About K9 Magazine, the Lifestyle Magazine for Dog Lovers
This is a business analysis of K9 Magazine.
K9 Magazine is a fully digital/interactive monthly lifestyle magazine for people who are passionate about their canine pets but would not necessarily describe their interest in dogs as professional.
Launched in August 2001, K9 Magazine has developed its own unique position in an under-represented media market place.
The UK’s first title to describe itself as a lifestyle magazine rather than a hobbyist or professional interest canine media product, K9 Magazine can cover editorial angles which other pet magazines are unable to focus on due to the highly specific canine interests of their particular readerships.
K9 Magazine covers everything that a mainstream, glossy lifestyle magazine would, with a specific focus on the reader’s interest in dogs. Interviews with celebrity dog owners, behavioural and living advice for people who share their lives with a dog, features on pet friendly holidays, pet friendly cars and pet friendly homes as well as informative and entertaining coverage of dog related news, product reviews, competitions and more make K9 Magazine totally stand out from the crowd.
K9 Magazine Media Coverage
The Market
The UK pet industry comprises a consumer base of more than 40% of all British households. The industry is very young, growing rapidly and is made up of businesses ranging in size from very small private operations (groomers, pet shops, kennels etc) to the world’s largest corporations (such as Mars, Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive, Tesco, Direct Line and the world’s largest advertiser Procter & Gamble who own the burgeoning Iams pet food brand)
There are 6.9m dog-owning households in the UK and currently just 5 significant periodical magazines alongside K9 Magazine competing for this dramatically untapped, prospective readership. The British pet industry is worth over £4bn per year and growing, however the thin spread of magazines aiming to draw on this highly lucrative, rapidly developing sector leaves a gap for a highly aspirational, mainstream lifestyle title such as K9 Magazine to make connections with dog owners who would not ordinarily consider purchasing a traditional’ dog magazine. The average amount of money spent on a dog throughout the course of its life is £13,636 (according to MoreTh>n Pet Insurance). Therefore a collective of just 200,000 UK dog owners will spend no less than £1.13bn on their pets within the next five years. The market and the opportunity for K9 Magazine is significant.
K9 Magazine’s Position & Perception
K9 Magazine’s business opportunity exists in the fact that there is a very large gap in the market for people who are not considered professional interest’ dog owners, who do not describe dog ownership as their number one hobby but equally, are interested in their pet’s well-being, are interested in ways to improve their and their dog’s lives, are interested in modern pet ownership issues. Above all, this group insists on a media product and format which is representative of the standard of high quality lifestyle magazines they are already familiar with (Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Glamour, Heat, Country Life etc).
K9 Magazine’s target readers are not currently purchasing other dog magazines on the market, not because they don’t have an interest in dogs — they have an interest by definition if they own a dog — but because the other dog magazines are not presented in a format, containing the style of content which our readers require from a specific digital media product.
K9 Magazine has attracted a number of high profile, dog owning celebrities who reflect the quality of readership the publication is aiming for. The subject matter — dogs- is so engaging and positive, K9 Magazine has never had to pay any celebrity or cover star for an interview (Vidal Sassoon, Caprice, Carmen Electra, Vanessa-Mae, Jamie & Louise Redknapp, Max Clifford, Mariah Carey are just some of the people who have agreed to appear in K9 Magazine to discuss dogs). All of the high profile people featured in the magazine have pre-screened the publication and deemed it suitable to put their name to, giving an indication of the esteem the title is held in by a particularly discerning group of dog owners.
The magazine is held in similar regard by its advertisers. From some the world’s largest, Procter & Gamble, Mars, Nestle, Tesco, Asda, Direct Line Insurance, Royal & Sun Alliance to the pet industry’s smaller players, K9 Magazine attracts repeat custom from brands who usually elect to appear exclusively in mainstream lifestyle titles.
K9 Magazine’s strapline at launch was Bred to be Different’, since then the strapline has changed to the more self-explanatory Lifestyle Magazine For Dog Lovers’, however the publication has undoubtedly achieved its goal of being perceived, discussed and referred to as the dog magazine which stands alone from all the others.
K9 Magazine Reader & Industry Comment:
Wow! Everything I wanted and more. I’m blown away that you guys actually get it’. You understand what I want to read and don’t talk down to me about dogs. You’ve nailed it. I LOVE K9 Magazine!
~ Kelly Hayman
I just wanted to let you know I read my first copy of K9 Magazine this morning. One question, where have you been all my life??? Perfect.
~ Jude Hawa.
Hey kind editor,
In the few months I’ve been reading your newsletters I am completely convinced that you’ve got the most top notch publication out there, from every angle. And it’s cheap at twice the price! (Don’t tell anyone I said that.) At first I was a little put off by the cute model/actress/barista types on the cover, but there’s so much solid science in the mag that it’s impossible to pass up, and I’ve gone ahead and subscribed.
I don’t know how you do it, but I’m impressed by you all — 100%. And thank you for the personal email.
As I’ve mentioned, solid science is most interesting to me, specifically behavior and training methods by the experts. I believe rehoming is an important issue these days of economic hardship. Coming up with creative ways to support shelters, too.
Thanks for asking!
~ Christine Blint
I have started getting K9 Magazine. It is fabulous! Great stories, visuals, everything! It has got to be one of the best dog magazines out there! You deal with some strong issues and it doesn’t have the feel of a fashion magazine with dogs (unlike some mags I could name). Love it!
Best barks!
~ Joy Ward (author of Haint)
I’ve been proud to take the cover of K9 Magazine with my gorgeous canine babies.
