26 February 2025

Star power: Isabelle de Courson of ¡Hola! on why the brand is stronger than ever after 80 years of celebrity scoops

In October last year, ¡Hola! joined an exclusive club that has John Lennon, Superbowl winners and Queen Elizabeth II amongst its members. As night fell over New York, the Empire State Building added the Spanish publication to the list of celebrities, causes and milestones it has honoured with coloured lights – the skyscraper’s tip glowing red to mark the brand’s 80th anniversary. For those who work at ¡Hola! it was a moment to savour.

“It was quite emotional,” says Isabelle de Courson, Editorial Director, International Department at ¡Hola! “It was a very symbolic celebration, and we were proud of the achievement. It’s a truly iconic building, an international reference, and we believe ¡Hola! is also an international reference in its class. It was the perfect match and an ideal opportunity to mark the anniversary.”

Launched in Barcelona on 8 September 1944 by Antonio Sánchez Gómez (Hola is still run by the same family), ¡Hola! and its English version Hello! have a presence in 19 countries, with 16 print editions and 12 websites, in eight languages, and distribution in more than 120 countries.

While the brand has also become known for fashion and lifestyle stories over the last eight decades, the magazine will always be synonymous with the celebrity scoop, whether it’s the first images of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s newborn daughter, Shiloh, exclusive photos and interviews with Melania Trump or even at-homes with British royals.

The galaxy of stars ¡Hola! has lined up is certainly impressive, but it is the way celebrity news is covered, says de Courson, rather than the big names that sets it apart from its competitors and keeps the brand relevant.

“¡Hola! is a pioneer in the media industry in that we invented a special way of doing journalism – a very kind way to present the news that focuses on people and human interest stories,” she points out.

“The founder of ¡Hola! always said that our goal was to ‘gather the foam of life’ and that’s what we’ve tried to do in every title we’ve created. We’ve established a special style that’s centred on positivity while being true to our readers, the news and the celebrities. It’s a mix of very accurate journalism, good taste and exclusivity presented in a very kind, understanding and upbeat way.”

Not joining the fight

For a magazine covering stars, hanging onto that positive outlook might seem difficult in an age of celebrity spats on X and public rapper feuds. Not so, says de Courson.

“We’re very aware that the media industry has changed, especially with the development of social media, where comments can be very acidic and aggressive.

“But we’ve stuck to our vision of what journalism is and I think people still have this need for good news, for sharing what makes life beautiful. In fact, I think there is a large part of the audience that is sick and tired of everything being very negative and focused on bad news and criticism of others. They’re looking for positive energy.

“In the UK, we’ve launched the #HelloToKindness campaign, reflecting the fact that positivity is something that is really part of the DNA of our brand, something the whole team strongly believes in.”

One effect of the rise of social media is that now, rather than relying on traditional channels, stars often control their own narrative through Instagram or X. That does not mean ¡Hola! will struggle to find celebrities for its pages, though.

“Celebrities still appreciate the relationship we have built with them over 80 years – that we will offer something elegant and will be respectful of them,” says de Courson.

“Even if they control their own information and they have their own channels to do it, a nice, well produced story in our magazine is still of huge value. It’s part of the prestige of being a celebrity – to have this kind of platform that brings a special acknowledgment by the audience. Appearing on the cover of ¡Hola! and Hello! still means a lot.”

Breaking new ground

¡Hola!’s uplifting approach has been key when it comes to licensing. The brand is so adept at crossing international borders that every second, 15 people in the world enjoy one of its editions.

“I think our concept is universal,” says de Courson. “We’re talking about people, about their lives, their dreams, the challenges they’re facing in life. And we’re telling nice, interesting, inspiring human interest stories. It’s a universal concept that resonates with any culture, any model of society.”

¡Hola!’s latest expansion plan is a newly launched edition covering the whole of Latin America – a joint operation between the publisher’s offices in Spain, America and Mexico.

“We’re co-producing the magazine and then we have our local teams in Argentina, Colombia and the Dominican Republic also contributing and joining forces on this beautiful issue,” says de Courson.

“It has always been in our mind to do that because there are a lot of personalities and celebrities whose popularity transcends borders in the region. It also makes sense for advertisers addressing this pan-regional market.

“We have amazing contacts all across South America, and the advertisers supported the idea. We’ve very proud that the magazine’s had a very good reception both from readers and commercially.”

