Emap's offering, Zoo Weekly, launches at the end of the month and will target 16- to 30-year-old men with a blend of news, features, TV listings and celebrity columnists. Emap says the magazine harnesses its expertise in the men's market, as demonstrated by market-leading monthly FHM and its success in the weekly sector with Heat and Closer. Emap is targeting a circulation of 150,000 within a year.
IPC's title Nuts will be given away to more than one million men next week and the first paid-for issue goes on sale on January 22. Content will include sport, news, television and women.
IPC describes Nuts as popular daily meets glossy men's monthly. IPC has denied claims that Nuts is a spoiler to Zoo Weekly, billing it instead as the first product of the IPC Media launch programme, headed by IPC editorial director Mike Soutar.
IPC has appointed Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and Walker Media to handle creative and media, with a national TV campaign running from January 18.
Neither company was prepared to reveal the cover price of their titles, but media buyers suggest they will need to be priced at about £1 initially to persuade men to sample the product.
COMMENT
Emap and IPC claim that their titles will create a category in the market. With a combined marketing investment of more than £16m, they are serious about making the category work and the stakes are high.
While innovation is overdue in the sector, the mags face competition from dailies such as The Sun and Daily Star, which serve this market well.
Emap and IPC must also take care not to cannibalise sales of their monthly titles.
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