Qantas magazine goes premium; boasts strong ad support

Sarah Homewood
By Sarah Homewood | 30 June 2015
 
Qantas magazine July 1 issue

The new-look Qantas magazine is aiming for premium status that can take on newsstand competition, with the title arriving on planes tomorrow.

From issue one Rolex, Cartier, Paspaley, Maserati, Louis Vuitton and Burberry, and other high-end brands have come on as advertisers.

Former editor of InStyle Magazine and editor-in-chief of the new Qantas magazine, Kirsten Galliott, told AdNews that Qantas is a premium brand and the magazine has to be a premium offering to complement that.

“I really want this magazine to feel like a newsstand magazine. As an editor I'm excited because I’ve never had such a captive audience. We have 2.3 million flying Qantas every month: They're in their seat and the magazine is right in front of them.

“What I want is them to flick through the magazine and say: “Wow, this is a really high quality publication,” Galliott said.

Up until March Bauer was responsible for producing the in-flight magazine, however after a competitive pitch the business was handed to Medium Rare. July 1 is the first edition produced by the Medium Rare, a NewsLifeMedia joint-venture.

Qantas group executive of branding marketing an corporate affairs Olivia Wirth at the time said:

“In Medium Rare we have chosen a content publishing house that will help us evolve Qantas The Australian Way publications with the changing media landscape and new in-flight technology.”

The magazine will land tomorrow and a few days later Galliott and Medium Rare will take control over the website. The agency is also launching an iPad app on July 6.

“The attributes of the magazine and that includes what we're doing online and on the app, has to be the highest quality possible, it has to be on par with a product that people would pay money for.

“I want this magazine to be the most premium magazine it can be, I want readers to engage with it in a way that they never have before,” Galliott added.

While it is difficult to gain an overall understanding of ad support between the last publisher, Galliott clarified that it was: “Able to make budget on a tricky issue, July can be a tricky issue.”

“We're in a very good place moving forward, we're looking really strong. I'm hoping that once people see the magazine and see how premium it is, the bookings will flow in,” she added.

When the website relaunches it will do so with 1000 pieces of content and Galliott explained that as well as amplifying content across several social channels, the content has been commissioned with SEO principals in mind.

“When we commission content we've been making sure that this is content that people are actually searching for, combining what people are looking for with absolute trusted advice.”

To accompany the launch, on-board staff will be pointing to the revamped title and encouraging people to give feedback and even take the title home.

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