Monocle – here to stay.

July 18, 2007 in Media

                                                                                                                                        

The magazine industry, like most other traditional media entities has been a flux for the past few years. While there has been much debate and talk around the magazine industry on it’s deathbed, it hasn’t stopped hundreds of intreprid entrepreneurs and enthusiasts to launch new magazines every single year. For some, it’s a brand extension, another jewel in the crown and for some… it’s passion. In both cases, it is crystal clear.

Monocle, a nascent magazine only a few issues old, created a ton of buzz when it launched primarily because of it’s illustrious founder, Tyler Brule – the visionary and brilliant editor behind Britain’s famous WallPaper* magazine. The 200 some pages of this magazine brim with sparkling wit and editorial insight – a sharp voice in a culture that is so ridden with glossy-fancy magazines with celebrity-like editors at the helm and socialites on staff. Monocle’s simple vision, "A briefing on Global affairs, business, culture and design," and craftfully designed book – gives every issue a collectible status. It’s a book you want to hold on to. The smartest attribute about Monocle is that it does not underestimate the intelligence of it’s readers. Also, that it does not employ an iota of ethnocentrism. It writes about young politicos in Azerbaijan and the ornamental fish business in Japan and puts together a list of world’s most liveable cities (that do not include New York or London) and it does so because it expects it’s readers to be (rightfully so) interested in this perspective. The internet, if anything, has only made us more intelligent and more curious to become more intelligent.

I do not know it’s circulation or it’s subscription list – and at 75Euros/ year – it is an expensive subscription and even an expensive purchase at $10/issue. It’s website – complements the book instead of cross-selling subscriptions and advertisers. The advertisors, thankfully respect the magazine’s environemnt and it’s international audience. And this strategy interests me because this magazine has no pretenses about who it’s audience is.

Most mistakes that new magazines (and existing!)  make is that they try to create a commerical product that will appeal to the masses — and thus to advertisers. (Conde Nast’s Portfolio for example) Assuming that a magazine’s audience appreciates glossy paper, expensive photo-shoots and star celebrities is perhaps the single-most insult to the readers intelligence. Ofcourse certain magazines are flourishing and will continue to do so, but perhaps if they understood that the reader is willing to pay a premium for a fresh voice not mired down in efforts to appease advertisers — we’d have more magazines like Monocle.

Magazines don’t lose advertisers – they lose their audience. And magazines don’t die – they burn out trying to bring new advertisers when they perhaps should be wooing their audiences. Moncole, I hope, will continue to keep the balance and it’s audiences I hope will recognize this and award it with their loyalty.