Optima magazine - Redhouse Lane Communications

Anglo American: Optima magazine

Optima is at the Forbesian quality end of newsstand business journalism

Optima is at the Forbesian quality end of newsstand business journalism

Commissioned illustrations helps bring stories to life

Exclusive in-depth interviews and features – and photography – give readers insight they cannot get anywhere else

Next project

How Anglo American provides thought leadership to a global stakeholder audience

Challenge

First published in 1951 and distributed biannually to 18,000 opinion-formers around the world, Optima is Anglo American’s flagship publication. Its mix of expert insight and project reports helps position the mining company as the leading innovator in its field.

Following a readership survey and an independent review, Anglo American wanted to relaunch Optima with more immediate design impact, shorter features and a greater focus on environmental issues – while respecting the magazine’s heritage.

Our response

We refreshed Optima with a contemporary design that doesn't lose the magazine's sense of history. Plenty of white spaceallows the high-profile editorial to take priority. Extensive image research and close collaboration with Anglo American's photo archivist ensure pages are visually arresting.

For every issue, we commission in-depth features on a variety of business and socioeconomic issues from varioushigh-calibre contributors. Recent writers include WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell, former executive secretary of the UNFCCC Yvo de Boer and political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi.

Result

Communications consultancy Gatehouse benchmarked Optima against similar industry titles. Optima scored 29 marks out of a possible 30, with full marks in five out of six categories.