Versus Arthritis is the UK’s largest charity dedicated to supporting people with arthritis. As a longstanding client for CPL One, we first created a new magazine, Inspire, for the charity 11 years ago when it was still known as Arthritis Care. Following the merger of Arthritis Care and Arthritis Research UK, the magazine was revamped to reflect the new Versus Arthritis brand.
The Challenge
In 2023, Versus Arthritis adapted its offer to an audience with evolving needs and expectations, implementing a revised membership proposition to help build revenues and supporter engagement.
Versus Arthritis needed to realign Inspire as a key member benefit, driven by the strategic repositioning and a drive to recruit new members. The new magazine also needed to compete with bigger charity publications, give readers value for money and incentivise them to subscribe. Additionally, it needed to increase its appeal to advertisers.
The goal was to have 1,500 new sign-ups by March 2024, followed by 800 additional members every quarter.
The Solution
CPL One’s team reimagined and enhanced the magazine, bringing fresh editorial thinking and vibrant designs in a makeover that prioritised the need to become a commercial proposition and tool for member acquisition.
We also took a test-and-learn approach to format, to determine whether the magazine should be saddle-stitched or perfect-bound. Although the latter was appropriate for the larger pagination and to increase perceived value, after a test launch, some readers with compromised mobility because of their arthritis found that perfect binding caused handling issues. Consequently, we swapped to saddle stitch for comfort and ease.
These changes supported a strategic roadmap:
- Give out free copies of the relaunched Inspire to raise awareness and test response.
- Invite people to subscribe for an initial fee of £3 per issue.
- Look to increase this fee as the magazine grows in size and stature.
- Build revenue from advertising.
The Results
The relaunch exceeded its KPIs:
- 2,212 new members of the Inspire community (as of March 2024) against a target of 1,500
- £30K income in less than a year
- 95% of readers would recommend Inspire to a friend
- Low cancellation rate at 8%
Inspire magazine won ‘Relaunch of the Year’ and editor Tracey Lattimore won ‘Editor of the Year’ at the Memcom Excellence Awards 2024.
It has also been shortlisted as ‘Membership Publication of the Year’ at the PPA Independent Publisher Awards 2024.
Since we relaunched, we have signed up 2,212 new members. This is more regular givers supporting VA than we have brought in in the past four years – an incredible achievement.
Client
- Versus Arthritis
Sector
- Charity
Expertise
- Design
- Editorial
Deliverables
- Print magazine
Expertise
- Design
- Editorial
Deliverables
- Print magazine