It’s a bit different to the other magazine and one of the reasons I’ve always liked is that it has a more lifestyle, modern edge.
With the changes ahead, we look forward to our next cover!
~Caprice, entrepreneur and TV personality.
”My copy of K9 has replaced my usual choice of mag! I get my gossip,fashion and lifestyle tips for both me and my bulldog Matilda, all within one cover!”
~ BBC presenter Jo Good
The Product
K9 Magazine launched in 2001 with a simple, uncomplicated message, to be the UK’s first truly mainstream publication for ordinary’ owners of ordinary’ pet dogs.
Since launch, the magazine has gone on to become the product we envisaged it would be, covering all manner of general interest lifestyle issues with a distinct canine flavour, evolving with the times to cater for the millions of dog lovers who prefer to access their information digitally.
Dog owners, although easily grouped and profiled by their common interest in canines, are not necessarily interested in dog training, how to clean their pet’s ears, how to judge their pet’s conformation and breed type or in fact any form of content which may appear to have come from a dog ownership manual. K9 Magazine aims to satisfy the interests of dog owners who are familiar with media products that are more aimed toward the middle market.
K9 Magazine’s content is a healthy mix of features which aim to achieve just two goals. To entertain and enlighten the average’ dog owner.
K9 Magazine is proud to stand apart from ‘the dog world’. The magazine is for dog owners, not the ‘dog world’.
K9 Magazine understands that a dog owner’s most important lifestyle decisions are all influenced by dog ownership. The car, the house, the job and even holidays are all influenced by dog ownership. Dog owners drive cars capable of carrying the dog, immediately ruling out certain vehicles and making others more attractive. Dog owners tend to live in a home with a large enclosed garden away from busy traffic, again ruling out certain properties and ruling in others.
Dog owners working hours are important as their pets can not be expected to be left at home for several hours at a time. When, where and how long holidays can be taken are a major concern for dog owners. Many Brits refuse to leave their pets in boarding kennels and subsequently there is a significant population of the UK’s dog owners who either don’t take holidays at all or insist on pet friendly breaks either in Britain or abroad. Owning a dog is a major lifestyle influence, K9 Magazine understands that not even dog owners themselves are aware how much their dog dictates many aspects of their lives.
A typical issue of K9 Magazine would carry two interviews with high profile or celebrity dog owners, an in-depth advice driven feature detailing ways to improve and enjoy one’s life with a dog even more, a National Geographic’ style article touching on our dog’s canine ancestors, a home and garden feature for people who share their domiciles with dogs, lots of consumer advice covering pet foods, toys, beds, health treatments, pet insurance, books and other pet products including reviews and competitions plus a healthy mix of features dealing with all manner of lifestyle issues likely to affect every single person who owns a dog, whether they be a new dog owner or an experienced one.
K9 Magazine’s latest reader research would indicate the magazine is reaching its target audience and is capturing the interest of pet owners who would never have considered purchasing a dog themed magazine previously.
Reader Profile
: – Our typical reader is a professional, modern pet owner
: – Has a strong interest in their pet’s lifestyle, health and well being
: – Is interested in new pet products and lifestyle enhancing services for their pet
: – Has not previously been exposed to pet-related press or media and considers themselves to be a novice or learner-pet owner’
: – Tends to feed dry/complete food, has or is looking for pet insurance at the time of reading and is interested in most charitable organisations who care for animals
K9 Magazine Psychometric Reader Profile
K9 Magazine’s typical subscriber is a 34 year old woman. She is ‘Net-Savvy’ and a confident online consumer. Her interest in dogs is mainly for pleasure but she likes to keep up with new products and canine health information. This person is happy to shop around for pet products and shows no particular loyalty to any one brand.
As a dog owner, the typical K9 Magazine subscriber is aware of marketing for various pet brands and is able to name an average of 10 dog related products or brands from various companies. The average K9 Magazine subscriber describes them self as ‘very confident’ about using the web for entertainment and product research.
K9 Magazine Core Demographics
“¢ 69% Female
“¢ 31% Male
“¢ 12.5% are aged between 25-34
“¢ 62.7% are aged between 34-54
“¢ 46.2% have £25,000+ household income
“¢ 44.1% are married
“¢ 26% live in the South East of which 12% are in London
“¢ 31.76% are either Housewife or Admin/Clerical.
“¢ 37.16% spouse’s occupation Professional/Senior Management or Manager in Business
“¢ 41.5% are A/B socio-economic indicator
“¢ 42.2% are C1/C2 socio-economic indicator
“¢ 75.8% are home owners
“¢ 45% have children
“¢ 74% have a credit card
“¢ Key Lifestyle Characteristics: Pets/Animals, Personal Computing, Home Computer Games, Outdoor Lifestyle, UK Travel/Holidays, Further Education, Books, Theatre/Cult/Arts, Eating Out, Gardening.
Media Consumption
“¢ 73.6% read Mid Market Newspapers
“¢ 26.5% read Quality Newspapers
“¢ 34.9% read Popular Newspapers
Online Behaviour
“¢ 31.7% use the internet less than 10 hours per week
“¢ 18.9% use the internet 10-20 hours per week
“¢ 41.4% have made an online purchase using a credit card
Key Facts
“¢ 1 in 6 readers have pet insurance
“¢ 1 in 4 readers uses a dry/complete dog food product
“¢ 28% of readers consider themselves new to dog ownership
“¢ 59% do not purchase any other form of pet-specific publications
Find out more about K9 Magazine.