Startup of the Year 2008: Men's Vogue

When Men's Vogue pushed its first issue onto newsstands in the fall of 2005, many marketers were, at best, skeptical--and at worst, they expected the Condé Nast magazine to have absolutely no legs at all following doomed men's fashion and shopping startups like the company's Cargo and Vitals.When it comes to selling magazines, men are a notoriously tough demo to crack. And in this instance--given the magazine's association with Vogue, the iconic women's fashion bible--naysayers predicted American men would most certainly stay away.The critics have had to eat their words. Men's Vogue--which followed its '05 debut with three issues in '06 and eight issues last year, and which expands to a 10-times schedule this year--has quickly proved a must-buy for luxury brands like Prada, Ferrari and Cartier looking to reach the affluent, style-conscious man who's matured beyond the age of pub crawls. For its standout performance in such short time, AdweekMedia has selected Men's Vogue, under the guidance of newly minted publisher Marc Berger and editor in chief Jay Fielden, as Startup of the Year for 2007. The title also makes its debut this year on our 10 Under 50 Hot List, recognizing outstanding magazines with under $50 million in annual revenue.With print spinoffs Men's Vogue, Teen Vogue (AdweekMedia's Startup of the Year for 2003) and Vogue Living, as well as sidelines like shopping site ShopVogue.TV and creative agency Vogue Studio, Vogue--under senior vp, publishing director Tom Florio and editorial director Anna Wintour--has been among the magazines most aggressively and ingeniously expanding their brands into multimedia enterprises."I thought it was a brand-extension stretch, and I really was doubtful as to whether or not the marketplace needed another men's [luxury] magazine," says Barry Lowenthal, president of The Media Kitchen, media arm of agency Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners. But where Cargo and Vitals "were more about gear and stuff," he adds, "Men's Vogue has an aesthetic, and it has tapped into a real lifestyle that those other magazines didn't."Jane Deery, president of agency PGR Media, is another fan. "It's a smart magazine with great information and great stories of the ilk you might read in The New York Times or Financial Times. At this point, people who are readers probably don't even associate the Vogue name…I just think that Men's Vogue gives them information differently than they typically read it, and I think they really look to the magazine for some truly interesting reporting."Ad pages last year soared 101.2 percent to 799.5 versus '06, on 122 percent greater revenue of $38.6 million, per Publishers Information Bureau. Rival publishers cry nepotism, charging Men's Vogue benefits from its big sister's formidable roster of deep luxury-marketer relationships. But the title points out that it's brought many new accounts into Condé Nast, including Glenmorangie scotch, clothier J. Press and Bell & Ross watches. It also touts dozens of clients exclusive to its competitive set, including Bergdorf Goodman, Dom Perignon and B&B Italia.Men's Vogue also resonates with consumers, selling 336,189 copies in the latter half of 2007, per Audit Bureau of Circulations. Despite its premium $4.99 cover price, it sold 64,248 newsstand copies. (ABC's tracking of Men's Vogue is too new for year-over-year comparisons.) It also enjoys a select following. According to its own research, Men's Vogue has a median reader age of 43, a reader household income of $182,548, and nearly two-thirds of its audience holds a C-level or exec job.Men's Vogue won over readers and marketers by appealing to guys very much like the men who direct the title. Publisher Berger and editor Fielden, on the surface, couldn't be more different. At an early March lunch meeting in the Condé Nast cafeteria, the smartly turned-out Fielden--with his thick auburn locks, prominent brow, pinstripe suit and Texas-tinged tongue--evokes a bit of Cary Grant and a dash of the Irish actor Daniel Day-Lewis (who graces February's cover). Berger, meanwhile, sports a shorn head, speaks in a less-cadent timbre and presents himself, with a simple gray suit and navy knit tie, in more of a Details vein (not surprising, perhaps, given that he served as that Condé Nast title's associate publisher until January, when he was installed at Men's Vogue after its launch publisher, William Li, moved over to publisher of the company's new business title Condé Nast Portfolio).But besides shepherding their stylish startup, the pair have more than a little in common. Both are in their thirties and married with children. Each man has risen through the ranks of a cutthroat business at a pace that would seem to affirm his talents. And both say they saw a gaping hole in the marketplace for the kind of magazine they now fashion. "Demographically, the men's magazines were trending younger and younger, and the money, for many years, had been targeted at the aspirational, postcollege guy…[with] lots of semi-naked girls on the cover and lots of young Hollywood," says Li. "There wasn't a magazine for a grown-up guy interested in grown-up subjects."Its founders sought to capitalize on the fact that, while the U.S. male population over age 18 grew 14 percent from 1994 to 2004, the over-35 set with household incomes in excess of $100,000 swelled by nearly 250 percent, per MRI. The market, it seems, was ripe for a long-desired, male-targeted extension of the storied Vogue--a magazine, as Florio envisioned it, "for the guy who was dating or married to the Vogue woman."As noted, the hurdles to attracting men to a title with a Vogue tag were considerable. It was, in fact, one of the toughest challenges in early meetings with advertisers, Li relates.Meanwhile, fashion advertisers initially were puzzled that the edit well--with its illuminating pieces on Islamic terrorism in South America and celebrity profiles--did not sport the expected fashion spreads replete with the usual array of boyish models. (Celeb subjects like Tony Blair don the latest fashions.)They need not have worried. An Etro jacket worn by Tiger Woods on the launch cover created such a sensation that the Italian clothier couldn't keep up with demand, reports Li.As for its diverse edit, Fielden, a former arts editor at Vogue and alum of Condé Nast's The New Yorker, crafted a product eschewing the childlike models and overlong product-review departments typical of men's fashion titles. Rather, he set out to create a more grown-up atmosphere, featuring cover subjects like Barack Obama and Brian Williams. The idea was to showcase successful men like the book's accomplished targets, to translate runway concepts into a high-profile player's real life."The book is about the combination of great photography, writing of different stripes, including humorous essays, hard-core reporting and a very specific take on the fashion world," says Fielden. "It takes a total view of how a man puts his wardrobe together, and it does it in a way that has, for example, a photo shoot of a father trying to avoid having his clothes destroyed by his two daughters. It has become a thing that is truly and wholly our own."Adds Fielden's boss Wintour, "Men's Vogue speaks to men in this country who are unapologetic for their interests in fashion, food, travel, art and design--who feel comfortable embracing a personal style."Men's Vogue has its challenges going forward. Verified subs (copies in doctor's offices and other public places, perceived to be less valuable by many marketers) account for a hefty 13.1 percent of total circ, while loyalty/awards points and deductible partnerships comprise 15.9 percent and 11.9 percent, respectively. Moreover, some media buyers see Men's Vogue as having limited growth potential, predicting it will top out at 500,000. (Vogue's rate base is 1.2 million, while that of Teen Vogue is 900,000.)Berger aims for 450,000 copies in five years. Of verified copies, he says, "As we continue to grow our subscription base, we will still be using it, as books across the men's category do, though we will phase it out as we grow." (More established titles like Rodale's Men's Health and BestLife and Wenner Media's Men's Journal have far fewer verified copies as a percent of total subs.) Berger maintains that subs from loyalty/awards points, rather than being a negative, attract choice demos that lead to a "better caliber subscriber" in the long term.On the ad side, the publisher and his sales team strive to diversify Men's Vogue's account portfolio, even as recession chatter and softer sales for luxury marketers spark fear in the marketplace. While fashion already accounts for 40 percent of business, Berger sees room for growth in retail and contemporary fashion. While he expects softening in high-end auto, he sees opportunity in categories including travel and home furnishings.As for his toughest challenge, Fielden says it continues to be running what he's come to see as his own "small business," leading a 30-person-strong staff and, now, putting out Men's Vogue 10 times a year. "I don't mean to sound like Jack Welch, but it can hit you over the head a little bit with a brickbat," he says. "For a guy who kind of jumped straight into very deep water, I had to really figure a lot out very quickly--and I am still figuring it all out each day. Men's Vogue is a fascinating, all-engrossing challenge."Eric Newman is a reporter at Brandweek covering the fashion, wine and spirits, and restaurant industries.

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Startup of the Year 2008: Men's Vogue

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