Publishing Strategies Publishing International 25
MAGAZINE PUBLISHER STRATEGY
Staying one step ahead
Publishing International spoke with Declan Moore,
international publisher of National Geographic.
Ask any publisher what the successful maga-
zine model will look like in the future, and
most will describe a brand with a clear, coher-
ent remit, imbued with a strong sense of self
and knowledge of its readers. Content would
be developed from a platform agnostic ap-
proach, so it can sit just as easily on the Web
or a television channel as it does between the
pages of a glossy magazine.
To ensure maximum engagement in this time pean study of the top 20% (39.5 million) of
starved age, pictures would be bold and pow- households.
erful; telling a story in themselves while entic- Once local language editions are added, this
ing eyeballs to read more. Strong horizontal rises to 5.7 million readers, or 14.4% of the
extensions would be a must too, allowing for total, the largest of any magazine in the sur-
truly integrated communications and effec- vey. So how has the mass circulating title
tive marketing campaigns. maintained its relevance?
Add to this the ease of a handbag-sized format “There appears to be two divergent growth
and an instantly recognisable front cover, and areas,” suggests Moore. “A flight to quality as
all that’s missing for a well-positioned product evidenced by the growth of ourselves, The
of the time is some genuine ‘green’ credentials Economist, BBC and others and, at the
with plenty of scope for international growth. same time, a significant spiral downmarket
Welcome to the 119-year-old National with celebrity/celeb-reality titles, TV shows
Geographic. and websites. Those without a clear position
It’s been three years since National Geo- that are stuck in the middle are the most
graphic (NG) moved its international head- vulnerable.”
quarters to London, led by the then general Moore joined NG in 1995, working first in
manager and now international publisher De- video and DVDs and then in the print licens-
clan Moore. In his role, Moore is responsible ing group. These early experiences have stood
for all the strategic planning, sales and mar- him in good stead in an age of convergence.
keting of the English-language magazine. His ability to harness the group’s extensions
Today, the magazine and its trademarked is now vital for growth. When announcing
yellow borders continues to play a key part Moore’s promotion in 2006, group publisher
in the NG Society’s august mission to inspire Stephen Giannetti highlighted this ability
as many people as possible to care about the of being able to align the magazine with the
planet. While many international titles have Society’s other global media, which includes
faltered, NG English recorded 2,196,000 NG TV, NG Kids, online, events and 32
readers in this year’s EMS, the pan Euro- local-language editions.
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