Following the unforeseen difficulties the media landscape has faced due to Covid-19, Image Centre Group’s (ICG) senior leadership team has released a statement reaffirming its commitment to readers and clients.
Companies across New Zealand are operating in unprecedented times amidst the countrywide Covid-19 Level 4 lockdown. While this is a time of uncertainty for many industries, it also offers an opportunity for companies to be bold as they look to remain relevant and indeed viable.
Despite the challenges of the current environment, locally owned Image Centre Group, with its media, content and print portfolio, remains well positioned in its diverse offering to service the New Zealand market from all angles.
Marcus Hawkins‑Adams, CEO ICG Media says that the business stands in a favourable position whereby being locally owned and run it understands its purpose, and through that its audience. Adding that ICG is committed to delivering content throughout these uncertain times. “ICG is constantly making sure its staff and clients are kept in the know, including on how the new normal is being put in place so that we can keep delivering to clients and readers,” he says.
Managing director, David Atkins, remains positive and confident in the company’s ‘can-do’ Kiwi attitude. “I am positive that Kiwi companies, including ICG, are completely committed, agile and aligned to the communities they serve. They will continue to be innovative and all out in their efforts to survive. It’s not going to be easy and we don’t know what it will look like, but we will do our utmost to stay relevant.”
With titles including dish, 16-years strong, Good and NZ Marketing magazine as well as a host of custom publications, Atkins believes that the company has the best team in position to align audience and publication through both their print and digital platforms. Even during these challenging times. “Our titles’ digital platforms are in a good position to keep audiences engaged between periods of the periodicals arriving, even more so during this lockdown,” he says.
Sarah Tuck, editor of ICG’s dish magazine, says the most important thing for her team was making sure the most recent edition made it to readers before the lockdown.
“The dish team were racing against time for the last two weeks before lockdown, creating new content and changing existing material until the last minute to reflect the developing needs of our audience. The response that we have received shows it was well worth the effort; our relationship with dish readers has never been stronger.”
By connecting with their audience, Tuck says that her team have noticed a spike in activity which continues to grow today. “It’s not only magazine readers who have been loving the content; the website has seen a huge spike in visitors, with pageviews up 180 percent since the lockdown began.”
This is an unprecedentedly difficult time for New Zealand, our industry and our readers she continues. “We’re currently working hard to make the next issue of dish resonate just as meaningfully, grateful that we are in a position to do exactly that.”
Good and NZ Marketing, both working on upcoming issues are fortunate in that they have time on their side as they are published quarterly and three-times yearly respectively. Having just put an issue of Good into the market, editor Carolyn Enting, says that the editorial team are working on the next issue and providing new daily content online. Digital subscriptions for the magazine have also grown over the past two weeks.
“The message we are getting is that Good magazine couldn’t be more on point about what we all need over this time. People are seeking advice on physical and emotional wellbeing, ways to support the planet, getting back to basics, as well as be lifted up and inspired,” Enting says.
ICG’s custom publishing division with more than a dozen titles including Habitat by Resene, AA Directions and Liquorland’s Toast, is also well-positioned in the market.
Senior Account Director, LauraGrace McFarland, says that her team is ready to offer marketers innovative solutions to deliver bespoke content, advertising sales, print and distribution, even in these challenging times.
In banding together in this time of crisis and having a plan packed with Kiwi ingenuity, the ICG team is doing what it does best, connect with the hearts and minds of its readers and clients.
