Hearst test-runs free women’s magazine in New York
Hearst has begun distributing copies of TrendingNY – a new free weekly magazine – at commuter hubs throughout New York City, reports AdWeek.
TrendingNY’s test run will last for four issues, with 50,000 copies of each being distributed between Mondays and Wednesdays of each week. The 48-page magazine is targeted at millennial women, whom Hearst hopes to reach at subway stations in neighbourhoods popular with young professionals.
Michael Clinton, president of Hearst Magazines said the company’s research found that free titles were popular with young New Yorkers looking for an easy-to-digest morning news fix. “We thought, we have an expertise in fashion and beauty in this company, and here was an opportunity in the market to produce the same kind of freemium product but with a fashion and beauty twist,” he said.
Hearst is encouraging readers to provide feedback via social media and an online survey. If the response to the four-issue test run proves positive enough, Hearst could bring the magazine back permanently in early 2015.