Bauer confirms closure of Cleo as it refocuses on Dolly as a bi-monthly ‘digital first property’
Bauer Media has formally confirmed the closure of Cleo magazine in Australia, with the publisher to refocus its efforts on Dolly as a bi-monthly digital first property.
The final edition of Cleo will be the March edition on sale February 22.
Andreas Schoo, interim CEO of Bauer Media, said in a statement: “I would like to thank Lucy Cousins and all of the CLEO editorial team for their ongoing dedication to the magazine over the years.
“Scale, engagement and a robust digital strategy are key to our success and we believe we have a compelling offer in Dolly and Cosmopolitan to lead our young women’s portfolio into the future.
“Our investment plans for Dolly will see us take a digital first approach, with a focus on mobile video, social media and e-commerce supported by restructured print and digital editorial teams to ensure we are generating the best in market content for consumers; when and how they want it.
“Our always on approach will be complimented by a new look print product, taking Dolly from monthly to bi-monthly, relaunching as a high quality, valued-packed companion to the digital and social platforms, covering major trends, fashion, beauty and issues affecting young women today.
“Bauer Media is committed to the Australian market and creating the most viable and effective portfolio of brands that connect with Australian women – be it online, in magazine or through live events.”
The Cleo Bachelor of the Year Awards will be relaunched as the Cosmo Bachelor Awards. Marketing for the new proposition is expected in the coming weeks.
Staff were told this morning via email, in which Schoo said it was not an easy decision to close the magazine.
“As you may be aware, we have made the decision to close Cleo magazine in Australia. It is never an easy decision to close a magazine and we have certainly considered all the options before coming to this conclusion; however in its current format, Cleo was no longer commercially sustainable for the longer term,” he said.
Lucy Cousins, editor-in-chief of the combined Cleo and Dolly editorial team, will not be staying on with the new Dolly editorial team. It is unclear if she will remain with Bauer.
Staff are currently being consulted on the changes with the new team structure expected to be revealed soon. There will no impact to the sales team as a result of the closure.
The confirmation follows on from the closure, revealed last week by News Corp.
Cleo, which is best known for its Cleo Bachelor of the Year Awards, posted a circulation decline of 20.7 per cent at the end of last year, with a circulation of 42,212. New figures are due to be released early next month.
Dolly posted a circulation of 40, 546 for the January to June period of last year, it was a decline of 19.1 per cent when compared with the same time the year before.
The closure does not impact Cleo Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia.
Bauer Media will also continue to publish Cleo Thailand through its joint venture with Post International Media.
An announcement regarding Dolly editorial appointments will be made in the near future.
Staff email from Schoo:
Dear Staff
As you may be aware, we have made the decision to close CLEO magazine in Australia. It is never an easy decision to close a magazine and we have certainly considered all the options before coming to this conclusion; however in its current format, CLEO was no longer commercially sustainable for the longer term.
I would like to thank Lucy Cousins and all of the CLEO editorial team for their ongoing dedication to the magazine over the years.
We will also be announcing plans today to relaunch Dolly as a digital first property, with a focus on mobile video, social media and e-commerce supported by restructured print and digital editorial teams to ensure we are generating the best in market content for consumers; when and how they want it.
The year ahead will no doubt have its challenges, however there’s much to look forward to at Bauer Media in 2016, as we build upon the To Love digital women’s network that launched in 2015, and expand our 360-degree approach to content publishing.
I would like to reassure you that Bauer Media is 100% committed to growing its footprint in Australia, and we believe we have some of the most dynamic brands, along with the best people within our business to help us achieve this goal.
Regards
Andreas
I feel really sad to see Dolly go bimonthly. I was given a subscription for my 13th birthday and was delighted. Dolly was the go-to bible for everything a teenage girl needed to know.
I’m not sure that a bimonthly digital edition will have significant impact with a generation of readers used to on-demand content. Hopefully this isn’t Dolly’s death knell.
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With the access teenagers have to the internet & so many wonderful sites curated for teens/women, it’s not the Dolly we all grew up with. Now, they can google anything they want to know. I wonder if it’ll continue.
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Dolly the go-to bible for everything a teenage girl needed to know. Really?
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Hmmmm bi-monthly ‘digital first’. That just won’t work.
Much better off throwing up two or three filler yarns a day with scheduled topic releases on certain days of the week.
But I’ve had my fill of arguing with the old men of print publishing.
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Not everyone wants to retire at 40, Bauer.
100% committed to growing the footprint. Yeah, right.
Why can’t management just be honest with people?
“We bought the whole company for crazy money but only wanted the Weekly and we have been trying to sell off everything else since but no one bought Cleo. Oh and what we really wanted was a radio network. If anyone has a radio network please let us know.”
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>>If anyone has a radio network please let us know.
Malcolm Turnip has one that he’s keen to sell off. He’ll throw in the TV stations for free.
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ACP, now Bauer Media has been going down hill for 25 years, so it is not all the fault of those running the show now. However just because others stuffed things up there is no need for them to continue to do it.
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so they’re killing Cleo to focus on Dolly — a title that has a lower circulation than Cleo,and which s declining at the same rate as Cleo’s. That makes sense…..
Bottom line is that the entire womens and lifestyle magazine category is in terminal decline. Too much (free and much more up to date) lifestyle content available online. ANd as for “digital first”: next step will be “digital only”
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“Dolly the go-to bible for everything a teenage girl needed to know. Really?”
When I was a teenager the magazines everybody bought were TV Week, Tracks and RAM.
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I can’t see a digital bi-monthly edition catching on. Teens want information now, not in two weeks.
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The closure of Cleo is the saddest news I’ve heard for some time — for purely
personal reasons(We all know the economic ones).
As a feature writer on Cleo in the mid 80s, it was the place to be in magazine journalism. Edited by a youthful and engaging Lisa Wilkinson, we covered a wide range of hard hitting topics — drugs, domestic violence, women’s prisons, prostitution, crime –that were as relevant to young women then as they are now. The ‘topping’, of course, was as sparkling and enticing as Cosmo — Cleo was launched as a spoiler for Cosmo — but for the era, the editorial mix was perfect — and the ad revenue came rolling in. Many of the magazines I’ve worked in have vanished– but Cleo, for me, was super special, a hugely significant staging post at a time of fast moving cultural change in Australia.
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What’s a magazine? Are they those dirty old rags at the doctors office from 1998
In any case Dolly should try a DVD giveaway. That will keep them relevant
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It’s difficult get anywhere near the magazine section of my newsagent. It’s partly blocked by the counter used for electronic transactions (lottery transactions, topping up bus cards etc) and the staff (one person) is clueless about publications. The future for print media is dire.
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I think it’s a good thing.
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The comment by Jacky Hyams, former Cleo feature writer, highlights why Cleo was bleeding readers long before digital put it out of its misery. Guess what, Jacky: “hard hitting topics – drugs, domestic violence, women’s prisons, prostitution, crime” are irrelevant to 90% of teenage girls. Always were, always will be. I think you’re confusing Dolly with The Jerry Springer Show.
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Felix. I was commenting on Cleo not Dolly and twenty years ago, the readerships of the two magazines were somewhat different, Dolly was for very young teenage girls, Cleo was aimed at women ages 20-40.
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