Combat Stress had a challenge that is common to many charities. An aging and declining supporter base, and a need to stand out and stay relevant in a crowded charity market.

Their existing magazine was primarily motivated by internal demands, with stories and updates about what was internally important to them, without much consideration of their audience. We were briefed to review their magazine strategy and redesign.

We saw an opportunity to broaden their appeal and reach younger audiences by producing content about the wider issues of mental health, and delving deeper into Combat Stress’ expertise, with advice from their occupational health professionals. By creating a magazine that was something of value to its readers, we could then cross sell fundraising opportunities and create a digital offer that asked for data in return.

We conducted an audience survey with existing readers to understand what they were interested in, and results showed a whole range of interesting content. People expected a point of view on the political landscape, deeper understanding about the NHS, advice about living better, medical research, technical information explaining PTSD, and inspiring people stories.

To reach as wide an audience as possible, our cover used a warmer illustration style to convey mental health issues. People should feel welcomed into a magazine relevant to them, rather than feel like they’re reading a charity marketing magazine. Internal design layouts created pace with a mix of high impact imagery, long form stories, and shorter bite size chunks of information. Conceptual illustration helped explain complex ideas about mental health, and dramatic photography brought fascinating people stories to life.

And while income generation wasn’t the purpose of the magazine, the first new issue raised £9k, and the second went up to £32k.