Bauer Media relaunches mobile-first Dolly with a focus on video and a presence on Snapchat
Bauer Media has officially relaunched its teen magazine Dolly as a mobile-first, digital offering complemented with a bi-monthly “re-imagined” magazine.
The relaunch of the magazine, which had been struggling with circulation, was announced in January when the magazine publisher closed iconic magazine Cleo.
Speaking to Mumbrella, Dolly publisher Marina Go said: “One of the things the magazine industry needs to do is take a hard look at the purpose of magazines now within the new information age, and people are acquiring information in different ways, particularly teenagers. We looked at the research and what we know of the way our audiences are interacting with our brand, which is primarily through the mobile version of the site through a smartphone.”
The relaunch comes as Bauer research shows that more than 90% of Dolly’s 14 to 17-year-old target audience engages with the title via their smartphones.
“We had to have a look at the purpose of the magazine in the view of the fact that most teenagers are going to get that instant gratification information via their most direct means, which is their smartphone. We wanted to assess if there was an appropriate place for print in their lives,” said Go.
“We believe there is a place in our readers’ lives for content that is curated especially for them around the very basic need of life information. We refer to the magazine as a guidebook, as what we’ve done is we’ve distilled information around relationships, sex and Dolly Doctor with extensive specials around issues.
“We’re taking a deep dive with content in the print form. We know young women are reading long articles and want more information and depth. Dolly in the format it was in, and with the content mix and structure, was becoming less relevant to their life because it was too snackable.”
The new Dolly.com.au will feature breaking celebrity news, fashion, beauty and lifestyle content and and will also have new features including a custom quiz platform and emoji reactions.
Short-form video content will also be a fundamental feature with content produced in a purpose-built Dolly studio. InRead native video advertising platform Teads will offer advertisers engagement opportunities with consumers.
“Our mobile platform will be very video heavy and that is based on consumer needs,” said Go.
The new Dolly magazine is edited by Josephine Rozenberg-Clarke, with Emily Kerr the digital managing editor, Meg Bellemore the beauty and lifestyle editor, and Bree Player the features editor. The publication has seven full-time staff members working across print and digital.
Dolly has also launched on Snapchat, with Go saying the editorial team is creating specific content for the social media channel.
“The guys are creating special content. It goes again to our entire premise of looking at every channel and working out what sort of content creation we need to gain the best out of each channel and we know our readers use each platform for different readers,” said Go.
“For Snapchat, there are specific stories being created for Dolly that won’t appear anywhere else. I feel like we’ve got a bit of a formula there and for the first time have set down a strategy for each platform and that’s why we’re excited about it.”
The Dolly magazine will continue to have its circulation audited, Go said; however, she admitted it is difficult to assess the website’s audience due to the age of its readership.
“The interesting thing about the website is (Nielsen) don’t audit under a certain age. My understanding is at the moment it is very difficult to get an accurate number for our site because of the age of our audience,” said Go.
“In terms of accuracy of numbers we are basically having to report our Google Analytics at the moment because the Nielsen data is inaccurate when it comes to teenagers.”
According to the most recent Audit of Circulation Bureau figures, Dolly had a circulation of 28,030.
Alongside the bi-monthly magazine, the Dolly team will produce a Dolly poster book which is published every other month.
Miranda Ward
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- Bauer confirms closure of Cleo as it refocuses on Dolly as a bi-monthly ‘digital first property’
- What does Bauer Media need to do to become a real force again?
- Nick Chan named CEO of Bauer Media
- Nick Chan has landed his dream job – but it’s not the same company anymore
And THAT’S the way to relaunch a print brand in the modern age, with a total focus on your readership and where they are and how to be there with them. Well done Marina!
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Publishers are in the unique position in which they have an intimate understanding of their audiences. Why has it taken the industry so long to meet their audience where and how they are consuming content. They could have taken this kind of initiative 5 years ago and they could have prevented the damage to their mastheads which has occurred as a result of refusing to believe there was a channel beyond print.
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“The new Dolly.com.au will feature breaking celebrity news, fashion, beauty and lifestyle content and and will also have new features including a custom quiz platform and emoji reactions.”
Sorry, but there is already so much of this type of content out there — how is Dolly’s stuff going to get heard above the noise? What is special/different/unique about it vs all the other celeb,fashion,beauty and lifestyle content already out there? The problem for Dolly is that as a brand, it has already lost most of its relevance for its target audience. Even with the belated focus on digital channels, it will be hard to win that back….
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Dear Dolly (& Girlfriend and every other rag in Australia catering to females)
You can change from paper to pixel but your content still sucks.
Stop treating your readers like idiots.
Stop preaching “girl power” and then putting the entire emphasis of your content on how your audience should look
Stop thinking like its 1955 and filling your platforms with nothing but superficial/ shallow/ 1 dimensional articles/posts about Fashion/ MakeUp/Beauty/ Celebrity Gossip/How to please your boyfriend/lover in bed
Start making content that ADDS VALUE to the lives of your audience (Not just white upper-middle class girls/women either… FYI, there’s a big bad world outside of your publishing ivory towers and they include girls/women that don’t live in cities, don’t happen to be white, don’t happen to be hetero, and are interested in things like maths/science/technology/entrepreneurship/trades.)
Signed,
Every woman who is finding their fill of great content on platforms that don’t belong to you
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Drivel. Agree with the above comments. This is nothing new and only what other more forward thinking publishers did years ago. Good content, in various formats, online. Reads like yet another desperate Bauer press release to prove to marketers that titles such as DOLLY have any relevance today for readers or brands. No innovation or unique offering here. I’ll spend my money elsewhere.
Signed,
Every agency with half a clue.
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