Hola! Magazine, A 75-Year Old Success Story. The ACT 9 Experience. Linda Ruth Reporting… Part 15

Jay Annis, VP of Hello Media, invited us to celebrate with him on day 3 of Mr. Magazine’s ACT 9 at the University of Mississippi. It’s the 75th anniversary of Hola! magazine, launched in Spain in 1944. Coming out of Spain’s bloody civil war, followed by the impact of World War 2 on the country, Hola’s mission was to offer good news and uplifting features. There is not and never will be anything dark or negative in this magazine.

Hola! is credited as the first magazine to create celebrity journalism. Hola! covered Elizabeth Taylor throughout her life; it covered the royal family of Monaco from childhood to old age. Its interest in the full range of celebrity lives creates continuity, so that generations of families read this publication. It covers tragedy—for example JFK’s assassination—but in a way that celebrates the victim’s life. Celebrities trust Hola, because they know there will be nothing negative in their coverage.

Hola! came to the UK thirty years ago as Hello magazine. Now there are 30 editions in 10 languages reaching 20 million readers per week. Every second around the world 15 people pick up their magazines. They do SIPs—cooking, homes, décor, parenting, travel, in packages ranging from 250 to 400 pages. Hola runs eight different websites with 27 million monthly uniques, tied together by design and voice. They have 18.5 million social media follows; a Spanish YouTube channel with influencers submitting content; the channel has over 16.5 million viewers and almost 200,000 subscribers.

With this global footprint, the US has been in the franchise’s sights, and they decided to launch in the US in 2016. The US hispanic community is 54 million, making the US the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world. This big, broad, young, growing market is perfect for Hola magazine. They launched with print, Hola.com, social media, Hola TV. Now they have between one and two million on every digital platform; in print, their readership has grown to 400,000 in less than three years.

Hola! is published in both English and Spanish; subscribers can take their pick. Older readers want to read in Spanish; the younger readers prefer English. The magazine accommodates reader preferences, both online and in print. And because the readers are different, the online content is not necessarily the same.

Getting advertising is tough—but Hola had over 60 major advertisers in its first year. They work with their advertisers on branded content, video, cross platform.

Hola! is a global brand with local relevancy. Their global prestige allows for worldwide exclusives.

Hola! was recognized as one of the ten best magazine launches in 2016.

After 75 years, the magazine that celebrates the good, the happy and the uplifting has amply earned its own celebration. Happy birthday, Hola!

Click the video below to watch Jay Annis presentation: