July 23, 2013
You might have noticed the recent rush of magazine brands staking a claim far away from the newsstand. Esquire Network is ambitiously taking the famous men’s magazine brand to the TV airwaves while Condé Nast hopes you’ll head to GQ Bar or Vogue Café for a drink. Editors at Teen Vogue recently collaborated with Macy’s to launch a clothing line for the youth demographic. And Playboy is launching a line of spirits that will include Playboy Vodka and Playboy Tequila.
These business ventures give publishers a hedge against declining print revenue, but for anyone considering a licensing partnership with a magazine brand, there are big benefits for you, too. Here are four reasons why magazines make the perfect licensing platform:
1. They create strong brands through carefully curated content
Most magazines already have a built-in brand that’s clear and focused. They’ve created these powerful identities by focusing on the topics their readers care about most. And many represent full-fledged lifestyle brands that naturally extend into products.
As Greg Schumann, the publisher of Southern Living, noted in a recent Adweek article, “We always say that our reader doesn’t just read Southern Living—she lives it.” The magazine’s brand extensions include everything from linens to tableware, and each one ties to a core magazine content area, such as food, home or gardening.
Most recently, Southern Living decided to play off the magazine’s strong travel content. They’re launching a hotel collection endorsed by the magazine.
2. Readers trust magazines to provide context and help them make decisions.
Editors at glossy magazines unpack complex ideas and give readers the context they needto make decisions. These monthly publications have the luxury to provide more in-depth research than 24-hour news networks.
During a recent "Coffee Conversation" with teens, they told us they rely on Teen Vogue to make political issues relevant to their lives and help them keep up with what is and isn’t in style. So it’s only natural those same fans would feel confident picking up a piece of clothing under the same brand name.
3. Magazines wield a powerful promotional platform for licensed products
A magazine brand gives licensees an enormous built-in platform for promotion. Think editorial integration, magazine advertising and special events. You might see a magazine’s licensed products featured in an editorial spread with the potential to be seen by millions of readers.
Southern Living, for instance, plans to boost its new hotel collection with a spread in the magazine. When Teen Vogue introduced a bedding line at national retailers, the magazine held a contest for one lucky reader to win a bedroom makeover by a professional designer. The after photos, makeover story and style tips featured the new products, and this editorial content ran in the print magazine and online.
Advertising pages are a good choice for promoting brand extensions, too. According to a report from MPA − The Association of Magazine Media, more than 60% of magazine readers have taken action from an ad.
4. Magazines know how to build massive reach and a sense of community
Print is far, far from dead. There’s an impressive reach for the best glossy publications: The top 25 magazines reach more adults than the top 25 TV shows, according to a report from MPA − The Association of Magazine Media. Plus, subscribers naturally build up a long-term, highly engaged brand because they’re paying for those copies to show up in the mailbox each month.
Many publications have aggressively jumped into social media, too, with popular websites, Pin boards, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. Martha Stewart Living, for example, has nearly 400,000 Pinterest followers, more than 50,000 Twitter followers and more than 600,000 Facebook fans. A mention on any of these social channels could be a serious sales driver.
What do you think about so many magazines jumping into licensed products? Have you seen any great new products or promotions?
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