When I first joined Redwood in 2019 press release strategies for trade media still revolved around the weekly print deadlines with clients keen to feature in that week’s Estates Gazette and Property Week’s editions.
Despite the daily nationals shifting their emphasis from print to online, trade media was still very much print first with the weekly or monthly magazines must reads for those wanting to stay ahead of the game.
Like everything else, 2020 and the pandemic changed everything.
People were stuck at home, and those magazines which would arrive in the office every Friday were suddenly paused, as everyone went online to get their trade news fix.
The trades adapted with daily email bulletins capturing the key news from the day. Meanwhile PRs had to decide which of the 100s of daily email bulletins would best showcase their client’s big news.
With all the industry news now common knowledge before print mags went live on a Friday, surely it was the end of weekly magazines.
However, fast-forward to 2025 and we have just seen that Estates Gazette will be rebranding following its takeover with the publication committing to maintain its weekly print mag.
No longer a news source, what is the point of a print trade magazine in 2025?
In my final few years as a trade media journalist for a property finance news outlet, who’s publication was solely online, I was surprised when in 2018 they decided to move into print media for the first time.
We already had a successful news website, so what would actually be in this magazine, and would any read it?
Coming out monthly, the magazine included long-form interviews with key industry leaders, features on key market trends, educational pieces on niche areas of the sector, and more informative get to know you pieces with market leaders.
It ended up being a rousing success with companies desperate to appear in this glossy magazine, whether as contributors or sponsors, which acted more as a lifestyle guide and education tool as opposed to an industry newspaper.
The likes of Property Week and Estates Gazette are heading in similar directions. The news sections consist of only a couple of news pages, with the rest of the magazine acting more as an industry guide there to help guide the sector through the obstacles thrown its way.
Clients are still keen to appear in these in-depth market discussions or provide their thoughts on a particular subject as they know there is still very much a strong audience for it.
That audience isn’t just the industry veterans, trade mags are a great tool for those just starting out in the industry. The amount of online content can be overwhelming for new starters, so a weekly trade mag which summarises the key issues impacting their market is a great way to build up your knowledge.
In fact, as a result we are seeing the online players produce more feature and commentary content which now appears in their daily email newsletters.
Therefore, news surrounding the death of print trade media has been greatly exaggerated, and perhaps we may even see more weekly or monthly magazines land on desks over the next few years.
