UPM_News_2016

Luxury is never out of fashion

Inspiring looks, exquisite texture and a luxuriant finish: what works for fashion also makes a great fashion supplement – starting with a paper that oozes style.

Text: Silja Kudel Photo: The Telegraph

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Go-to advertising vehicle While many magazines continue to struggle with declining subscriptions and newsstand sales, The Telegraph Fashion Supplement has been going strong for 15 years. “Luxury still sells. Magazines like ours still remain the go-to advertising vehicle when clients want to showcase their brands to a wide audience. We produce a lot of spin-off supplements around luxury – luxury foods, luxury goods, luxury travel and so on – and obviously we want a luxury paper to go with it,” states Brady. As head of printing operations at the Telegraph Media Group for over 15 years, Brady can appreciate a pa- per that ticks all the boxes for superi- or technical performance. “Cote has all the assets we are look- ing for. It has a nice bulk and a very good shade. It prints wonderful- ly and maintains a finish which com- plements strong colours. It’s impres- sive for a matt paper to have such a su- per-smooth finish.” Beyond Snapchat “But what really sets it apart from other grades it its very nice texture. It has a velvety feel that our Art Di- rector really likes – and the price is right.” Brady has “a great working relation- ship” with UPM, one of the Telegraph Media Group’s premier long-standing suppliers. “UPM’s people are open, collaborative and very honest. They al- ways make themselves available and give us a good overview of the mar- ketplace.” Brady has been pleased to receive useful technical support from UPM. “When UPM Cote came onto the mar- ket, UPM advised us to try it. We did, and we loved it.” When asked to predict the future of print in the digital age, Brady gives a thoughtful hum. “It’s a difficult call. I think we’ll be seeing reduced circula- tions on national newspapers, but more bespoke and niche products. Readers will continue to want informed opin-

acked cover to cover with haute couture, supermodels and ce- lebrities, The Telegraph Fash- ion Supplement is the kind of upmarket magazine that style mavens love to de- vour along with their latte and French toast on a lazy Saturday morning. Published twice yearly, the hefty Fashion Supplement is The Telegraph’s traditional Saturday magazine supple- ment. Leafing through its silky pag- es – lined with runway coverage, in- spired editorial content and advertise- ments for luxury brands such as Gucci, Chanel and Mulberry – readers can es- cape into a beguiling world of glitz and glamour. The high-quality reprograph- ics make a clear statement: this mag looks posh and expensive. And posh is exactly what UK readers and advertisers are hungry for. Distrib- uted to 350,000 households in London and the South East region, the maga- zine’s key target group consists of af- fluent consumers who expect value for money. Magazine of the Year “It has very strong content and high production values, which cannot be underestimated in this niche market. From the reader’s perspective it’s very upmarket, and the advertising is high- end,” says Paul Brady , Operations Di- rector at Telegraph Media Group. The magazine stood out at the 2016 newsawards in London last April, where it was selected as the winner of the National Supplement/Magazine of the Year award. The judges praised the supplement’s “clean finish, excellent bleeds, great design and sharp images,” adding that “the luxuriant velvety finish has a good feel to it.” They also praised the great choice of paper stock, which helped The Tele­ graph secure the top spot and stand out from competing entries. The pa- per stock in question is UPM Cote Matt 1.3 H. “We previously used different paper, but then we came across Cote, and we love it! It has gone down ex- tremely well with Editorial and with advertisers also,” says Brady.

Posh is exactly what UK readers are hungry for.

huge cauldron of digital advertising in the Instagram world.” The Telegraph’s newspaper strategy going forward is to maintain its core readership base and advertising rev- enues by focusing on its standout as- sets: journalistic quality and high-end production values. “People aren’t stu- pid. They know a high-quality product when they’re reading one.”

ions and good journalism rather than just bites of Snapchat.” Brady believes that print and digi- tal media can coexist to mutual bene- fit. “All of our journalists are already working across both media – the two aren’t enemies. What is more worrying is that readers who consume news, as well as advertisers, are generally mov- ing away from traditional media to the

NEWSAWARDS 2017: Is it your turn next year? Newsawards is a UK-based event honouring excellence in print, digital and business innovation. One of the international categories, ‘Printed In- novation of the Year’, sponsored by UPM goes to the entry that demon- strates the most creative or commercially inventive use of print in news- papers. Judges will be looking for ideas that are new to the news media industry, especially those targeting young readers. To enter, your innovation must be printed between 1 January 2016 and 27 January 2017. The award ceremony takes place in London on 5 April.

Read more about newsawards at www.newsawards.co.uk/

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