Rumours of print’s demise have been flying around for years, but magazines are one format that refuses to die. If anything, as life grows busier, faster and more overwhelming, mags – simple, lo-fi, unscrollable – are enjoying a moment.
Of course we’re biased. Whether you read us online or flip through our pages, NZ Marketing is a magazine.
Of course (you might say) we’re going to tell you that magazines are a fantastic format. They deliver a visceral, physical, deeply engaging experience that is a joy for readers and a dream for marketers.
We’re living in a bubble (you might say), an echo chamber with paper-thin walls. Of course we’re convinced magazines are an ideal way to reach niche audiences, primed to embrace your message.
Of course we’re going to say that, and not just because it’s true. This feature was already well under way when an email confirmed the magazine industry’s sticking power.
The subject line read: “Cosmopolitan magazine returns to Aotearoa.”
After six years, the women’s lifestyle magazine is making its way back to New Zealand “at a significant time for the local media landscape”, says Australian Publisher Katarina Kroslakova.
It’s real-world proof that the demand for magazines is ticking up. After the seemingly never-ending rise of digital media, some consumers are spending less time on screens. Instead, they’re focusing more on the tangible experiences magazines offer.
Research firm Roy Morgan found that in 2024, 2.71 million Kiwis over the age of 14 are reading newspapers or magazines. That’s more than half of New Zealand’s population!
The VMA – recently formed from a merger of the Real Media Collective and the Visual Media Association – is proudly reporting that nearly 80% of the 48 magazine titles surveyed reported readership increases over 2023-2024.
The numbers sound great. But how is the vibe in publishing land? Are editors and publishers feeling the increased demand for magazines in audiences’ lives? And more importantly, after years of shrinking ad spend, will brands wake up and smell the printing ink?
Served on a gold dish
“We’ve had the best year that we’ve had for many years,” says Sarah Tuck, Editor and CEO at dish magazine.
As of March 2025, dish is the most successful food and lifestyle magazine in the country. It has a retail circulation of 15,660 (and an average sell-through of 77%), plus a subscription base of 16,000.
Tuck says there’s a real, almost sacrosanct experience to holding a magazine. It’s something you can’t get from scrolling on a phone.
“It’s a tactile experience, you’re actually touching something and that makes it different. You can take your phone anywhere. But its not the same as with a magazine – turning on music, lighting the fire in winter, pouring a drink and then flipping through the pages,” she says.
According to the VMA, 57% of Kiwis are taking steps to limit their use of technology.
Tuck adds: “Even the physical act of turning the pages creates deeper engagement. That is quite a different experience.”
With audiences living in a fast-paced world with an oversaturation of content online. And no control over what they see, the demand for slow content like magazines is on the rise.
This yearning for a gentler pace has helped dish magazine boost subscriptions to its highest level since 2016.
Tuck emphasises that the content in dish magazine is completely different to what audiences can find online – and exactly what they need.
Content that fits
Conducting twice-yearly surveys, Tuck says they know their readers. Unlike an algorithm, that works off what has been clicked on or watched for a number of seconds, dish actually asks its audience what they want to read.
“We get this invaluable information, and we can target what they want. We know where they like to go on holiday, what they eat, who they’re cooking for. With all this knowledge, we can tailor the content accordingly,” she adds.
“The content is beautifully curated with the audience in mind – there is nothing irrelevant, untargeted or jarring.”
Readers love magazines … forever
dish magazine also has staying power. It’s a more flexible alternative to coffee table books and is likely to stay in a household for years.
“The reader relationship with dish is unlike any other media. The commitment is quite different. Not only do they buy the magazine (or go online), but then they go and buy the ingredients.
“They spend time cooking the food, enjoying it with loved ones or give it to them,” says Tuck.
“The level of trust is unlike any other media, which is generally impersonal and removed.”
As a magazine with the highest cross-platform audience of all food and lifestyle magazines according to Roy Morgan (and fourth in NZ across all titles), dish knows its audience on a digital level too.
And because the team know what readers want, the dish audience is incredibly engaged.
