Hearst's Plan to Keep Teen Mags Going: Mobile
Hearst Magazines announced today plans to unveil new cell phone sites for Seventeen, Cosmopolitan and Cosmo Girl, citing the recent foldings of brands like Teen People and Elle Girl as indications that young readers want different options for finding content.
"Now more than ever you're seeing things like the folding of Teen People and Elle Girl and those brands going solely online to keep up with more fragmented media consumption," said Mariam Dilawari, media supervisor, Dentsu America. "It's very important to have an experiential mobile site."
Hearst says that the new sites will not feature content found in the magazines, but rather unique content catered for 'on-the-go' readers, including a variety of advice, downloads and even blogs.
Personally, I never use my mobile web browser; it's always been a part of my phone that seemed mysterious and expensive. However, mobile content seems to be expanding a great deal lately, and could be a good way to extend brand name. It's interesting how both Teen People and Elle Girl folded their print publications and switched to online-only content. Could this be something that will happen to more magazines in the future?
Kristen O'Gorman (not verified) @ Fri, 02/09/2007 - 9:57am
This is a pretty cool idea. I've never used the web browser on my phone, never even really considered it. Having magazines on-the-go is a good way for cell phone companies to get people to use their web browsers and for magazines to branch out.