Publisher: NatMags
Jellyfish is NatMags' first digital weekly magazine, aimed at 13 to 19-year-old girls, sitting next to CosmoGirl! as a joint print/online proposition.
Circulations in the teenage market have continued to free fall, declining by almost a quarter in the past year. Given that this audience is at the forefront of digital take-up, it's a viable commercial opportunity.
Despite the poor ABC performance of this sector, girls still retain a strong relationship with their magazines. Among other things, they can communicate sensitive information and advice - a teenage girl can read about topics such as sex in the relative privacy of her bedroom. Compare this to visible computer screens in the home, open to prying eyes, and that relationship becomes entirely unrealistic.
Hence Jellyfish will focus solely on entertainment, fashion, beauty and music, and will strive to deliver the best of the web every week. There is a heavy celebrity focus, with video clips of teenage icons in the first few pages.
The user interface is almost identical to Dennis' digital men's weekly, Monkey, and uses the same Ceros technology - a good thing as Monkey has already proven a digital success by posting a credible ABCe of 209,612, above its original target.
Jellyfish is the slickest attempt I have so far seen from a web-based magazine, and for pertinent brands it could be a very interesting vehicle.
The Jellyfish test is to run for 14 weeks. It's posted at 3pm every Tuesday, so when teenage girls arrive home from school, it's a quick distraction before the inevitable homework. With the content provided, I'm positive Jellyfish will be a success.