UK publishers including Bauer Media, Future plc, Hearst UK, Immediate, DC Thomson, and Condé Nast, have jointly funded an industry-wide campaign, led by the Professional Publishers Association (PPA), to champion the enduring value of print.
Launching today under the banner Magazines. In the World's Best Interests, with creative from London agency Weirdo, it's the first time in a decade that competing publisher brands have united behind a single, dedicated campaign to promote their brands at retail.
Participating publishers have pledged over £2 million in media value, with the campaign running in evolving phases over the next 18 months, says the PPA. Bauer Media is additionally contributing outdoor and audio media in October, extending the campaign's reach beyond publishers' own titles.
The PPA coordinated the coalition of publishers: Anthem, Bauer Media, Condé Nast, DC Thomson, Story House Egmont, Future PLC, Hearst UK, Immediate, and New Scientist.
The UK's two leading magazine distributors, Frontline and Marketforce, are backing the campaign on the ground and working directly with retailers to strengthen shelf presence and reinforce confidence in the category at the point of sale.
The campaign's central invitation is to take time out for the things you love - whether that's film, music, fashion, fishing or cars - and enjoy uninterrupted time with your passion, and the community of people who share it. Because magazines have always done more than inform, they bring people together around what they care about most. The campaign celebrates that spirit - trusted, curated content made by real people, actively chosen by readers, while shining a particular light on the unique experience of print.
The launch creative, Editor's Note, ran inside participating titles from 1 October, with a short, personal thank you from each editor to their reader for choosing a printed copy. Editorial teams from participating publishers who are collectively responsible for over 200 titles will create brand-specific messaging for their own audience and subject matter, all built around a shared message architecture developed by Weirdo. Further iterations are planned in the coming months.
While the campaign shines a spotlight on print, it is explicitly not a campaign against digital, added the PPA. The trusted editorial brands of publishers today, reach readers across print, digital, social, newsletters, audio and podcasts, and this campaign will run across all of these owned channels, reflecting the full breadth of modern media brands rather than treating print and digital as competing choices.
Sajeeda Merali, CEO of the PPA, said: "PPA Member brands have never been just one format. They're a relationship with a reader, wherever that reader chooses to meet them. This campaign isn't about turning back the clock on digital, it's about reminding people why print earns its place in the media mix too: the trust it carries, and the simple pleasure of uninterrupted reading. Getting publishers who are naturally competitors, to fund and back a single campaign says everything about how strongly this industry believes in their own product."
Amrit Baidwan, CEO, UK Publishing, Bauer Media, said: "Most of us know what it's like to lose an hour to a screen and have no idea where it went. A magazine works the other way. You pick it up because you chose to, and you put it down having spent time with something you're passionate about, be that walking, music, fashion, celebrity or whatever it is you're into. And time spent on the things you love is never time wasted, that's why we believe magazines are firmly in the world's best interests. It's a message bigger than any one publisher, which is why it matters that the industry is standing together to say it. And because our audiences move fluidly between our print titles, digital platforms, podcasts, events and social channels, we'll be championing this message loudly and collectively across all the ways readers find our content."
Ben Oakden, managing director, Marketforce, said: "Retailers see the impact of a well-supported category every day and when publishers invest together, it shows at the point of sale. Promoting physical copies of magazines gives us a genuinely unified message to take into stores, at a time when shelf space is more contested than ever. This isn't ten publishers each making their own case individually; it's the whole sector standing behind print together, and that's a far more powerful conversation to have with retailers."
Phil Melling, sales and new business director, Frontline, said: "We've long believed that print's biggest opportunity lies in reminding both retailers and readers of its value, and this campaign helps do that, at scale. Seeing competing publishers align behind one campaign sends a clear signal: this industry isn't standing still, it's actively investing in its future. We're proud to be supporting that message on the ground, in the stores where readers make their choice."
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