MEDIA SPECIAL
We sell the magazine into stores ourselves – specialising in high-end road IBDs, the boutique style retailers and coffee shops. It is a perfect way to find our customers as these are exactly the sort of places they like to hang out in and spend lots of money! With our highest selling retailers like Condor who have been a fantastic supporter of Rouleur since launch we supply exclusive merchandising like light boxes.
Any launches, events or expansion planned for the year ahead? This year will be about growing the magazine and website – we have a big plan on driving subscription sales. On the website, we will be increasing content on there with a view to grow traffic, advertising and product sales. We have some key product collaborations planned for later this year.
Privateer announced it was to cease publication in 2013 in favour of diverting resources to Rouleur. Any chance of a comeback for the mag? We are extremely proud of what we achieved in Privateer – an innovative MTB magazine, that was loved by its readers and advertisers. Unfortunately we were fighting against a broader MTB market that has seen five years of consistent decline. We closed the magazine with an individually numbered collector’s edition and a firmly left the door open to return to the market if we feel the market is there in the future.
own creative agency, called Prime and Fire. Led by Phil Young, the agency services the growing need for content led commercial solutions across the action sports and cycling market, and is already working with several big brands including Nike, O2, Volvo and Scott Bikes. Having added the Run to the Hills event in
2013, 2014 promises to be another exciting year of growth for Dirt. After the successful launch of a German version of the magazine, a French edition will be launched in May creating a strong presence in the three biggest MTB markets in Europe. Bike Magic reports a spike in unique users in 2013 and to the tune of an impressive 40 per cent increase. This in part is down to the expansion of content to include in-house video production, titled Bike Magic Trail Guide TV. This series of edits is from professional film maker Mark Huskisson. Bike Magic’s move out of the city and to the
Welsh town of Monmouth has put it at the heart of some of the best riding in the country and on the doorstep of the Forest of Dean, no less, which has added hugely to the credibility of reviews. Ride UK has recently promoted Richard
The Ride Journal has a style all of its own
Cleggy Rowlands to the role of online editor, breathing fresh life into the online portal. A big thing for this brand is Facebook, with 170,000 likes and growing. RoadCyclingUK has once again doubled traffic, according to Factory.
THE RIDE JOURNAL Launched recently with the traditional party at Look Mum No Hands, The Ride Journal continues to be well received by readers inside and outside the industry. With a pool of writers chosen solely to tell their cycling stories, whether they be professionals or even irregular bike polo players, everyone’s welcome to share their tales from the trails and beyond – adding to the appeal of the magazine. Editor Philip Diprose told BikeBiz: “Dealing with mostly small independent shops has meant we have seen a number of new stockists join us, yet a few have been forced to cut out things such as luxury magazines from their stock. “We find it’s far easier to explain the appeal
of an all encompassing, visually strong print based journal by getting a copy in prospective stockists (and readers hands). We are lucky in that we only do a limited print run designed to sell out of each issue, that said if we saw there was more demand from shops we would be happy to increase our print runs." With all back issues all gone, The Ride
FACTORY MEDIA With one of the most recent title launches among its ranks, you would expect Factory Media to have had a slow year, gradually building Total Women’s Cycling from the ground up. Actually, it turns out the launch has proved one of the most active areas of the publisher’s portfolio, with monthly traffic to the site topping 100,000 visits per month, according to the publisher. Furthermore, just last month the women’s cycling site hosted its own awards ceremony at The London Bike Show. Each category was voted for by over 1,000 people and winners included Laura Trott for Pro Rider of the Year, as well as Personality of the Year, and Breeze Champion Sara Braidwood for the Unsung Cycling Heroine Award. 2013 was also significant thanks to the launch of Factory’s
40 BIKEBIZ MARCH
Total Women’s Cycling Awards took place at The London Bike Show
THEMERGED.COM Having cemented its position as the No.1 BMX product-only website,
TheMerged.com was given a facelift in 2013. With that investment in the site, the number of advertisers taking an interest “doubled over the prior year,” according to editor Dave Paterson. “As our readership grew, so did the website.
We brought on several new online contributors enabling us to provide much more original content, as well as work on exclusive articles alongside product designers, enabling us to bring new product information to our readers faster than any other BMX website. For example, this year we worked on exclusive product releases, including the most anticipated products of the year, like Cult’s Freecoaster and Kris Kyles’s Passenger frame from BSD.”
Going into 2014, the website’s owner says
he’s keen to offer more exclusive content than ever before. “I can’t thank everyone who has supported us since day one, and I’m truly excited to see what this year brings,” added Paterson. “Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (@themerged) to stay on top of what’s going on in BMX today.”
Journal shifts over 5,000 copies of each edition. Bike shops interested in taking on the magazine can make contact with Diprose at
theridejournal@hotmail.com for all enquiries.
ROAD.CC “
road.cc aims to make 2014 the year when the last of the holds outs in the cycling industry get the message that ignoring digital is bad for your bottom line. Print magazine numbers shrink into insignificance against the sort of figures online can deliver." That’s the message from
road.cc publishing director Simon Stansfield, who now sees the road cycling
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