This was an especially strong performance for this niche health magazine, as circulations in the overall health publishing category had declined 30% between October and December 2011.
Publishing editor of Longevity, Gisèle Wertheim-Aymés, attributes this positive performance to a number of factors. "We have refined the editorial mix and ensured a more positive approach to wellness and ageing, by bringing in new voices who are experts in the fields of psychology, aesthetic medicine, general practice and dermatology, among others," she says.
Longevity boasts an exclusive panel of local and international experts including Dr Colin le Grange, a fertility and hormone health expert; Dr Kay Brugge, a neuropsychologist, author & life strategist; Celynn Erasmus dietician and author and Patrick Holford, a London-based author and international expert on nutrition.
The magazine also secured the exclusive rights to publishing a column from leading global health specialists, authors and television hosts, Dr Oz and Dr Michael Roizen, who are based in the US. While health is a serious topic, new features have been added to provide a lighter and more entertaining editorial mix, with Richard Mulholland, entrepreneur, speaker and father and Christian Eedes, former editor of Wine magazine, proving popular with readers.
Longevity believes part of the magazine's growth can be attributed to the magazine giving back to the community, and sales of the December edition proved that South Africans are passionate about supporting good causes. Longevity pledged to donate R1 for every issue sold to Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship (FITE), an organisation dedicated to the provision of loans to women. Together, copy sales and the proceeds from a cocktail party produced a donation of R27 000 for FITE.
Longevity is also now available in digital format on Zinio digital newsstand for worldwide distribution.
