IPC Connect has redesigned Woman’s Own and launched a new standalone website for the title.
Women’s Own was previously part of goodtoknow.co.uk, an online hub for several of the group’s women’s weeklies, but has been spun-off into a new standalone site womansown.co.uk. Sister title Woman also now has its own site.
The first edition of the new-look weekly print magazine, which will celebrate its 80th anniversary next month, hit the newsstands this morning, featuring “new-look fashion, food and beauty content, and twice as many real-life stories”.
Daybreak host Lorraine Kelly has joined the magazine as a columnist and former News of the World showbiz columnist Rav Singh joins as “The X Factor insider”.
It will also feature more “first-person celebrity interviews, providing readers with an original and intimate reading experience”.
The relaunch comes six months after Catherine Westwood replaced Vicky Mayer as editor.
Westwood, who was formerly editor of Hubert Burda Media’s Wedding and Wedding Flowers magazines, said: “Woman’s Own is a fantastic brand that we have sought to refine rather than revolutionise.
“Woman’s Own now mirrors the lives of readers even more closely, and keeps at its heart their key interests in getting value for money and sound advice.
“We have created a package that’s not only an uplifting treat, but is also useful and helps them juggle their busy lives.”
Commenting on the new website, IPC said it “will offer more interactivity with Woman’s Own experts and daily money-saving offers alongside celebrity, fashion and beauty news, diets and recipes”.
It added: “In order to tap into this audience’s love of sharing and consuming premium content on the move, the website will be mobile-optimised and will incorporate social media throughout, allowing users to engage with the brand and each other.”
Content will be created by the Woman’s Own editorial team.
This week the magazine will be available at the reduced price of 60p (usual price 93p).
According to the most recent ABC figures Woman’s Own is the 15th biggest women’s weekly in the sector, and the first half of 2012 saw circulation fall 5.6 per cent to 232,107.
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