In Vogue

As media bleeds between the lines of print and electronic worlds, showcasing new titles, Web sites and marketing promotions, niches within the industry are becoming more circumspect. In other words, for every lifestyle, there's at least one magazine dedicated to covering it. The music enthusiast may enjoy everything from Rolling Stone to Vibe; the artist reads ARTnews and ArtForum; and the teenage demographic, an especially potent niche, has forever been indulged with pin-up 'zines about the latest pop cultural phenomenons. The trend towards target publishing suggests that for every generation there's not only a Gap, but also a magazine.According to Grant Clauser, editor-in-chief of E-Gear, "Our society and culture is not as homogeneous as it once was. As diverse hobbies develop, diverse publications to serve those audiences naturally follow.…Niche publications allow readers to stay in touch with their own individual interest or associations."Along with publication launches designed to appeal to focus groups, also comes concern of whether or not a consumer market can support the many deviations publishing takes. "In a market with launches on the increase and ad pages on the decline, it is always with some trepidation that I welcome a new magazine to our family," admits Martin Schneider, retail and finance reporter for Fairchild Publishing. "But publishing houses who seek to 'corner a market' seem to have more success in their launches, as they are seen as destination or 'must-run' ad locations."David Dritsas, senior editor for E-Gear magazine agrees. "Consumers benefit because they can get focused coverage on a topic they're interested in," says Dritsas. "For publishers, it presents a good opportunity to make money in a particular niche, but since it will not bring in as much revenue or circulation as mass-market magazines, the publisher needs to have several magazines in several different categories. However, I believe that the general topic magazine business is saturated, and entering a field with a new title is risky. Finding a niche to fill may be a safer bet."Among niche publications taking this leap recently is Living In Balance, a bi-monthly magazine targeted to busy baby boomers, a niche notoriously known for coddling affluent spenders. The 40,000 first-run printing of Living in Balance was distributed throughout Miami-Dade counties in Florida upon its release in January. Following the 48-page premiere issue, produced on high-gloss stock, subsequent issues will eventually be produced entirely in four-color.In a similar step to woo consumer-friendly audiences, Vogue will debut Teen Vogue, a spin-off of Condé Nast's staple profiteer. The pilot publication will be launched with Vogue's October issue, appearing in partnerships on newsstands starting in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. While it's unsure whether Teen Vogue will garner readership compared to its big sister magazine, Condé Nast has a nose for what's novel. According to reports, Teen Vogue is already set to launch with top Vogue contributors in tow, including photography by Herb Ritts.Success, however, is determined by an array of factors, related not only to contribution, but also demand. Schneider explains, "Smaller houses, and those myriad of titles catering to wide demographics, can either combat the dwindling ad pages in existing titles by adding new niche titles that can become bibles for emerging or cottage industries, or conversely, can fail miserably by attempting to enter a space they have no business entering. The key combination lies somewhere in knowing when to launch, how developed or popular is the subject matter and possessing a crack editorial and ad sales staff that knows the niche inside and out."Dritsas points out that specialty publications have experienced as much economic fall-out as have mainstream magazines. He says survival of the fittest often comes down to consolidation. "Imagine Publishing just canceled five or six niche titles to help reduce costs," reports Dritsas. "And several Macintosh-related publications were consolidated into one."Clauser adds that niche publishing is nothing new: "Sports Afield—serving the hunting and fishing enthusiast—is about 100 years old, yet in recent years, the number of hunting and fishing publications has exploded, many serving very specific portions of that audience: bow hunter, salt water fly fishing, black powder guns."Lifestyle publications have been edging their way into the mainstream for years. Especially potent are ethno- and gender-centric magazines, such as Essence, Ms. and OUT. While Oprah Winfrey's O Magazine sets out to court professional and home-making women readers, O also extends it's goods into a more mainstream pool, whereas Essence is a mainstay among predominantly African-American audiences. In contrast, Ms. magazine operates a non-traditional business model. The feminist publication, established in the 1970s under the leadership of Gloria Steinem, has been actively recruiting a younger audience in recent years since its baby boomer demographic is evolving. In order to bolster credibility, the magazine also made an early decision to forego advertising, which inflates the cover price, but also shapes the publication's conscious mission against objectification—a target for which most Ms. readers are grateful. Without advertising revenue, Ms. also separates itself from mainstream women magazines, such as Vogue, Elle and Mirabella. Founding a publication on political conviction, as opposed to advertising potential, is a risky move. It defines readership among a much more clearly honed line, something for which specialty publishing is famous.What also defines mainstream books from specialty publications is content. Dritsas explains that E-Gear is an anomaly in the niche world. He says while it courts electronics consumers, coverage also extends into audio, video and computer markets. "We are more general than most," defines Dritsas. He accounts the magazine's success within the niche to its flexibility of subject matter, which brings in a more diverse palette of ad revenue—and writing. Gay and lesbian-geared publishing also shows signs of gentrification, although a recent merger was foiled by a lack of funding recently. The intended merger to create one of the largest gay media conglomerates in the industry is currently on hold, according to reports. PlanetOut, a popular Internet portal, and Libertine Publications, publisher of successful gay lifestyle magazines including The Advocate and OUT, called the merger quits. Despite the withdraw, the two companies continue to thrive as separate entities within a highly defined market consisting of not only gay, lesbian and bisexual readers, but also online-friendly and print-buying audiences."Identifying the right opportunities," adds Schneider, "has always been somewhat of a crap shoot, but many new titles are thriving because they manage to reach their audience."Similarly, Dritsas anticipates that online 'zines, though a seemingly experimental niche now, will eventually thin out. He says that free magazines with no stable means of revenue encroach most dangerously on print publishing ventures. He's not worried, though. While he thinks target publishing is the foundation for any successful print launch dedicated to a mantra of "know thyself and thy readers," electronic magazines are much more fallible when ad fall outs strike. Not only do they not make the money, he adds, "Leisurely reading on the PC is still not as comfortable an experience," whereas reading customized content in print—can be.Clauser, on the other hand, believes the Internet bolstered the market by connecting people with similar interests. And while he doesn't think niche publishing necessarily enhances the market one way or another, he says it fills needs. "Consumers require publications that speak directly to their interests. Advertisers require outlets that take their message directly to consumers. A company that manufactures parachutes will get more business from an ad placed in Sky Diver magazine then they would from an ad placed in The New Yorker." But developing too highly focused content, warns Clauser, creates vulnerability. He says it's a lot like skydiving, only without the parachute.-Natalie Hope McDonald

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