Take a look at the dish community Facebook group. A private group of dedicated members sharing cooking tips and their favourite recipes. Posts are shared daily and members interact with one another as well as the dish team.
Tuck says there are a large number of readers who have collected every issue since day one of the magazine. Thats 20 year’s worth.
Eyeballs just waiting for ads
Despite the magazine’s continued success, publishing faces major challenges. One of the biggest is advertising support.
“The issue isn’t the lack of audience, it is the lack of understanding about what we can deliver to advertisers. A lot of media buyers are younger, who may not read magazines. Sometimes I wonder if that has an impact on media spend. It means brands are missing out on the opportunity to get eyeballs from high-socio, high-disposable income, 45-plus audiences,” she says.
Though she’s keen to point out, dish readers aren’t all old. “We also have a dedicated fanbase of late 20s and upwards who are discovering cooking and dish is their go-to.
“Spend is spread across many media and PR channels. The success of titles will partly depend on how compelling and well-rounded their offering is. And how well they can build relationships. Deliver the time, attention, results and creative output that clients and media buyers seek.
Though advertising support can be challenging, dish is still expecting 2025 to be its biggest year. From more annual special editions, cookbooks, a growing digital offering and a developed shop page. There are more dishes to come.
Shopping with Are
In 2020, the media industry was shocked when Bauer Media, the publisher of some of New Zealand’s biggest titles, closed.
The German multimedia company made the decision after a review during Covid-19.
But three months later, Australian private equity firm Mercury Capital bought Bauer Media. They rebranded it to Are Media, saving titles like NZ Listener, Woman’s Day, and Kia Ora.
North & South and Metro were bought independently.
Five years after one of the biggest shocks to New Zealand journalism, Are Media is thriving like never before. Nielsen shows Are titles NZ Listener, NZ Woman’s Day, Kia Ora, Australian Women’s Weekly and NZ Women’s Weekly are in the top 10 magazines by average issue print readership.
That means Are Media titles have a cumulative readership of more than 1.8 million readers.
General Manager of Are Media Stuart Dick says magazines currently hold a very important place in the New Zealand media landscape.
Echoing Tuck, he says magazines offer a unique and tangible experience with quality reading.
“There is so much content being produced these days, anyone can be a content creator. People keep coming back because they know their magazine content is produced by experts and published with care,” says Dick.
“When you’re reading a magazine, you’re fully immersed in that experience.
“You’re absorbing the information that you’re reading rather than just staring at a screen, you’re fully engaged.”
Audiences continue to show up for Are Media’s titles in large numbers. Now, the company is branching into shopping – an important aspect of many magazines.
Are Media goes omnichannel
Wanting to find other revenue streams that worked with its products, Are Media looked at its parent company in Australia for inspiration.
As technology evolves, Dick says Are Media’s titles have “to meet the audience where they are”.
Magazine communities are unlike any other. Readers are more likely to trust an editor’s curated shopping list than a Google search result.
“You have to innovate and evolve from being just a one-channel entity to an omnichannel entity,” he adds. “That’s the core strategy: to evolve into a omnichannel content commerce experience.”
Previously, Are Media’s titles sent their audience elsewhere to make a transaction. But now, the company is encouraging readers to purchase within the (digital) magazine environment.
This is not only convenient, it also allows revenue from commission.
Are Media’s strategy has been most successful with Your Home and Garden. It has a loyal audience and readership of 109,000, according to Nielsen, and more than 250,000 followers across social channels.
Showing readers purchasable items in both digital and physical articles builds trust in the products being promoted. It also provides an opportunity to commercialise editorial.
“It works for us,” says Dick.
Are Media’s diversification plans don’t stop there. They extend to partnerships with NZME, where
NZ Listener posts its digital content.
Dick says that allowed the title to capture its audience who were heading into the digital space, along with NZ Herald’s premium subscribers.
Partnering with NZME made sense. Rather than adding to the already fragmented playing field,
NZ Listener team can make use of the market leader’s scale. And add their title’s trusted quality content to deliver better results for both companies.
