In the last ABCs, OK! won the glory for a sales peak, helped in no small part by its access to Jordan and Peter Andre's wedding. But with no such scoops this time around, Emap's Closer has taken the lead for the first time, having added 50,000 sales in the past year.
Emap has also extended the brand online with closerdiets.com and has also grown Heat on mobile and digital radio, as well as launching First at the end of this ABC period. Early reports have suggested First is falling some way short of its 150,000 target circulation though.
With Heat in second place, the publisher is leaving IPC trailing in its wake. Now has gone from market leader to fourth place in a year and has lost as many readers in the past 12 months as Closer has gained.
IPC has cut back its marketing spend on the title, arguing that ads create short-term spikes rather than loyalty - although the circulation drop suggests readers are seeking out younger titles.
IPC is now planning a major launch early next year and the smart money is on a second celebrity title to claw back market share.
Hello! distanced itself from OK! with a return to its upmarket roots. It increased its ABC by 3.3% period on period, helped by securing the rights to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's baby photographs. "We're in a curiously separate niche again, rather than competing with similar offerings from the rest of them," says publisher-at-large Sally Cartwright. Claudine Collins, press director at MediaCom, praised the publisher's efforts: "It's got its act together after a period when it was trying to decide which direction to take it in. It's got a clearer identity."
However, it could all change next time around, as OK!'s recent splash on Ashley Cole and Cheryl Tweedy's wedding is thought to have sold more than a million copies.
_1.jpg)
.jpg)