MPA Speeches - David Zinczenko, AMC 2007

October 29, 2007

David Zinczenko
AMC 2007 Chairman
Editor-in-Chief, Senior Vice President, Mens Health

Conference Welcome
American Magazine Conference
October 29, 2007
Boca Raton, FL

It seems impossible to believe, given all the excitement of last night, that THIS is the official opening of the 2007 American Magazine Conference. Already weve gotten a pass into two of the most important media rooms in Americathe White House Briefing Room, courtesy of keynote speaker Tony Snow, and the dining room of the Waverly Inn, thanks to executive chef John DeLucie. And for the next two days, were going to venture into even more exclusive territoryinside the minds of some of the smartest and most accomplished men and women in our industry.
               
Those of you who dont want your readers to flip past the advertisements in your magazines should listen up now: Sponsors paid for you to have a good time down here, just as they pay for the printing presses to run.

Before we get rolling, I want to say thank you to the following sponsors. Were grateful to them, from A to Z:

-Abundant Forests Alliance
-Admedia Partners
-Advertising Age
-Audit Bureau of Circulations. Thanks for keeping us on our toes, guys...
-Berkery Noyes
-Folio
-FoseReprints
-The Jordan, Edmiston Group

On to the Ms now, so you know were more than halfway home...

-Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. Because if youre not dealing with lawsuits, youre not really publishing...
-MediaWeek
-Mediamark Research
-MIN. Im loving their boxscores more than a Red Sox fan
-Quad/Graphics
-Quebecor World
-SRDS
-Synapse Group
-United States Postal Service
-WireImage, and finally...
-Zinio. Its the digital magazine company. In fact, I broke up a fight between them and Quad Graphics backstage just a minute ago.

These are the folks who have made it possible for us all to be here. But I also want to take a moment to thank two people who have made it possible for ME to be here: Maria Rodale, Chairman of the Board, and Steve Murphy. President and CEO of Rodale, Incorporated. Steve and Maria and the rest of the Rodale family have spent the last decade doing something courageous: Theyve urged all of us at Rodale to focus on the reader, and to invest in our brands and in the readers relationships with those brands.
               
Whats happening at Mens Health and Rodale is the same thing thats happening to other successful magazine brands: The magazine business is going through a revolution. What once was a medium made of paper is now made of many other things as well. Its bricks and mortar, like the New Yorker Festivals. Its the electronic airwaves, whether youre Rachael Ray on syndicated television or Martha Stewart on Sirius radio. Its book projects, like Esquires Things a Man Should Never Do Past 30 (or a certain other magazine editors book about abs and diets.) Its newsletters and email blasts, podcasts and webcasts, its technologies that are as old as Job and others that havent yet been invented by Steve Jobs. Magazines in the 21st century are more than just magazines.
               
Theyre magaBRANDS.
               
And thats why we entitled this conference The MagaBrand Revolution. Because the ink-stained wretches of yesteryear have evolved into forces whose reach extends beyond the printed page and, literally, into outer space.

Today we've marshaled an all-star lineup of speakers who know more about brands than anyone else on the planet. When you combine an idea the public wants, with a multitude of ways to deliver it to them, you can unleash a mighty force in the marketplace. It's like waging a war for attention on multiple fronts; fight successfully, and the spoils are yours.

Now, as I was thinking about Tony Snow's presentation yesterday--and love him or hate him, he must have felt like the proverbial snow ball in hell in this particular room--it occurred to me that the Republican party isn't the only example of a brand thats enjoyed a dominant period in this country. The political left also has its heroes, and as an employee of Rodale I can't help admiring Al Gore, and the boon he threw the p.r. Team at Rodale by winning the Nobel Peace prize this year. What a great way to sell books!
 
And again, look at the pattern here: invent the internet, host Saturday Night Live, star in movie, write bestseller, sell bookson the Internet. It's a wraparound success. Each of us can learn a lesson here: We are the prime movers in our careers, and the surest way to build momentum is to have all of our pistons firing, not just one or two. The more ways we reach out to the public, the more chances we have to define ourselves in their eyes, and engage them. Being a brand starts with a single powerful idea, and then finding ways to extend that idea into the wonderful profusion of media now at our disposal.
               
Our next panel looks at that phenomenon more closely. Mark Edmiston, who has held high-level positions that involved both running major magazine brands, including Newsweek, and selling them, which he does now with the AdMedia group, will be moderating a panel called How Publishing Companies Position Themselves for Growth: Best Bets for the 21st Century. If anybody knows how to add value to a media property, it's Mark. Add enough value to yoursthat is, turn it into a MagaBrand--and he'll help you cash in with MagaDollars. Lets welcome Mark...