Opinion
Media Choice: new look Woman's Own
25.04.2007Charlotte Mullan, Press Planner/Buyer This week saw the first issue of the revamped Woman’s Own. With the traditional women’s weekly market in ever decline, IPC have taken a cleaner, fresher look for their 75 year old title. The classic woman’s weekly has become less and less relevant for the 35-54 year old woman; her habits and attitudes have changed. Media owners have recognised that she feels younger and wants her magazine to reflect this; hence we have also recently seen the relaunch of Bella. The challenge across the board is to keep content relevant moving forward.
In order to reflect reader changes, WO has moved away from the classic woman’s weekly, with a more aspirational feel. WO had looked disjointed and cluttered, this image has been transformed with a slick and tidy appearance. There is a significant shift towards the celebrity market with the introduction of a key new section, Up-Front, focusing on celebrity and TV gossip. This now looks more controlled, orderly and employing GMTV’s Richard Arnold will do no harm. Fashion has seen a cleaner image, removing the use of models and replacing them with mannequins and Real Life features remain in a refreshed format.
As WO makes the transition from a traditional weekly to the celebrity and real life market, there is one question to ask – is there room for another title? With so many titles for consumers to choose from, I feel WO may cannibalise this market rather than growing it, what is their point of difference from any other title?! With a current median age of 46, WO may alienate their key audience with this younger look and feel, and with the cover price set to increase by 13%, only time will tell if their readers will continue reading!
