Mediaweek recently reported that Conde Nast is scrambling to keep pace with initiatives from other publishing companies such as Hearst, Time Inc. and Hachette by introducing ideas branching beyond the pages of a magazine. One specific idea mentioned was keeping the brand names alive of shuttered magazines such as Gourmet and Domino by branding them on products like kitchen appliances.
In the last few months Hachette Filipacchi announced a Woman’s Day Cookvook, Car & Driver cell phone accessories and several iPhone applications for Elle Magazine. Hearst unveiled plans for its own Skiff e-reader and beginning this month, the company will offer a “reimagined” version of Esquire available exclusively on the iPhone. Time Inc. recently purchased a personal shopping engine called StyleFeeder that will be affiliated with InStyle Magazine and aims to bolster its “digital presence.”
The message is clear: keeping a magazine brand afloat means offering more than just the magazine itself. These companies are assuming that because readers enjoy the magazine, they’ll also enjoy another product endorsed by the brand.
Making content available across a variety of platforms is one thing, but what happens when content is no longer available anywhere such as with Gourmet and Domino? When Gourmet shuttered last fall, its closure was mourned by readers and industry professionals. Do you think the same people who turned to Gourmet for recipes will turn to the brand for a blender? If someone never read the magazine, would they still buy the product?
With all this cross-branding, it seems the magazine industry is taking a page from the king of cross-promotion, KISS member Gene Simmons. He shamelessly brands KISS on everything from children’s apparel to coffins, called “kaskets.” Simmons has made money from these ventures but also sunk to a parody of himself. The KISS name can’t be taken as seriously or viewed as prestigious when it’s slapped on any old product.
A company like Conde Nast will show more discretion than Simmons in attaching its name to a product, so don’t expect to see a Domino-branded diaper any time soon. But would you buy a product affiliated with a shuttered print publication? What do you think of the current cross-promotion trend in the industry?
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Tags: branding, Conde Nast, cross-promotion, Domino, Gene Simmons, Gourmet, Hachette Filipacchi, Hearst, Magazines, Marketing, Time
Slow down there Casey Jones…
First off in a free market society (which I assume we’re living in) companies can more or less market whatever they want to make a dime. In 2010, magazine publications are scrambling for that dime. These brand extensions are not calculated maneuvers of big businesses hellbent on swindling the public. They are the last dying gasps of an industry trying to get with the times. Are you going to by a Blender by Gourmet? No. Will I? No. Someone will though, and that’s all you need to worry about. It won’t save their business, but it’s a concerted effort to change it.
As for this wacky/hip/topical comparison to Gene Simmons slapping the KISS brand name on everything under the sun, yeah that’s what he does. He’s been doing it since the 1970s. In fact he does it so much, tons of ‘KISS’ products fail to make any money. Gene Simmons would never mention those though. That’s business. Some ideas work and some don’t. That doesn’t cheapen the brand any. KISS is a rock ‘n roll band that sings about partying everyday. The only people who take ‘KISS’ seriously are…well, no one. They’re a rock band. That’s not something you can really compare Gourmet or Time with. Gene Simmons might be soured to hear that, but it’s the truth.
These suffering companies should find dynamic new ways of integrating their established brand names into today’s market. Blenders, iPhone apps, whatever. They have already proven they are a valuable commodity to consumers in the past and that’s why we recognize them today. They’re only job in 2010 is to…and allow me to use another rock ‘n roll colloquialism…not stop thinking about tomorrow.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Steve Nickson, Andrea Weinfurt. Andrea Weinfurt said: RT @tweetmeme Would you buy a blender from Conde Nast? http://is.gd/7adb4 [...]
Joshua – thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, I appreciate it. I agree that these brands absolutely should further their business with new “out of the box” ideas. Thanks again for reading the blog,
[...] But what about cooking publications where the average viewership are family focused? You may be surprised (or not) that magazines like Cooking Light and Bon Appetit are jumping at the chance to provide blogs, Tweet, and post videos to their YouTube channel. Consumers are able to provide their feedback on recipes and the like, but as I scrolled through these sites’ blog posts I noticed that the number of comments left were not, on average, exceeding ten. This number seemed quite small in comparison to the number of people who read the circulation. I can’t help but wonder how effective the social media tactics are with the cooking magazine readers. Do those family-focused readers have the time to get online and read blogs or would it be easier for them to pick up a print copy while at the checkout line? Afterall, Gourmet magazine was unable to stay afloat. [...]