SUSTAINABLE MAGAZINES How and why would a magazine take up a civic cause and together with sponsors campaign for a better world?
H 96
ow does a major media company get people to care about their e nvironment?
Too oft e n,
the answer is a series of long,
boring, pedantic tomes written once a year in a style that public policy nerds love but ‘normal’ people find impenetrable. And, no surprise, no one pays attention.
Abril Media in Brazil decided to break
the mould and turn it into an ongoing editorial campaign throughout its titles and platforms and include sponsors and advertisers in the process - and all this without losing journalistic rigour.
Abril actually wanted
to bring about change amongst their readers who included mothers, sports fans, teenage kids, single young adults, new homeowners, senior citizens... In other words, just about everyone in Brazil. Abril owns 52 titles that publish 192 million copies a year reaching 28 million readers. Abril’s
joint-ventures with television stations reach 23 million viewers in 157 Brazilian cities, or 62 per cent of the country’s households.