New Media first launched ‘i’, South Africa’s pioneering weekly lifestyle magazine supplement in October 2011, and it has quickly become the country’s highest circulating English Sunday glossy magazine. So impressed was City Press with the overnight success and high quality of the consumer magazine that they have given New Media the brief to go national.
‘i’ is the first weekly for the content marketer, and New Media has taken quickly to the medium. “Our debut weekly has met with such an enthusiastic reception from City Press readers, and it’s great to hear the positive feedback, as well as to be part of City Press’s rapid growth,” said Andrew Nunneley, Business Development Director at New Media. The latest Audit Board of Circulations (ABC) figures reveal that City Press’s circulation has grown to 163 705 in Q1 2012, showing an increase in 9.7% from Q4 2011, and a 16% growth since Q1 2011. This is the first recorded growth in the newspaper since Q3 2011.
Targeted as the ideal platform for advertisers to reach a top end, aspiring, LSM 7 to 10 audience, the magazine is already gaining traction with advertisers both here and abroad. According to Aileen Lamb, Advertising Director at New Media, high end companies Ted Lapidus, MontBlanc and Ferrari are impressed with the quality, content and reach of the magazine and Ferrari has chosen the title as a medium to advertise their new Red Power campaign.
“Putting out a weekly – especially one with such high editorial and design standards – has been new territory for our team, but I believe we’ve really got it right, and we look forward to engaging with the greater South African readership, ” added Nunneley.
The announcement falls hot on the heels of the introduction of a free iPad app version of ‘i’. Since the beginning of May, readers have been able to experience a digital version of the stylish magazine. The interactive app version features rich audio-visual experiences that will excite the growing population of tablet users, and is updated weekly. Approved by Apple and designed for ‘touch, tap and swipe’, “the app is a true multi-media package of curated content – a selection of edited news, videos, sound and information that really matters to this audience,” says Kamiel Ebrahim, Group Art Director for New Media.
The first national issue debuts with a timely interview with Zapiro on the topic ‘Courage under Satire’, in which the often controversial cartoonist speaks about political cartoons in the new South Africa. Postnatal depression has long been a condition that women kept private, but in this issue, Busi Mhlaba, Sam Cowen and Debora Patta share their experiences of dealing with the disease.
On the lighter side, cover story ‘Buddy System’ ties in with the release of the new Leon Schuster movie, ‘Mad Buddies’, and includes a great interview and shoot with the stars (Schuster, Kenneth Nkosi and Alfred Ntombela) plus chats with other crazy entertainment friends, Corne and Twakkie and the 3 Tons of Funs. In addition, there’s lots more of the fun stuff ‘i’ has become known for, like celebrity coverage, features, fashion and food.