I’m just here for the crossword
One of the most read magazines in New Zealand is TV Guide, with more than 147,000 people poring over each issue, according to Roy Morgan.
The weekly magazine provides entertainment news, puzzles and most importantly, the TV listings.
Joanna Norris, Managing Director of Masthead Publishing at Stuff, says TV Guide is an enduring title and remains a positive choice for Kiwis.
“TV Guide is sitting at around 287,000 monthly readership. That is enormous in terms of its capacity to engage people,” says Norris.
“We always describe it as ‘the little magazine that could’ – because it keeps on tracking.”
Norris often thinks about why TV Guide is still so popular.
“Obviously, people have many other options for obtaining the listings. We know the puzzles are really popular in TV Guide. But people just like to take that moment out of their day. Get away from their screens, sit back with a cup of tea, do the TV Guide crossword and have a little read – moments of escapism,” she says.
“It’s safe content. It’s quite separate from some of that toxicity that we see in social media channels,” she says.
“Publications like TV Guide, our magazines, and news platforms are edited, curated, and managed by people who believe in making Aotearoa better. This sets them apart from social channels.
The crossword might be a main appeal of TV Guide. But it provides a tangible experience away from the digital world.
So does Stuff have any plans to change TV Guide entirely into a puzzle magazine? “We’d have to give it a new name,” chuckles Norris.
“Puzzles will continue to be an important part of the mix. Especially for people who love doing a puzzle with their cup of coffee.”
Insert magazine here
There is more to magazines than the titles you find at supermarket checkouts. Welcome to the world of newspaper inserted magazines.
Think stitched travel inserts, or glossies in the Sunday papers.
One of the most popular is Viva, a weekly magazine all about fashion, food, beauty, design and lifestyle that comes out every Wednesday with the NZ Herald.
With a readership of 117,000, according to Roy Morgan, the magazine has been part of Kiwi culture for over 25 years now, says Stephanie Holmes, NZ Herald Lifestyle and Travel Editor, Premium.
“Our audience knows they can turn to Viva to keep them informed, updated and entertained across a wide range of topics. Spanning from fashion to food, to arts, to home design, to music and pop culture,” she says.
Newspaper inserted magazines provide relief from the digital realm. And also the harsh news that might appear in the rest of the NZ Herald.
New ways to connect
“In tough times, people often retreat to things that make them feel safe and in control. Magazines are like a little escape, filled with content you love and can relate to,” Holmes adds.
“Magazines are a personal platform and there are very few passive readers. Magazine readers are actively engaged and that makes a big difference.”
But it’s not just being in the NZ Herald every Wednesday that attracts readers. The lifestyle magazine is also seeking new ways to connect with its audience.
In November 2022, the brand launched Viva Premium, where premium subscribers can consume three times more content than regular readers.
It’s a complementary offering, says Holmes, rather than an excuse to neglect the rest of the audience.
“Our magazine allows readers to take their time and savour the moment as a welcome escape in their day,” she says.
“That experience continues online, albeit with added extras like video, extended photo galleries and links to further reading on related topics.”
This strategy has supported Viva in the current unstable media landscape. Loyal audiences of Viva’s print magazine are making use of its digital offering, giving it a unique position to have one of the highest active consumption within Aotearoa.
There’s life in the old mag yet
When audiences went digital, the move was seen at first as the deathknell for print, yet readers are now wanting a break from screens.
Magazines are sought after as a slower, luxurious and more engaging experience than the 24/7 online jumble sale. They reach niche audiences and hold their attention for a long time.
The readers are loyal, the content is curated and it makes a great addition to your coffee table.
Look, you’re reading one (online) now.
This story was published in NZ Marketing magazine issue 82, March-April 2025. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year delivered for just $50 if you autorenew. Essential marketing intelligence. Don’t miss it. Viva sought new ways to connect with audiences.
This story was published in NZ Marketing magazine issue 82, March-April 2025. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year delivered for just $50 if you autorenew. Essential marketing intelligence. Don’t miss it. Viva sought new ways to connect with audiences.
