Falling under the umbrella of GN Media, women’s monthly, Aquarius has ceased operations. A long-term staple in the lifestyle sector, the magazine featured content on topics ranging from relationships, health, parenting and careers to fashion, beauty and travel. With June 2017 being its last print issue, the UAE-based title’s digital edition, aquarius.ae, will also be discontinued.
GN Publishing has today launched Baby&Child magazine, a new title dedicated to all parenting topics ranging from pregnancy to pre-school in the UAE. From the team behind Aquarius, Baby&Child is available quarterly from leading retailers for AED 20, with exclusive distribution through Marhababy, Baby Souk, DB Babies and Mumzworld. The brand also has an active Mummy Morning events calendar, daily social media and will shortly launch www.babyandchild.ae.
“Since we launched the Aquarius Baby supplement in May 2014, our mums have been asking us for a magazine and website as they desperately want access to locally relevant parenting advice as well as real life stories and support from mums in the UAE,” says Louisa Wilkins, Group Editor, Baby&Child. “They loved how our Baby supplement was open, honest and supportive of new parents in the UAE and they wanted more of it… so here we are delivering their wishes!”
Katie Heskett, Associate Publisher, GN Publishing Women’s Lifestyle Group, adds “For the past two years, we have been talking to our Baby&Child audience, either through the pages of Aquarius Baby or at our monthly Mummy Mornings. We know what our readers want as we are engaging with them every month thanks to our active and engaged community of mums. With 80,000 babies born in the UAE every year, there is a lot of support needed for new parents and we’re excited that Baby&Child will be able to be part of their journey as a family.”
Aquarius magazine has launched individually-named bespoke March 2016 issue covers for each of the magazine’s 1,500 subscribers. Each cover is a variation on the retail edition cover, but features the reader’s name as part of the main headline and reduced coverlines. Each personalised cover will be delivered directly to the subscriber’s door as part of the brand’s strategy for consolidating and growing its subscriber database and focusing on brand-to-hand activities. The magazine will also begin to include personalised advertising pages, with Home Centre personalising their artwork in the March issue.
“Aquarius is in a unique position thanks to being a part of GN Printing and GN Distribution – which has allowed us to introduce this exclusive gift to our readers,” says Katie Heskett, Publisher of the Women’s Lifestyle Group, GN Publishing. “Creating personalised covers has been a team effort with all parts of GN Media working together for the benefit of our audience as well as our clients.”
Louisa Wilkins, Editor, Aquarius, adds “We always want to give back to our readers and an exclusive subscriber cover is just one way we’re doing that. From the magazine team to the delivery boys getting it to their door, everyone has been excited to be part of the process.”
Mona Motamedi has joined Gulf News Publishing as Events and Promotions Manager. Mona previously worked as an Account Manager at advertising agency Atom, and brings over 10 years of experience in marketing and events to her new role.
As Events and Promotions Manager, Mona will be responsible for events, promotions and marketing related to the branding of Gulf News Publishing titles such as Aquarius, Inside Out, Alpha, Wheels and Friday Magazine.
“My background is in marketing, it’s what I’ve done all my life,” says Mona. “However events are what I am passionate about. What better then, to combine both with a position in such a well established company as Gulf News!”
Frankie Rozwadowska will join Savoir Flair from March 29, 2015 as Beauty Editor, following her previous role as Group Beauty Editor at Gulf News Magazines. Having lived in London prior to moving to Dubai, Frankie has previous experience writing in-depth beauty features as Beauty Editor for fashion-focused, luxury magazine 1883 as well as for online wellness magazine Hip & Healthy. At Gulf News Mazagines, Frankie worked across various titles including Aquarius, Friday and Alpha.
Tabitha Barda has joined the team at Aquarius as Deputy Editor. Having been with Gulf News Magazines for a number of years, Tabitha was most recently Lifestyle Editor for Gulf News’ weekend supplement, Friday, where she covered a wide range of features and topics. In her new position, Tabitha joins Editor Louisa Wilkins in producing and editing lifestyle content, working across all areas of the magazine and its supplements, such as Aquarius Baby and Aquarius Beauty Heroes.
“I’m so excited to be on the Aquarius team and really pleased to be re-joining all my colleagues at Gulf News Magazines,” says Tabitha. “I’ve always been a great fan of the Aquarius brand and it’s brilliant to now be playing a part in it myself. Having just had a baby, it also feels like the perfect title for me to be working on at this time in my life.”
Louisa Wilkins, Editor of Aquarius adds, “With her experience on Friday, Tabi joins the team with a strong knowledge of local lifestyle issues, brands and experts. Additionally, as a new mother herself, she perfectly fits the profile of an Aquarius reader, meaning that she has first-hand experience and empathy on the topics and issues that are so close to the hearts of our readers. I’m delighted to have her on the Aquarius team and look forward to seeing her make her own personal stamp on the brand over the coming months.”
Previously Publisher at ITP Consumer Publishing for the Ahlan! Group of magazines and websites, Katie Heskett has joined Gulf News Magazines as Associate Publisher for the Women’s Lifestyle and Homes & Interiors brands.
Currently focusing on Aquarius and InsideOut magazines and websites, Katie is also working on new launches in 2014.
“After eight great years at ITP, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to take on a really exciting new challenge with a great team at Gulf News Magazines. The plans we have for Aquarius and Inside Out both in print and online – as well as the developments taking place overall at Gulf News Magazines – are inspirational and I’m looking forward to being a part of a market-leading publishing organisation.”
James Hewes, Publishing Director for Gulf News Magazines, said: “I am delighted to welcome Katie to the Gulf News Magazines team. I’m incredibly excited by her appointment and I know that she’ll be using her wealth of publishing expertise to take Aquarius and InsideOut to the next level. Katie’s appointment is just the first of a number of exciting developments planned for the next few months as we start a new phase in the development of Gulf News Magazines.”