Pacific Magazines has axed the print version of its weekly Famous Magazine and replaced it with a website called FamousLive.
Pacific Magazines has axed the print version of its weekly Famous Magazine and replaced it with a website called FamousLive.
The current edition of Famous Magazine will be the last as the company launches a new digital brand that it says will target "social and mobile video obsessed millennials." Twenty-five staff are affected but Pacific says ten of those will take up new positions 'within the business.'
“The decision to cease publishing in print is never an easy one and we sincerely thank the Famous staff for their contribution to the brand," said Peter Zavecz, CEO, Pacific Magazines. "After much consideration, we feel that refocusing on a digital-only model with FamousLive is the correct one.
“The launch of FamousLive refocuses our energy and investment to better tap into the immediacy, innovation and social currency this digital native market demands," he said. "Pacific Magazines is committed to the millennial market as part of our total audience footprint. FamousLive will be a best-in-class digital destination combining curated and original new content with targeted, responsive business solutions for our commercial partners.”
FamousLive takes advantage of the enormous 260% social growth of the Famous brand in the last 24 months, averaging a social daily reach of 6.3 million, said a company statement. FamousLive's content appeals directly to each one of the millennial 'tribes' identified by Pacific's milestone research, with a unique mix of celebrity and culture, beauty and fashion, listicles and short form commentary.
The new website was designed and built by Pacific's in-house team led by Darren Kerry, head of digital and innovation. “A true social video and mobile first digital destination, FamousLive deploys some great new tech, leveraging the Seven West Media data stack and offering our commercial partners unique targeting opportunities for both their programmatic and direct campaigns," said Kerry. "And this is just the start.”
FamousLive includes virtual reality video via an exclusive partnership with consumer electronics company 360Fly, founded by Australian Peter Adderton. The website also includes integration with 7Live streaming API from the Seven Network, new Snapchat, Facebook Live, YouTube and Apple News social channels and will be the first Seven West Media consumer brand to launch natively Facebook Instant Articles.
Earlier this year, rival publisher Bauer announced it would close its iconic Cleo magazine and relaunch Dolly magazine with a greater focus on the online market.