Eve Pollard’s Parkhill Publications launches its first title
Wedding Day on 11 November, promising to revolutionise the ad market for
bridal magazines. A sales team is also being recruited for a mature
women’s magazine to launch next spring.
Wedding Day aims to broaden advertising categories by recognising how
the traditional occasion has changed radically.
Traditional church services - which account for just half of all wedding
ceremonies - are being replaced by a range of exotic venues, sometimes
overseas.
The modern bride is also likely to be older, more affluent and she may
be getting married for the second time.
’Most brides don’t trip down the aisle dressed like a meringue,’ said
publisher Jane Sproul. ’Typically, they are older, more discerning and,
for advertisers, incredibly attractive consumers.’
Sproul intends to open up the bridal market by targeting beauty
products, travel and housewares, as well as the staple bridal
fashions.
A monthly frequency will also distinguish Wedding Day from its
competitors - IPC’s Weddings & Home and Conde Nast’s Brides and Setting
up Home - which are both bi-monthly.
’Our ad pagination will be lower - but we feel brides need information
on a regular basis to plan their big day, and they can’t wait for two
months,’ said Sproul.
She claims advertisers have responded favourably and she needed to
increase the 172-page first issue, which will carry 50 pages of ads,
including Estee Lauder, Calvin Klein and Harrods.
Sproul says she believes that recent celebrity weddings - such as the
Victoria Adams-David Beckham extravaganza - have contributed to a
particularly buoyant wedding market.
A challenging circulation target of 45,000 has been set for the first
issue, with a cover price of pounds 3.00. This compares favourably with
Weddings & Home which had a 1998 ABC of 44,269. The long-established
market leader Brides and Setting up Home had an ABC of 60,080.
Ex-Emap Elan ad director, Fiona Davidson, has recently joined Parkhill
as ad director across all magazines.
