Bauer restructures motoring division, involving three hires and new digital publication
Bauer Media has restructured its motoring division, appointing three new editors, planning to launch a new digital publication, and dividing its six motoring publications into two divisions: New Car, which will focus on new car buyers, and Enthusiast, aimed at motoring fans.
The biggest restructure in the motoring brands’ history will take effect on Monday 14 September, and also see the motoring journalists previously assigned to mastheads pooled together in one editorial team within the ‘New Car’ division.
“This is a fundamental change to how our brands have worked in the past,” noted general manager of publishing, Terry King.
Those of us who have at one time in our lives worked in motoring journalism can only wish them well. However—and in these times there always seems to be a “however”—whether this aggregation of talent will work is debatable. Why? Because motoring magazines have individual characters. Wheels and Motor have different personalities. Same goes for all the others. Even with different editors (and I note the Motor editor is going to now steer Wheels) there’s a good chance that they will become same ‘ol, same ‘ol. There are financial benefits in distilling all of these journos into one team, but will sameness boost their individual circulations and appeal to advertisers?
Setting up two distinct motoring ‘arms’ for new car buyers and enthusiasts: great idea. They’re very different audiences, with different pools of advertisers too.
But rejigging Wheels and Motor “to align with the division’s purpose to target new car buyers”? While they clearly have solid authority in the motoring space, they would seem to be much more for the enthusiast, so any changes risk that audience.
A new car buyer may well pick up Wheels or Motor when researching their purchase, depending on the cover & content of the issues on sale at the time, but I din’t think they are the backbone of those magazines. Would seem more sensible to have one killer ‘New Car Buyer’ title, ie Which Car, and leverage some Wheels/Motor content into that title as relevant, while keeping the two enthusiasts mags and their very different voices.
That said, it’s always seemed to me that Wheels and Motor have become very similar over recent decades, a lot of “Phwoar!” coverlines screaming at you, maybe this would be a chance to take Wheels back into a slightly more premium territory, even a little Evo, while Motor clamps down on the mainstream mid-market space.
As for combining all journalists into one arm, makes sense from a resource perspective but again, this could whittle back at the difference in tone for each mag.
I reckon it will actually work well. Worked there previously and there was a lot of cannibalism between Motor and Wheels in particular. If the new eds can collaborate instead of fight each other over the same piece of pie, then efficiencies can be easily found without sacrificing the souls of the mags. Editors will always have control of the direction, and there’s a solid crop of writers in there at the moment.
I like the model also, WhichCar has grown from nothing and is a real player in market now. So long as they distance themselves from the NowToLove disaster orchestrated by those in Sydney I think it will do well.