Advertising still accounts for almost 75% of Hola’s revenues, with about 60% of that generated by print and 40% from digital. These statistics underline how important paper remains to a brand that has expertly produced special editions devoted to everything from the Moon Landing to the life of Queen Elizabeth II.

“We have a huge community of collectors who are looking for specific issues because a lot of them feel that a story, event or ceremony is always better presented in ¡Hola! or Hello!” says de Courson.

“So, part of our success is in acting as a historical reference or memento of something that has happened, like the passing of Queen Elizabeth or the coronation of King Charles. Those are the magazines people want to keep forever so they can be part of a moment in history.”

Another pillar of ¡Hola!’s success is the effective way the brand divides content across its different platforms. While a lot of exclusive stories are produced for the print magazines, the latest celebrity news is released on social media and online. Then there are the documentaries ¡Hola! creates for its VOD platforms and TV channels.

“We’re very careful to maintain the same quality standards with specific content for each platform,” says de Courson. “We feel our content is for all the family – everybody can find in ¡Hola! something to share, to read, to learn.

“That said, we’ve also created new products that are probably more appealing to a younger audience, more focused on fashion and trends [including Hello! Fashion Monthly]. We are finding that from the concept of ¡Hola! and Hello!, it’s easy to create a whole range of great spin-offs that are appealing to a larger audience.”

The AI debate

Like every other publisher, Hola has had to confront the challenges and assess the opportunities that come with the rise of artificial intelligence.

In November last year Hello! announced it was entering into a partnership with ProRata.ai, which has created technology that enables generative AIs to properly attribute contributing content and share revenues on a per-use basis. When it comes to daily operations within the group, ¡Hola! has thus far limited the influence of AI.

“When it comes to AI, we definitely can’t stay on the sidelines. We can’t ignore all the benefits that it can bring to our work,” says de Courson. “But at the same time, we still firmly believe in exclusive, unique and original content and that’s why we are handling it with care.

“In terms of logistics, for instance, there are definitely some tools that we are using, especially with our digital platforms, to better position our content and to

improve distribution of the news.

“Ultimately, though, we know what has made the success and the reputation of ¡Hola! and Hello!, and that is unique content. We mustn’t lose our renowned editorial line and our determination to offer the best to our readers.”

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Looking back… and forward

¡Hola!’s 80th birthday gave de Courson and her team an opportunity to step back in time as they compiled a special anniversary edition packed with highlights mined from the magazine’s rich history.

As part of the celebrations, ¡Hola! published a series of special editions recreating some of its most iconic covers (including the first five issues, which were drawings) using current celebrities.

“It was a beautiful trip down memory lane – going back and revisiting all those ground-breaking covers we did,” says de Courson. “It was a moment of pride for all the team to see what we’ve achieved. I think, over the years, we’ve interviewed almost everyone when it comes to royal families and celebrities.”

For de Courson, who has worked at ¡Hola! for 27 years, going through the archive was also a personal journey as she reminisced about some of the huge stories she was part of.

“I was proud to see covers like Céline Dion introducing her twin babies or interviews with Alain Delon I contributed to, or remembering our best-selling cover of all time, which featured the wedding of now King Felipe and Queen Letizia. We sold more than two million copies of that.”

While the last few months have been a time of reflection for Hola, the brand has by no means been stuck in the past. The publisher has launched two new magazines, ¡Hola! Madrid and ¡Hola! Barcelona with tips for people travelling to the two cities, as well as an icons series focusing on personalities.

“We still have a lot of ideas and a lot of projects,” says de Courson. “Yes, the market is changing, but we offer all the expertise that we’ve accumulated over the years as well as our very close relationship with celebrities.

“So that’s why we’re starting to do a lot of new specials that are celebrity focused – like those featuring singers Luis Miguel and Taylor Swift. It’s all about keeping that close connection with our audience.”

De Courson guarantees that each new ¡Hola! venture will be tackled with all the positivity that has made the brand a household name.

“Some didn’t believe that a Spanish media brand would be able to conquer the world, but when you have solid values and are true to your audience, the formula works,” says de Courson. “Every day we find a new reason to be excited, a new story that we want to tell. That enthusiasm we all put into producing ¡Hola! and Hello! is a big part our success.”