Hearst Reveals a New VERANDA the Celebrates 35 Years in Print

In a media world where print has seen a pivot to online and a retrenchment from analog, Hearst’s VERANDA magazine is taking a bold step. In celebration of its 35^th anniversary, the publication is going bold with a redesign of their May/June 2022 print issue – the title’s largest since 2008. “I am thrilled for the opportunity to make the most of what we do best—lush visual storytelling backed by substance—with this larger format,” announced Steele Marcoux, VERANDA’s Editor in Chief, who added, “With this, we’re delivering more value for our consumers, who continue to love magazines,”

Why redesign? According to Marcoux, “It’s all about delivering more value to our consumers who prefer print. Our aim was to make the magazine an overall more luxurious and immersive experience for our readers, with a product aimed to endure.”

With this bold move, VERANDA is embracing the world of luxury print, reimagining the possibilities by introducing a more immersive product with more content. This and other additions and changes turn the magazine into something more like a cherished coffee book, allowing readers to spend more quality time with each issue. “Our loyal audience provided clear feedback that they wanted to see MORE, particularly when it came to us incorporating larger imagery.  Our goal was to deliver our readers more of what actually loved so much: a mix of immersive visuals backed by substance,” he noted.

The editorial team worked hard to choose themes and ideas that bring VERANDA’s unique brand point of view to life. “The spaces and places we feature are warm, inviting, and full of personality. We are leaning in to that and celebrating personality with our new issue themes and franchises,” Marcoux stated.

Part of the inspiration for this pivot is due to the pandemic which, as Marcoux explained, “Made everyone value ‘home’ in a new way.” That, and a plan to deliver more tactile experiences and time away from screens, formed the redesign action plan.  “One of the things I love most about VERANDA is how consistent it has been over the last 35 years,” he said, “Technology has evolved, of course, and that’s reflected in our photography – but the types of home environments has remained steady. We’ve always sought to feature the very best, we’ve never limited ourselves to a certain style, and we’ve always valued bold, personality-filled design above all else.”  In order to make the magazine more immersive, the re-designed magazine is half an inch wider with at least 40% more pages in each issue and the layout now includes more full-bleed images and spreads.

For David Hamilton, VP Sales of the Hearst Design Collection (ELLE DECOR, House Beautiful and VERANDA), the pay-off among advertisers has been immediate. “The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, and the only surprise is how quickly we’ve seen some advertisers jump in with more second-half activity.  As the saying goes, there’s always money for a good idea … and the redesign is clearly being seen as a good idea,” he stated.

The benefits to advertisers were taken into account with the re-design. “We have restored an ideal ad/edit ratio, so the book has a good balance of editorial content and marketing messages that readers love,” he stated. The recovery from the pandemic has fueled a great resurgence in the luxury market with growth in well-established category advertising. “We have had a great response from advertisers and are already seeing second half growth,” he shared.

And advertiser feedback was carefully considered in any decision-making. “Advertisers, like readers, want strong magazines,” Hamilton explained. “We got a comment from a very long-term advertiser who wanted to see more lush images of beautiful homes, and we really took it to heart.  We love story-telling, but we need space for both the visuals and the text. And, of course, advertisers keep an eye on editorial credits, and larger images draw more positive comments.”

For Hamilton, the best advertiser feedback came from a client who had taken a hiatus. “We presented the plans for the redesign, and her reaction was effusive,” he noted, “She had assumed that our big news would be something digital, and she was thrilled to learn that we were bringing change to print.  Innovation doesn’t have to mean digital, and print still defines luxury,” he added.

From a sales perspective, the pivot was seamless – the target consumer and categories covered remain constant, he explained. “The core advertising business for VERANDA comes from a broad swath of the Home Furnishings market. What they have in common is the affluence of the end-user.”

VERANDA has traditionally delivered lifestyle coverage that focused on design, style and gracious living in general and encompassing categories like jewelry and watch as well as travel.  “We know from reader feedback, as well as product sales, the audience responds to these stories, so we wanted to give even more space to these topics without compromising the beautiful home and decorating content that is VERANDA’s calling card.  Of course the redesign required a great deal of strategizing on the business side, but it was really undertaken with the reader in mind,” Hamilton added.

Hamilton stated that this move by VERANDA could become a motivator for other Heart publications. “Hearst is a print-proud company that is always looking for ways to serve the reader and advertiser.  The company will continue to lead the way into the future of print, and VERANDA is a case study in this constant mission,” he concluded.  

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Artwork by Charlene Weisler