A new direction for CountryStore Magazine
A full redesign and editorial rethink for Mole Valley Farmers’ members’ magazine was a real delight for us. We’ve long been fans of Mole’s leading rural and agricultural stores and could see that there was a clear opportunity for publishing a magazine full of engaging content – a ‘good read’ that neatly dovetailed products and membership benefits – without feeling like a catalogue.
Publishing a magazine – the process
The process of publishing a magazine can be a complex and multi-step operation. Our focus is to ensure that planning, coordination, and collaboration work seamlessly.
Working closely with the Mole communications team we managed the full production process. Starting with the concept for the magazine, which was then further developed into a more concrete plan and signed off by the client. This plan includes defining the target audience, the content, the tone, the design, and the overall vision.
Once the plan was in place, the editorial team began to work on the content, which included researching, interviewing, writing, editing, and proofreading.
We started with a wish list of must-read features and created an editorial style guide, then briefed our most accomplished agricultural, equestrian and gardening writers to provide high-quality editorial content. At the same time, we redesigned a new look and magazine page layout. Clean, friendly and smart, it would provide all of the elements we’d need to communicate the messages and show off the products in a way that would be easy to use and navigate for the reader.
Our graphic designers created a visual identity for the magazine, which included selecting fonts, colours, layouts, and images. The production team then takes over, overseeing the printing, binding, and distribution of the magazine.
We worked with the Mole in-house marketing and advertising teams to bring in advertised and also promote the magazine to its target audience, through various channels such as social media, email marketing, and events. To enhance the traditional printing model our digital publishing team provided an online magazine. Having the title available in a digital format provided a mobile reading experience making it more attractive to potential advertisers.
Overall, the process of publishing a magazine requires a lot of creativity, organisation, and attention to detail to produce a high-quality product that showcases the Mole Valey Farmers brand and membership benefits.
The result is glossy, gorgeous and thoroughly rooted in the countryside and the interests of the membership.
‘Our CountryStore magazine is very popular with members and its appeal with the readership grows with every edition. It contains an eclectic mix of articles, product-focused pages and competitions – so something for everyone. The magazine’s circulation now stands at just over 50,000 which is larger than the BBC’s Countryfile magazine.
We work very closely with the wonderful team at Salt Media, who publish this magazine for us. It is their creative flair, design talents and fun approach that have helped make the CountryStore magazine stand out from the crowd.’
Julie Edwards, Communications Manager, Mole Valley Farmers
The magazine won the PPA Independent Publisher Membership Publication of the Year Award.
