Print is still the main game for Nine’s Australian Financial Review (AFR) Magazine, with the publication adding at least two new products this year.
The monthly magazine launched the first issue of its new annual insert, Machine, today. The title covers emerging technologies around transport, as well as design.
With brands such as Aston Martin, Rolex, Lexus and Toyota onboard as advertisers, Nine’s group business director of luxury Amanda Upton says the insert’s early success has secured its return for next year.
“In the luxury space, print still is really our hero product for brands,” Upton says.
“It resonates with this audience and it's still viewed as really creative. The tangibility and the whole halo effect it has from advertisers, with such a trusted brand with our rusted on audience, means print is still our hero product across this space.”
Machine was launched after the AFR Magazine team saw an appetite for more technology content that wasn’t focused on communication.
“As soon as we launched to the market last year, we were really pleased with the initial interest in the subject matter,” Upton says.
“The team really brought that concept to life and it's been a great success. So we're really happy that we did this and already we've committed to running it again next year. It's really well received from the beginning.”
Machine
As the wider advertising market takes a hit, Upton says the AFR Magazine, which targets Australian professionals, has been supported by a continued healthy spend from luxury brands.
Meanwhile, The Australian Financial Review newspaper was singled out by Nine CEO Hugh Marks as a strong performer in the company's half-year results earlier this week, particularly for subscriptions, however Nine doesn’t release individual results for its publications.
“We've had a very solid couple of years speaking to the luxury space,” she says.
“We've seen in particular the AFR Magazine products go from strength to strength and we are in growth mode as far as revenue goes in a really challenging climate. Our flagship additions like Rich List have had record profits.”
Following its success with Machine, AFR Magazine is launching a second new title. Called Seasons Unwrapped, the gift guide will cover topics such as food and wine, and will be inserted in its November issue.
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