At first glance, the motoring magazine market appears a crowded one, but closer inspection reveals it is made up of several distinct sub-sectors. It is this specialisation that the publishers agree is key to success. "Niche is definitely king," says Allan Pattison, publisher of Evo magazine, which proved to be one of the stars of the last ABCs, increasing its year on year news stand sales by 30% to 33,917. Evo found its particular niche by focusing on cars that are fun to drive. "We cut out the boring stuff," explains Pattison. "To survive and do well in this market you have to be very focused and be unique. You have to understand the target market ­ that's why we've done well." Evo is published by Evo Publications in association with Dennis Publishing, and Pattison reckons the title's high production and design values add to its reader appeal. "For example, we think our front covers are all works of art," he says. "In fact, our cover is our most important marketing tool. Because we've got such great covers, we've been well looked after at retail. If retailers let consumers see the whole cover they will sell more copies." But while Evo claimed one of the largest percentage sales increase in the ABCs, the best selling news stand title remains Emap's MaxPower, with news stand sales of 202,332. Again, MaxPower has a specific target market. "It differs from a lot of mainstream titles, being aimed at car mad males between the ages of 15 and 24 years old and is almost like a lifestyle car magazine," says group brand manager Nicky Holt. "We cover cool' cars our readers can afford but also include girls and music and videos." Holt agrees with Pattison that understanding the target market is key. "Our secret of success is that we are very customer focused ­ we understand the reader because the people who write the magazine live that lifestyle and spend time with the readers. This means we're good at spotting trends early and keeping ahead of the competition." The formula certainly seems to be working ­ MaxPower recently upped its news stand ABC by 14% year on year ­ something Holt credits in part to the success of the brand as a whole. In addition to the magazine, the MaxPower brand includes an annual show, a website, spin-off titles and merchandise. "The brand is being strengthened all the time," says Holt. "The MaxPower Live show for example was attended by 50,000 people last year." Retailers will also have noticed specials' such as this summer's MaxPower Babes, which Holt says hit their sales target with an estimated 55,000. Another one-shot, MaxPower TV, is on shelf and comes packaged with a video. "The magazine is time-coded so readers can watch the video to get more detail about the features in the title," explains Holt. "The video is not a free gift, the package is premium priced at £5.99, which appeals to retailers." But Emap's belief in MaxPower's target audience also extends beyond its brand. The company recently relaunched Revs, which it hopes the consumer will buy in addition to MaxPower. Holt says: "We know lads buy more than one car magazine ­ Revs differs in that it is slightly more hands-on than MaxPower." In a market where branding is a valuable asset, Haymarket's What Car? magazine perhaps boasts the trump card. The title has been published for almost 30 years and according to editor Steve Fowler has become known as the car buyer's Bible'. In addition to the magazine, which has a news stand circulation of 138,355, What Car? has a website and spin-off publications ­ all of which, according to Fowler, strengthen the What Car? brand. "Our success in the recent ABCs is partly due to the fact there is an increase in brand awareness ­ we have been developing the brand and the name is foremost in people's minds," he says. "For us, brand enhancement is an important marketing tool ­ we feature regularly on television, radio and in the media, which keeps the brand in people's minds." Fowler reveals that a third What Car? strand is to launch, but says Haymarket is taking pains not to dilute the brand's strength. "We are looking at a new brand identity to give the brand overall more cohesion," he says. What Car? differs from many titles in this market by bringing in readers for two or three issues while they are buying a car rather than targeting regular readers. "Our research shows one in four of all new car buyers refers to What Car?" says Fowler. "Even car enthusiasts who buy Evo or Car will buy What Car? when it comes to making a purchase." More specifically Fowler says 65% of What Car? buyers are ABC1, with 42% being ABC1s between 25 and 54 years old. Providing the reader with car-buying information is also important to BBC Top Gear magazine, which includes a sizeable Price Guide section. Associate publisher Adam Waddell says the magazine recently "beefed up the commitment to the car buying information section and made it more accessible". The revamp, which also gave the magazine a "complete visual overhaul" from the October issue, follows a 13% year-on-year drop in the last ABCs. BBC Worldwide has also changed the Top Gear on sale date to the first Wednesday in the month. "Men go into a newsagent at the beginning of the month to see what magazines are on the shelves and we didn't want to miss out on those sales," explains Waddell. Again, brand emphasis is important for Top Gear magazine, with a website, one-shots, merchandise and TV show all sharing the Top Gear name. According to Waddell, the TV show has just delivered its best viewing figures in four or five years, although it is to be relaunched in the spring under a new format. Top Gear's one-shots ­ Top Gear New Buyers Guide and Top Gear Supercars ­ were published for the first time this year and according to Waddell sales figures were above their targets. "These are particularly attractive to retailers as they are additional buys and they have a cover price of £4.95, which gives a good rsv." Like most titles in the sector, Top Gear uses regular covermounting and supplements. Waddell says: "From now until the new financial year we will be promoting every issue in one way or another." And What Car?'s Fowler, who offers supplements nearly every issue says his readers expect it. However, Evo's Pattison says: "We do occasional covermounts if there is a good reason. It is not a magazine where you have to give another reason to buy it." While these four titles are performing strongly other titles in the market ­ such as classic, performance, racing ­ should not be ignored by retailers. In terms of revenue, for example, SPL's Fast Car and Emap's Autocar are excellent performers, with £5,351,000 and £5,329,000 estimated annual national revenue respectively according to Comag. This puts them just behind MaxPower with an estimated £7,794,000 ANR and What Car? with £5,882,000. Total annual market value for general motoring and performance motoring titles combined is £45.6m and figures from Comag show the grocery trade has a healthy share. Tesco, for example, accounts for 10% of general motoring magazine sales. And supermarkets as a whole sell 21% of general motoring titles, while independents sell 30%. {{CTN }}