Strategic International Expansion of Magazine Publishing

Abstract

There has been an increasing number of globalised magazine brands appearing in the markets recently, Vogue and Bazaar are successful cases of that. Given this prevalent trend, it is essential to analyse the reasons and favourable conditions that make magazine companies focus on strategies of international expansion. And the experience of those successful magazine publishers could provide precious lessons for other content suppliers in media industry and also indicate right development direction for magazine companies. This article aims to discuss the reasons behind this phenomenon and provide good practice for guidance. Initially, influential factors such as digitization, saturation of home market, strength of brands, segmentation and public good characteristics are introduced, before the importance of adaptation and multiple-platform strategy is pursued. Finally, contract-based arrangements with overseas partners and acquisition strategies are discussed.