Rodale's
Women's
Health was part of the club of magazines that enjoyed a September
issue bump. PIB paging for the month is up 29 percent compared to September
2012, and overall the magazine is up 32 percent in ad pages so far this year.
Yet the title has been busy expanding internationally as well, with 24 launches
since 2007 when it debuted. And the company says Women's Health was up 58
percent in unique visitors in June versus the same period last year.
Here, we speak with publisher Laura Frerer-Schmidt, who's been on the job for two years, about the brand's ad growth, the importance of experiential events and how the "wellthy" demographic is gaining prominence in the brand's positioning strategy.
FOLIO: Take us back two years to when you started. What were the areas that you felt Women's Health needed particular attention?
Laura Frerer-Schmidt: When I first started it was an interesting mix because the brand was coming off a couple of down years from an advertising perspective but circulation was very strong [total circ is now 1.6 million]. So there was something special here, and I knew there was a huge trend going on that was driving that circulation and that's when I found out about the term 'wellthy.'
Wellness is becoming the new cool, it's becoming the new luxury. An automotive brand that's running with us this year that ran almost nothing with us last year is Ford, which has been a sponsor of our Run 10 Feed 10 event and they’re very focused on the wellness trend.
Lots of advertisers, whether they’re beauty or fashion or fitness or auto are recognizing this wellthy trend and they are coming towards brands like Women’s Health. And they’re doing that because the consumers are already there.
Here, we speak with publisher Laura Frerer-Schmidt, who's been on the job for two years, about the brand's ad growth, the importance of experiential events and how the "wellthy" demographic is gaining prominence in the brand's positioning strategy.
FOLIO: Take us back two years to when you started. What were the areas that you felt Women's Health needed particular attention?
Laura Frerer-Schmidt: When I first started it was an interesting mix because the brand was coming off a couple of down years from an advertising perspective but circulation was very strong [total circ is now 1.6 million]. So there was something special here, and I knew there was a huge trend going on that was driving that circulation and that's when I found out about the term 'wellthy.'
Wellness is becoming the new cool, it's becoming the new luxury. An automotive brand that's running with us this year that ran almost nothing with us last year is Ford, which has been a sponsor of our Run 10 Feed 10 event and they’re very focused on the wellness trend.
Lots of advertisers, whether they’re beauty or fashion or fitness or auto are recognizing this wellthy trend and they are coming towards brands like Women’s Health. And they’re doing that because the consumers are already there.
