Newly appointed Editor, Candice Meiring, believes that cleaner design with less
clutter is what the Saltwater GIRL niche is after. And she is ready to deliver, one lovingly handcrafted page at a time. “More than ever our readers are responding
to more visual, less text heavy pages. Our research has shown that as much as
our market devours fashion stories, articles on dating and entertainment news,
they are increasingly becoming more attracted to beautiful visuals with little or
no text, where the image speaks for itself,” she says.

This marries well with the highly aspirational surf and beach culture that characterises Saltwater GIRL’s roots and defines its proud heritage as a product that was born as an insert out of award winning Zigzag Surfing magazine a decade ago.

Meiring continues, “I am inundated with requests from readers for more full-bleed inspiring beach or fashion shots that they use to dress their walls, lockers and stationery. We recently ran an exciting poster series where readers submitted their own artwork in any medium. Finalists were uploaded to our website where users voted for the best creative execution. This was ultimately printed as an A2 poster and bound in the magazine. This initiative tapped into our reader’s creative spirit and encouraged an exciting cross-platform interaction. It was a phenomenal success.”

The motivation behind the redesign is 100% reader-driven and Meiring attributes this shift in her readers as a greater respect for the power of the print medium. “On a daily basis, our girls are exposed to so many flickering TV images, a plethora of dynamic web content and chunks of bite size mobile content. I believe they’re simply craving the simplicity and beauty of a printed page. Their relationship with this medium is completely different to that they have with other forms of media. Proudly South African Saltwater GIRL magazine is a treasured friend she invites into her life to inspire, inform and encourage her. We are happy to continue to nurture the relationship we share with this trendsetting girl with content, imagery and an environment that she can’t get from anywhere else.”

In a recent ABC confusion, Saltwater GIRL had its surf and beach roots taken quite literally when their figures were confused with those of Saltwater Angler Magazine, which has resigned from the ABCs. Always at home at the beach, but not necessarily with a fishing rod, the Saltwater GIRL circulation is far from resigned and sits at a very healthy niche of 23 634.

Saltwater GIRL publishes eight issues per year and is made by South Africans for South Africans.

For editorial queries, contact Editor, Candice Meiring, on [email protected] or 031 533 7600.

For other queries, contact Publisher, Sally Cook, on [email protected] or 031 533 7600.