As non-essential shops start to reopen and lockdown measures ease, businesses are emerging into a different landscape. Over the last three months the magazine industry has adapted quickly to support consumers, suppliers, distributors and the advertising community and will continue to do so as the world tentatively returns to normal.

The most recent PAMCo figures show that magazine brands are reaching a bigger audience, more frequently than ever especially through our digital channels. Reading a magazine continues to be seen as time well spent (PAMCo 89%) and trust in our titles remains higher than ever (PAMCo 87%).

Magazine’s digital platforms and subscriptions have seen incredible growth during this lockdown period as consumers looked to their favourite brands for help, advice and an antidote from the news. I read a great stat this week (in The Week Junior no less) that during the first seven weeks of lockdown, UK households spent a combined EXTRA £247m a week on entertainment, hobby crafts and food. People’s passions are well served by magazines and they deliver a healthy dose of positivity and persuasion to help people make the most of any situation – even one as challenging as Covid.

Large-scale events that are popular with readers went online, attracting vast audiences. Women’s Health Live was viewed by over 10.9 million across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and they added over 10,000 to their Women’s Health Live Facebook group, creating a new online fitness community in a matter of days. All good news for event partner Tetley Cold Infusions.

As the nation turned to quizzes during lockdown, RadioTimes.com hosted their own Big TV Quiz on Twitter and Facebook, with celebrity guests including Larry Lamb, Charlie Brooker, John Challis and Dan Walker, clocking up over 500,000 views.

Magazine publishers are here to help advertisers bounce back and offer a highly relevant and positive environments for brands looking to reconnect with consumers after a potential period away. We know from past work just how strong our print products are at driving salience, meaningfulness and difference for brands. We help tell brand stories. Watch this space for more in this area as we invest in new insight to help advertisers quantify how this relevancy can help their brands grow.

Through magazine consumer panels we take a look at how consumers have been coping with lockdown, revealing that health and wellbeing are becoming even more of a priority, and how magazine brands are helping these needs. And with summer holiday plans a bit up in the air, TI Media’s latest travel insight shares how we’re feeling about using up our time off.

The Magnetic team has spent lockdown working on a new website to help you access all the great magazine insight and partnership work from across the sector. We hope you find the new and easy-to-download ‘quick facts’ useful and the case studies and great ad examples inspiring. Contact us through hello@magnetic.media with any questions or feedback.

And finally – make sure you check out this year’s Spotlight Award categories. Open for entries now with two new categories including ‘Magazine Planner of the Year’. We look forward to reading your entries.

Sue