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IPC Magazines is reviewing its weekly magazine mix in the run-up to

next week’s ABC results, and repositioning Eva as a glossy title for

girls in their late teens. The changes come after the move to a

tabloid-style approach and a price cut in 1996 failed to spark a sales

turnaround.

With a glossy front cover and upgraded paper quality, Eva’s price will

increase from 47p to 60p. The new magazine will be bagged with the old

title on 26 February to avoid confusing readers.

The new-look Eva will change its target from the 20-44 age group to a

tighter 18-24 one. IPC is also aiming to double the title’s distribution

as it seeks to build sales in the buoyant teen market.

Jackie Newcombe, the pub-lishing director of IPC’s women’s weeklies,

said: ’We are changing the magazine from a conventional, real-life

weekly to one that targets young women. It’s quite difficult for

18-year-old girls to know where to go in terms of their reading matter.

Few women’s magazines are aimed at them.’

Newcombe also aims to attract more upmarket advertisers. ’In the past,

the advertising industry has not been particularly keen on Eva. There

have been far too many mail-order advertisements in the magazine. We

would like the new-look Eva to attract more brands,’ she said.

As well as promoting the changes through existing IPC titles, the

revamped Eva will be backed by a direct mail campaign to 250,000

readers, a free copy and half-price coupons in the last issue of the

current magazine, and point-of-sale promotions. The promotional work

will be handled in house.

In the last ABC audit period of January-June 1997, Eva recorded a

year-on-year decline in circulation of more than 17 per cent to 216,996

and a period-on-period drop of 28 per cent. Newcombe expects a further

fall in year-on-year sales in the forthcoming round of ABCs, but said

the period-on-period figure would not show a decline.

In July 1996, IPC sought to overturn the traditional format of women’s

weeklies by redesigning Eva and adopting a news-led approach with a lead

story reflected on the front cover by a news picture.