Dive Brief:
- Condé Nast is making some changes as print ad revenue continues to fall – it’s shutting down Details Magazine, and consolidating the sales and marketing departments of Self and Glamour.
- Print and digital subscriptions for Details had actually been rising, but single copy sales were down 30% the first half of this year.
- In response to dropping the title, the publisher will expand GQ Style in a bid to hang on to some of Details advertisers.
Dive Insight:
After 33 years on the newsstand, the December of issue of men’s magazine Details will be the last. The move comes as print ad revenue continues to fall. Bob Sauerberg, president of Condé Nast, said in an interview, “It’s been tough the last few months. Consumers love the magazine. It’s not fair or right.”
Condé Nast is also shaking up its women’s titles, Self and Glamour, by combining the sales and marketing teams looking to pitch the combined audiences of the differently targeted magazines to advertisers. A similar, but more drastic, move late last summer saw the publishing company combine two food outlets – its Bon Appétit food magazine with its Epicurious.com food website – to major revenue gains. The combined team for Self and Glamour will allow for pitching advertisers for both publications at the same time.
The publisher is cutting expenses, and has been actively building its digital footprint, including purchasing Pitchfork.com’s parent company, Pitchfork Media Inc. last month.
