The Health Service Executive (HSE) contracted Celtic Media Group to revamp their quarterly 80 page staff magazine Health Matters with a one-stop-shop solution, handling all editorial, design, photographic, sub-editing, layout, print and online edition production and the management of marketing and distribution.
The magazine has a print run of 18,500 and is distributed to 203 locations throughout Ireland in hard copy as well as via ezine to 45,000 recipients.
In collaboration with the HSE, we have made Health Matters a vibrant, people-centred staff lifestyle magazine featuring an industry-leading design.
Their Story
Health Matters is the quarterly national staff publication of the HSE and has been published by external providers on a quarterly basis since December 2005.
The purpose of Health Matters is to provide a vibrant and interesting communications channel for staff to share information, ideas and innovation and to celebrate their successes and achievements.
It is important that the magazine be appealing from both a design and content point of view, with engaging geographically spread staff-focused articles from all arms of the HSE, rather than medical journal-type copy
Their Goal
The HSE had a number of paramount goals with the issuing of a tender to a provider to produce and supply their quarterly staff magazine:
- The appointment of an Executive Editor with the experience to work within a large framework and to produce an engaging people-centred magazine.
- The ability of the provider to plan for a successful redesign of Health Matters.
- Production of a people-focused and engaging magazine that will be of value to readers.
- The ability to provide a team of key staff, with nominated back-up personnel in all cases.
- The ability to offer a one-stop solution up to and including the distribution management and point of distribution marketing.
Their Solution
Celtic Media Group redesigned Health Matters in conjunction with a content revamp, to suit the needs of both the HSE and its staff.
Our front cover features a new, more modern approach, the magazine is far more pictorial in its outlook and the well-signposted stories are people-based, aimed at engaging HSE staff from around the country.
We have also introduced a new lifestyle section with engaging content and competitions.
Their Success
The staff of the HSE are now at the core of a vibrant, people-centred lifestyle magazine which is produced by CMG in collaboration with a committed communications committee within the organisation.
CMG organised a series of focus groups with HSE staff to gauge reaction to the new-look Health Matters – and the results were overwhelmingly positive.
The Health Matters online survey returned a similar thumbs up for the revamped magazine.
76% of respondents said they had read articles from the new edition.
74% of readers rated the content either excellent or good.
77% said the design was either excellent or good.
83% said they would be likely to read Health Matters again.
79% said the magazine was relevant to them.