Bauer Rebrands Dolly Magazine, Goes From Monthly To Bimonthly Issues

Bauer Media has today given iconic teen magazine DOLLY a totally fresh face, with its “mobile first” policy the pinnacle of its reinvention. The rebrand comes as the 46-year-old brand discovered that 90 per cent of Dolly’s 14-17-year-old target audience engages with the title via smartphones.
The new and improved dolly.com.au has been designed as a fully responsive on demand mobile site that speaks to teens on the platforms they interact with the most.
While still intending to keep teens in the know on all the breaking celebrity news, fashion, beauty, and lifestyle content, dolly.com.au boasts a couple of newbies too, including a custom quiz platform and emoji reactions.
Video is central to the new digital strategy with content produced in a purpose built DOLLY studio. In-read native video advertising platform Teads will offer offer advertisers enhanced engagement opportunities with consumers.
“We pride ourselves on knowing our audience, the kind of content they engage with and the forms they enjoy consuming it in. That’s why we’re putting video to the heart of our editorial strategy,” Dolly digital managing editor Emily Kerr said.
Dolly has also launched on Snapchat to leverage all of the key social media channels, as its consumers’ demand even more sharable content.
“We’ve got a diversified distribution strategy, so social, search, direct, third party, off-platform, and we recognise the importance of all those audience and distribution sources,” Bauer Xcel MD Carl Hammerschmidt said.
“Facebook is a really big, highly engaged audience for us and it’s got a massive reach, so it’s a really important audience channel for us.”
In addition to the enhanced dollyy.com.au, the reimagined magazine hits the shelves today. The new perfect-bound bimonthly still reads like the same Dolly but will include longer reads and deeper content on celebrity, lifestyle and relationships.
Fans of the Dolly posters have also been heard, with the mag publishing poster books every other month. And the hugely popular Dolly Doctor will continue to run across both print and digital.
Dolly publisher Marina Go said, “When Dolly was launched in the 1970s there were very different consumer expectations to those of today.
“Dolly has remained the number one magazine for teenage girls throughout that time but our readers have told us they want the great content we deliver to them in the format and on the platforms they engage with the most.
“Smartphone usage amongst our audience is very high which is why a mobile first strategy is no longer a nice to have but a necessity.
“We have spent a lot of time defining the purpose of our digital properties and the magazine. The website will be more reactive, topical and visually strong with a heavy emphasis on video, news and entertainment, while our print offering will be an ‘edited-for-her’ guidebook to her life, with more in-depth features on the issues she cares about most.”
Hammerschmidt said when it comes to online strategy, “Digital is about scale and it’s about how well you can scale audiences”. And with the relaunch of Dolly now underway, he added Cosmopolitan was next in the business’ sights.
“Over the next six months we’re relaunching Dolly as a mobile first, digital first, video strategy,” he explained.
“We are then looking to relaunch Cosmo, which is already a hero brand and a hero product in the young women’s segment, and with both of them we think we’re going to have one of the most compelling young women’s offerings in the market, on a truly responsive, mobile first platform.
“I think in Dolly and Cosmo we’ve got two great hero brands, and two brands we’ll bring two really strong audiences from.”
Bauer Xcel digital commercial director Peter Manten added, “The amplification of the DOLLY brand digitally, with an absolute audience, content and mobile first strategy, is testament to the depth of the Bauer Xcel digital portfolio and continues to allow us to offer unique and exciting opportunities for brands and clients alike.”
Please login with linkedin to comment
bauer xcel cosmo dolly.com.au France Hearst Bauer Brands Kellogg's Marmalade mobile first New Innovations The EdgeLatest News

Moccona Launches New “Me-Time” Brand Platform, Via Edge
Iconic coffee brand Moccona has launched its new brand platform, “me-time”, which puts a contemporary lens on “everyday indulgence”, the brand’s long held positioning. The new platform was developed in conjunction with Edge after extensive research into the attitude and state of mind of today’s coffee drinks. This showed that the shift to living ‘always […]

Network 10 And Nickelodeon International Partner For First-Time With Live Action Series
Nickelodeon International and Network 10 have announced their first-ever partnership, greenlighting live-action TV show Taylor’s Island (working title). The show will be produced by Fremantle with significant production investment from Screen Australia, and premiere across Nickelodeon channels globally in early 2022. Nordic Entertainment Group is also a partner to the agreement, and will premiere Taylor’s Island […]

Introducing The Zavy Social Scoreboard
You might have noticed a colourful scoreboard sitting on the B&T homepage this month. Well, allow us to formally introduce ourselves – and it. We’re Zavy. And we believe in the promise of social media: brand building by two-way engagement and rich communication. What does this have to do with a scoreboard? […]

Study: 81% Of Creatives Say COVID’s Hit Their Earnings, 40% Saying It’s More Than Halved
A new survey released today from global creative platform Genero shares first-hand findings from creative talent around the world about the impact COVID-19 has had on their work life, and what the future holds for the creative production industry. The report, The Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Creative Industry, finds that COVID-19 has accelerated […]

Priceline Pharmacy Celebrates Every Day Being A Festival of You, Via Whippet
From the head lice that’s got the kids itching for relief to your husband’s chainsaw-style snoring that has you yawning all day long, little health issues can have a big effect on your family’s day-to-day happiness.

Foxtel Media Unveils Four New Digitally Enabled Cient Offerings
Foxtel Media has announced four new offerings to provide advertisers expertise in more targeted, dynamic media delivery as part of a realignment towards digital. The new offerings are Foxtel Xplore Audience targeting on Kayo, addressable audience targeting on Foxtel Go, the ability to target in-venue viewers on Fox Venues, and a new Dynamic Trading Platform. […]

“The Free And Open Internet Is A Force For Good”: Quantcast Reveals New Intelligent Audience Platform
On Thursday, Quantcast held their Virtual NOVA event, discussing the current state of the advertising industry, the end of third-party cookies, the open internet vs walled gardens, and data privacy and consent. The event coincided with the launch of their new Quantcast Platform. It is an intelligent audience platform powered by the company’s patented AI […]

New Research Reveals Men Unsure How To support Gender Equality
Global marketing agency LEWIS today revealed findings from its new global research on gender inequality, conducted in support of the global HeForShe movement. You can read the report in full here. The report shows the impact and perceptions of gender inequities during the pandemic across 13 countries. The findings reveal an alarming trend: 98 per […]

Haystac Wins Dairy Australia’s PR
Social relations agency, Haystac, part of the BWM Dentsu Group, has been appointed PR agency for Dairy Australia following a competitive pitch. As the national services body for the dairy industry, Dairy Australia supports the profitability and sustainability of dairy farming and its role in producing quality, nutritious food, while committing to the care of […]

Marketing Heavyweights Join ADMA Advisory Committee
ADMA advisory committee now offering some real marketing muscle. Plus, a cleaner oven after the Mr Muscle.

Hamish Blake & Zoe Foster-Blake Return For Tourism Australia’s Latest Marketing Push
Hamish Blake and Zoe Foster-Blake officially replace Celeste Barber for feeling like they're in every bloody ad on TV.

Integral Ad Science Releases “Power Of Context” Report Surveying APAC Market
B&T's taken this Integral Ad Science report & delicately sliced it into sashimi-like morsels for your delectation.

Amazon Changes ‘Hitler-Esque’ Logo
Despite attempts to come back into fashion, it remains an ongoing and uphill battle for the toothbrush moustache.

Paper Moose Announces Graham van der Westhuizen As General Manager
Paper Moose announces Graham van der Westhuizen as new GM. Yet, no confirmation of whether he's Dutch or German.

10 Secures Rights To Oprah’s Meghan And Harry Interview
Typically, when a Royal does a "tell-all" interview they tend to go horribly badly. Here's hoping history continues.

“Leaves A Nazi Aftertaste!” Sydney Westfield Forced To Apologise For Swastika Face Masks
Shoppers fume at unsavoury mannequin display at a suburban Westfield. And this time it wasn't even Honey Birdette.

Channel 10 Unveils New Bachelor, Pilot Jimmy Nicholson
Bachelor Jimmy Nicholson all set to find love! But, in reality, he'll be pursued, roasted & pilloried by the tabloids.

Wednesday TV Wrap: A Night Of New Releases
There was some enticing new programming from the networks last night. That said, everyone just watched MAFS.

Dentsu Report: COVID Has Accelerated Consumer Behaviour Change & Brands Risk Being Left Behind
Dentsu's 'Age of Inclusive Intelligence' report includes added dietary fibre for those who like to read on the toilet.

JCDecaux Wigs Up For Mardi Gras In Oxford Street Installation
Everyone is gay come Mardi Gras! Well, maybe not Tony Abbott or Mark Latham, but everyone else is momentarily gay.

What The FLoC? Google Vows To Stop Tracking Users For Ads
B&T's tech writer debunks industry reputation for being humourless by sneaking slightly lame gag into headline.

WPP’s Wunderman Thompson Acquires Mobile Tech Provider NN4M
WPP acquires tech provider NN4M; a name that makes you sound like you've burned the roof of your mouth with hot cheese.

Thinkerbell, BINGE And Grill’d Unveils The Brain Burger To Celebrate Return Of ‘The Walking Dead’
Yes, this burger contains an actual lamb's brain, making it the perfect way to get the kids NOT to nag for fast food.

Simone Gupta Promoted To CEO Of Havas PR Australia
Havas sweeps in a new era of PR. Arguably bad news for the Champagne swilling, coke snorters left in the industry.

Pinterest Presents The Currency Of Predictive Trends And Unveils New Advertiser Tools
If you're not on the Pinterest bandwagon you will be after this. Or, there's the 'free Britney' bandwagon if you prefer.

WINR Launches First-Party Data Hub For Publishers
WINR unveils first-party data hub for publishers which apparently can't air fry cheesy beef empanadas.

Havas Media Group Promotes Danni Dimitri To Head of Strategy, Sydney
Havas has promoted Danni Dimitri to head of strategy. Confirms she is no relation to Happy Days' Chachi Arcola.

EatFirst Put Women At Centre Of Plate For International Women’s Day
Catering marketplace EatFirst to hero their female businesses during this year’s celebrations

Our Revolution Appointed By Drinks Brand Bickford’s
B&T adores the traditional taste of the Bickford's cordial range. We just like to modernise it by putting tequila in it.

Rexona Clinical’s Unique ‘Pitvertising’ Won The Summer, Via Clemenger BBDO Sydney
While the Sydney Sixers won the BBL season ten trophy, Rexona Clinica won the summer sports marketing battle with a game-changing sponsorship idea. BBL 2020-21 series will go down as the ‘Year of the Pit’ after Rexona Clinical owned the summer after unveiling its new form of advertising sponsorship – ‘Pitvertising’. The concept, devised by […]