"At Grazia we've always started with the reader. We consistently look to the audience insight and we've always aimed to be "inside her head." Lauren Holleyoake, publisher of Grazia, has worked on the magazine for the nearly a decade and has invaluable insight into what makes one of the UK's most famous women's magazine brands tick.

Monique charts us through the lifecycle of her events portfolio over the last year, how hybrid events have evolved and what we should expect from the new hybrid format. Through a number of case studies Monique highlights a key realisation event organisers have had: "that there is a far bigger audience out there than they had imagined." As a result, "a whole new space has opened up for online meetings and events" and the potential to reach new communities, build on these relationships and keep the energy going all year round, not just at a physical event once a year.

Nikki Clare describes the rollercoaster of change the Hearst events portfolio has gone through over the last year and how audience expectations have now changed to become more accepting of flexible formats such as speakers dialling in. What is important to remember however is that one shouldn't host hybrid for the sake of it. "There must be a clear purpose and benefit to it."

"When nobody minds that you are getting it wrong, you end up innovating and doing a shed load right." This is how Jackie Scully, Executive Director of Think Publishing and B2B lead in their recent Re:member report, summarised the positive outcomes of the pandemic. "In the last year... we didn't have the time to waste and we moved into a world where agility and lack of perfectionism was celebrated." Jackie spoke to us following the release of the Re:member report about the main findings, what surprised her most and the importance of focusing on the members of the future.

Working as the Video Lead for Cosmopolitan, Edie Jefferys believes that the sky is the limit having managed to get through this tumultuous year which forced production teams to carry out their work entirely at home. From launching video series for ELLE and producing content watched by millions across all platforms, no wonder Edie was named one of our 30 Under 30 winners. "Be adaptable and learn as much as you can," she says when asked to give advice on getting into the industry. "Video production requires an incredibly wide skill set, so make sure you try a bit of everything. Practice practice practice."

Former PPA Scotland Director and current Digital Producer at The Big Issue, Laura Kelly has always been enraptured by magazines and the power they have in building communities. This is exactly what The Big Issue are achieving with their recent LinkedIn partnership, which Laura explains more about while also highlighting how important magazine's have been at a time when we are all craving connection.

What better way to maintain credibility and trust in your product as a journalist than putting the power directly in the hands of the consumer to rate and review. Sabrina Sahota, winner of one of our PPA 30 Under 30 awards, did exactly this at MadeForMums, introducing home tester panels and group testing. "Consumer testing provides important evidence that almost cuts through the marketing," she says. "Once you've put the products to the test on a day-to-day basis then you start to understand the real quirks and niggles, which is what consumers really want to know about."

How do you effectively use data to enrich editorial content? What can branded content learn from luxury magazines? These are all questions that Emily Maitland, part of the PPA 30 Under 30 Class of 2020, has the answers to.

DC Thomson Media has set about transforming its newsroom and a key addition to the team has been David Mac Dougall, appointed Head of Politics at the end of last year. The Apollo programme focuses on transforming the business to expand its publishing platforms, serving audiences in specialist areas such as politics, through digital products and content as well as print. David charts his career from Guatemala to Baghdad to Finland to DC Thomson, how he ensures balance between local and national reporting and the role magazines play in delivering high-quality political journalism.

In the first Radar interview of 2021, we spoke with the Editor-in-Chief of OutThere Magazine, winner of PPA Diversity Initiative of the Year at the PPA Independent Publisher Awards. Uwern Jong is passionate about storytelling and travel and since starting OutThere, has carved out a space in travel publishing for a diverse a range of readers. Jong explains what he hopes to see in publishing around diversity in 2021, how magazine publishers can support the industries they report on and his plans for the coming year.

We spoke with Harrod's Magazine Beauty Editor and one of our PPA 30 Under 30 winners, Olivia de Courcy about how she got to where she is now, the transition from working for a publishing house to a retailer and the importance of omnichannel story-telling, taking content beyond the magazine.

For the final Radar interview of 2020, we spoke with the Co-Founder of a magazine that responded with full force to an almighty challenge faced over this last year. As lockdown hit and the streets were emptied, The Big Issue had to rapidly adapt its business model, which had previously relied on street vendors to sell the weekly publication. John Bird tells us all about his upbringing, how this led to the birth of The Big Issue & how COVID has affected magazine publishing.

Having been Editor-in-Chief of Men’s Health for nine years, Toby Wiseman has seen the brand evolve in its mission, content strategy and the role it plays in male wellbeing. Following a turbulent year where exercise and mental health have been at the front of our minds, Toby explains how subscriptions have reacted, plans for 2021, the opportunities presented by membership models and creativity during the pandemic.

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