By Colin Crummy
News International has continued its New Year charge into the magazine market with the launch of its second title, an interiors glossy aimed at "reinvigorating a tired market" by enticing men into a traditionally women’s sector.
The Sunday Times Inside Out, an aspirational monthly homes and interiors magazine, will also focus on the practicalities of the property market in a bid to woo male readers. It is backed by a £6 million marketing campaign to drive the title in a crowded sector which saw an overall drop of 5.1 per cent in last week’s ABCs.
The magazine has a "settle down" target of 100,000 readers within six months of its launch on 16 March, priced £3.20.
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Editor Lisa Helmanis, a contributor to The Sunday Times and former lifestyle editor of Living Etc, said Inside Out would go after readers from other titles, but hoped to grow the market.
She said Inside Out would be "a hybrid" of Elle Decoration, House & Garden and Build It and that the magazine’s Foundations section, advising readers on investment in their homes, home purchase and renovation, boosted its attraction to men.
"We think we can grow the sector because the Foundations section will appeal to men who aren’t usually buyers of interiors magazines," Helmanis added.
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Inside Out will address the relatively static property market, which means homeowners are investing in their current properties in the long term.
Helmanis said: "We are going to reinvigorate because [at present] our sector might not try risking its market share.
We don’t have anything to prove, the property market has changed and we’re the first magazine to respond to that."
The magazine will be given a considerable push with a TV campaign and 1.8 million sample copies going out with The Sunday Times, The Sunday Times Travel magazine and London Property News in key areas.
The title will target the affluent Sunday Times reader as the team behind the project worked closely with the Sunday Times Homes section on the concept. A dummy for Inside Out, based on an Australian version, was tried out almost two years ago, with the green light given to the project last October.
The magazine is the second launch by News Magazines since Love It!, its reallife title in January, with a third launch, reportedly a women’s title, slated for September.
Head of marketing Scott Williams said: "The huge commercial support the newspapers can deliver is a massive advantage that no other magazine publisher has. We have some really strong ideas and you potentially might see another launch this year. All I’d really say is watch this space; we’re not going to rush into anything."
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