These days, Londoners are able to access a vast and varied range of news and entertainment media, much of it for free. In print alone, their choice has proliferated to encompass four newspapers, a sports magazine, a men's magazine and numerous niche, micro-regional titles. Forgiving some shaky starts, all of the aforementioned now provide a level of quality editorial that keeps consumers coming back.
The question for paid-for titles is: how can they persuade consumers to continue to part with their cash when there is so much information available for free? For the likes of Time Out the answer has to be to use its combined revenue streams of subscription and advertising to invest in even better quality, targeted editorial.
Time Out "refreshed" itself as of its 23 January issue, beefing up to look, feel and read in a more contemporary style. Time Out has always been more than a listings guide, with over half its editorial devoted to consumer and lifestyle coverage. The perception problem previously was probably due to an awkward running order that placed a substantial amount of lifestyle editorial in the middle of the listings section, giving the impression there were more listings than there actually were. This has now moved to a more sensible slot at the front of the book.
Apart from a redesign that gives a much crisper feel, the investment has been focused on three areas in the front (food and drink, shopping and London) and one in the back (TV).
Bringing food and drink forward and expanding it reflects the current zeitgeist for all things food-related, while upping the amount of editorial about men's shopping is a nod to the title's unisex readership.
For advertisers, the changes pan out fine - the things we always ask for, to appear in better quality editorial nearer the front, are manifest in the changes and this is done without upsetting advertisers who are being pushed back, as they're still getting their targeted editorial.
- Review by Nik Vyas, Group press director, ZenithOptimedia UK.
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