stated the magazine industry is 'not dead' because they generate 5 million digital readers.

8) What examples from the Guardian article are provided to demonstrate how magazines are finding new revenue streams? What is the Men's Health branding used for?

Magazines are now hosting and sponsoring events to help new revenue streams. Men's Health branding is used for reaching a wider range of consumers.

9) What signs for optimism might there be for traditional magazine brands?

The sign for optimism for traditional magazines are that they hold more power in terms of reliability and readers would rely on them for any response to a situation with respect.

10) How does Men's Health fit into this picture? Why do you think Men's Health has remained successful in the digital age? Do you think Men's Health will continue to publish for many years to come? Why?

Men's Health fit into this frame because they have remained successful in the digital age by adjusting to the changes and giving their readers the forms of traditional magazine publishing articles with ties to the new trends too. Yes, I think Men's Health will continue to publish over many years as they can profit from their original content whilst bringing in something new to readers.


The Men's Health website and social media

Visit the Men's Health website, Twitter feed and Instagram. Answer the following questions:

1) What similarities do you notice between the website and the print edition of the magazine?

The similarities between website and print magazines would be the colour scheme for their Twitter page and magazine stays constant to create synergy for their audience and their vocabulary whilst 'tweeting' stats the same. 

2) What is the Men's Health daily newsletter and what does it include? How does this help Hearst UK to make money?

The Men's Health daily is a newsletter that let's Men's Health readers sign up for daily updates on fitness, technology and fashion for men. This helps Hearst UK make money as it will generate more revenue from subscribers and increase their diversification. 

3) Look at the Men's Health website menu bar. What are the menu options? What does this suggest about the representation of men and masculinity associated with Men's Health?

The Men's Health menu bad on their website contains the headlines of fitness, workouts, dating women and entertainment etc. The representation of men is that they only care about their physical appearance and just being fit.

4) Choose one of the menu sections (e.g. Mental Strength) and write a list of the features in that area of the website. What target audience are these features aimed at?

One section of the menu section would be 'Sex, dating and women's the list of articles would be about sex and this would appeal to heterosexual men as most of the features under that menu section are about appealing to men however one article for homosexual men.

5) Do you think the Men's Health website is trying to sell the print version or simply build a digital audience? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a 'digital first' strategy?

Men's Health are trying to build their online presence to that they can reach a wider digital audience. The advantage would be to have a stronger relationship with their consumers digitally however the disadvantage would be that their print version of the magazine wouldn't be as popular.

6) How does the Men's Health Twitter feed use 'clickbait' to try and get users to click through to the magazine's website? Give examples of tweets that are designed to get the audience to click through.

Men's Health Twitter feed uses 'clickbait' to attract an audience through their choice of articles and mainstream articles an example would be "coronavirus- themed porn is a thing- and kinda turns me on". 

7) How does the Twitter feed and video content alongside text and links?

They use links that fit with their agenda such as fitness, workouts and fashion and they all have a reoccurring theme of celebrities and their home workouts.

8) What does the Men's Health Instagram suggest about the Men's Health brand? Is this appealing to a similar audience to the print version of the magazine?

The Men's Health Instagram page reflects their audience and brand as they post pictures that are displayed towards fitness and their agenda

9) Is the Men's Health social media designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?

Yes, their social media pages are designed to build a digital audience to that they can then go on to purchase their print magazines through "sneak peaks" on the latest issues.

10) Evaluate the success of the Men's Health brand online. Does it successfully communicate with its target audience? Will the digital platforms eventually replace the print magazine completely?

The Men's Health online presence does successfully communicate with their audience as it consists of synergy between the actual magazine and their social media pages which are solely based around metrosexuality and fitness. Yes, eventually the digital platform will replace the print magazine due to digitalisation but that's not necessarily a bad thing as it will generate a wider audience from men around the world and create a space for men to bound and learn.