Big Changes at Women’s Health
Rodale title Women’s Health is undergoing a slate of significant changes in the coming weeks. The magazine will feature its first celebrity cover for its October issue—“W” star Elizabeth Banks—and plans to increase its rate base by 250,000 copies to 1,350,000 in January. And, seemingly at the top of her game, VP and editor-in-chief Tina Johnson will be leaving after a four-year stint with the magazine.
The celebrity cover tactic can’t be labeled as a quick-fix newsstand boost, the magazine is up 11 percent in single-copy sales over first-half last year, per ABC numbers. And having a celeb on the cover, editorial director David Zinczenko tells CM, is not necessarily a departure from its traditional strategy. “It’s an intensification of what we already do,” he says. “Women look at the most successful among their peers—the sports stars, the film and TV stars, the political figures—for lessons in how to live their lives more fully. We’ll turn to our cover women as examples of how much our readers can achieve, and give them a roadmap for how to get there.”
Along with the new star power, the magazine will feature new art and editorial “enhancements.” Zinczenko will also fast-track the magazine onto the international expansion plan that Men’s Health has been on. That magazine is now in 39 editions around the world. “We are moving quickly to expand the Women’s Health brand’s global platform, and a celebrity cover is just the beginning,” said Zinczenko in a statement. “Men’s Health is already the world’s leading men’s magazine. We are excited to implement the same global growth strategy for Women’s Heath, too.”
As for editor-in-chief Johnson, no specific explanation was given for her departure, and a spokeswoman declined to offer anything beyond what Johnson said in the statement. “Four years ago, I took on a challenge that has proven successful beyond everyone’s best expectations,” said Johnson in the statement. “Launching the magazine, companion online site, and this entirely new brand and leading it on its meteoric rise through this incredibly competitive market has been a terrific experience—and an unprecedented achievement. I couldn’t have done any of it without the great team at Women’s Health. As much as I’ve enjoyed the ride, I’ll be looking ahead to new challenges and opportunities in this rapidly changing marketplace.”
Johnson joined the magazine as executive editor to launch it as a newsstand special, which has gone from a 400,000 rate base to its upcoming 1.35 million, the fifth increase. The magazine has also resisted the ad crunch, with revenues up 90 percent and pages up 24 percent over 2007, according to the statement.
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