Associated Magazines changes its name

Associated Magazines, publisher of leading media brands, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping/Goeie Huishouding, Marie Claire, O, The Oprah Magazine, and House and Leisure is changing its name to Associated Media Publishing. The name change forms part of the company’s vision to expand beyond the magazine print market and capitalise on new developments in the media sector.

“Our vision has always been to gather and inspire South Africa’s affluent women,” says Julia Raphaely, managing director of Associated Media Publishing (AMP). “Our mission is to grow our excellent media brands, by delivering quality content and experiences on various media platforms, not just print.”

Founded in 1983 by the undisputed doyenne of South African publishing, Jane Raphaely, AMP is a family-run business with a heritage and a legacy in women’s magazines. Under the business leadership of Julia Raphaely and the content direction of Vanessa Raphaely, AMP has transformed into a media brand business, which reaches approximately two million consumers each month through its print, online, digital and event activation platforms.

“With 29 years of experience in the women’s magazine market and a passion and level of professionalism that sets us apart, we pride ourselves on being the most dynamic, creative and solutions-based company in our industry,” adds Raphaely. “Our new corporate tagline ‘We know women’ therefore captures not only our legacy, but also our intention to focus on our most important asset, our dedicated audience.”

Underlying Associated Media Publishing’s new vision, are five values:

• Purpose – Everything we do, is done with two very specific intentions; firstly to inspire and grow our tribes, and secondly to deliver opportunities where our advertising partners can engage with them. Our purpose is to always engage and grow our audience, while being commercially successful.
• Passion – Community and content creation is not merely about putting word to paper, or creating hype online; but about inspiring an audience. Inspiration amounts to nothing if it’s not driven by passion; the passion to be innovative and brilliant.
• Innovation – AMP always strives to find ways to best maximise the power and impact of our brands, creating commercial platforms that always deliver for both our audience and advertisers.
• Chutzpah – Born of an entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude, AMP encourages innovative thinking and pro-active doing.  “We are the biggest small guy and the smallest big guy”. We push boundaries, while always being respectful to our brands. We take chances, move fast and always punch above our weight.
• Professional – Always mindful of our legacy and integrity, AMP always holds itself to high standards of quality, accountability and measurability.

With the name change also comes a restructure of the publishing senior management team with the appointment of Adrian Pickstock as Group Publishing Director and deploying Andreline van Tonder as Group Publisher: Audience Development. With over 20 years experience in the publishing industry, having worked in the UK, New Zealand, Australia and the UAE, Adrian will be responsible for driving sales and new revenue streams for the business, while Andreline will focus on audience development across all brands and platforms.

Associated Media Publishing media platforms include:

• Print and digital editions of Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, House and Leisure, Good Housekeeping/Goeie Huishouding and O, The Oprah Magazine.
• Websites for all the magazine brands
• Mobi site for Cosmopolitan
• Social media presence for all brands
• Over 80 events across the group per annum