Roundtable Luncheon with Ariel Foxman, Editor-in-Chief, CargoFebruary 23, 2005By Kate Smyth
When Ariel Foxman heard that Cond Nast was launching a shopping magazine for men, he asked himself, How do I get my hands on this?
And that he did. In April 2003, Foxman was named editor-in-chief of Cargo and was integral to the titles successful launch in March 2004. The magazine, targeted for male readers ages 25-45, single or married and with a disposable income, sold 100,000 copies its first month on the newsstands and in February increased its rate base to 350,000.
Foxman calls the launch a unique one because Cond Nast already published a thriving shopping magazinebut for womencalled Lucky. Cargo, therefore, didnt have the luxury of quietly launching and everyone who was familiar with Lucky had a perception of what Cargo would or should be. Everyone knew what a shopping magazine was, Foxman explained. So, it broke that ground for us. But because of Lucky we were called Lucky for Men. We wanted to figure out how to seize this without being the same magazine.
Foxman and his colleagues kept hearing that Cargo would fail. Lucky was about clothes and beauty products and people were not sure how men would respond to a shopping magazine. Cargos definition of shopping magazine was different, though. Its depth of coverage was deeper and extended to cars, tech gadgets, etc. Cargo defined itself as a mens lifestyle magazine that uses product to help enhance lifestyle.
For male readers, the title Lucky for Men didnt mean anything. Lucky had no cache with a mens audience. The title Cargo was chosen because it means a lot of stuff and downplays shopping to instead say, this magazine is about everything, Foxman said. We [Lucky and Cargo] have the same DNAour readers like to shopbut thats where the similarities end.
Shortly after Cargos launch, the word metrosexual entered the discourse. The word was used to label a guy who, according to Dan Peres, editor-in-chief of Details magazine, isnt afraid of doing things that five to ten years ago would label him as a sissy. At first, Foxman admitted it was a nice label because it helped to identify an audience for the magazine. However, after a couple of months, the word too narrowly defined and limited Cargos audience. Foxman said a backlash resulted when other magazines began grabbing onto the word and trying to own it. Soon after, it became overused and was no longer considered an in trend that year.
Finally, Cargo felt it had broken a new category in mens titles. Cargo felt out of place in the crowded mens lifestyle category with such titles as GQ and Esquire, but now it had a place to call its own. Soon, everyone wanted to jump on the mens bandwagon and different mens lifestyle magazines began to add special shopping sections to their pages. This forced Cargo to reinvestigate, make sure it was sticking to its mission statement and stay ten steps ahead of all the other titles.
That way, when another magazine tries to rip us off, weve already done it, Foxman said. Now men have a one-on-one guide they never had before. Were for the fashion savvy, the car guys, and the everyday man.
Foxman said the magazine strives to be both a guide and an entertaining read. Readers are not in the market to buy new consumer products every month, but they still buy the magazine regularly. People can pick up Cargo to find out both how cell phones work and how to use a moisturizer, Foxman said. People go to the magazine for one thing and end up devouring it all.
When asked how the mens shopping magazine is different than its counterpart, Lucky, Foxman boils it down to different story approaches. Women, he said, dont need to educate themselves or justify their purchases when shopping. Men, however, have paralysis when shopping and are afraid they are going to get burned without being educated first. Lucky celebrates shopping as a pastime and Cargo minimizes shop time and instead celebrates the time spent with the product.
Many mens lifestyle magazines use celebrities on their covers, but Cargo has yet to follow the trend. Were trying to do something different, Foxman explained. Women look at celebrities and take cues from them on trends and fashion. My reader doesnt care where a celebrity is shopping. Theres a big disconnect there.
Our conventional wisdom is that were doing something better, said Foxman. Its understandable that magazines want to grab onto Cargos idea, but we have the advantage that we do what we do from the front to the back cover.
After disproving the rumors that Cargo would fail because men dont shop, Foxman said he never understood what that meant. Youre making money for a reason. You bought that sweater on your back. Not all guys may love to shop, but we are for the guy who loves it or hates it.
Now, said Foxman, we hear I cant believe this magazine didnt exist.
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ASME Roundtable Luncheon with Peggy Northrop of MoreMonday, December 6, 2004Summary by: Kate Smyth
Peggy Northrop spoke to ASME members about her experience as editor-in-chief of More, the seven-year-old womens lifestyle magazine published by Meredith. She discussed her approach for Mores redesign, the magazines target audience and what her experiences and mentors taught her about developing a thriving magazine.
Northrop embarked on Mores redesign when it was already selling well. In September, the publication hit the one million mark in circulation and its advertising pages were up 12 percent. However, Northrop felt that the magazine needed to better reflect readers attitudes and aspirations, brand its pages more clearly, correct weaknesses and build on strengths. To set your magazine apart, creating a branded look for the title is especially important. You can look over a readers shoulder on the subway and know whether the magazine is Martha or O.
The goals of the redesign were to make the publication more authoritative, positive and honest about everything from hormones to husbands, Northrop said. More aimed to be an interactive forum. Women are hungry to interact, Northrop explained. Its why our events do so well. This year, entries for their annual model search contest for women 40 plus increased 50 percent.
Northrop said the changes began by assessing what the design team did and did not like about the current look of More. The logo looked squat and old-fashioned, said Northrop. Robert Priest and I agreed that it should be bolder, richer and elegant. And while we wanted the inside design to be feminine, we wanted to avoid the prettiness of italic, pink type. At this stage of their lives, women have more testosteronethe design needed to reflect that.
For the inside of the magazine, they doubled the number of photo shoots and upgraded the styling and quality of the photos. We still show 40-year-old women wearing grown-up clothes, Northrop explained, but the look is lusher and more distinctive. Food and entertainment pieces also get more attention. Before it felt like we were downgrading the subject because we didnt want to be a service magazine, she explained, but were at an age where we know how to throw a great party and we do it with style.
The front and back of the book sections experienced the most drastic changes with clearer signposts and distinctive page treatments. A beauty and fashion section was added called More Style and the health section changed from Vital and Vibrant to Body and Mind.
One of the most unique additions was the back page called, Next. This page spotlights a celebrity and her reinvention fantasy; photo shoots have included Broadway star Bebe Neuwirth posing as a samurai and West Wing star Alison Janney as a piano player in a bar.
Mores insistance on showing only women ages 40-60 in its pages means that booking celebrities for the cover can be a special challenge," admits Northrop.
People in Hollywood dont want to admit their age, Northrop said. But if you arent comfortable with your age, you shouldnt be on our cover anyway.
So, why was Mores redesign such a success? Northrop explains that the changes she made, while seemingly radical, were in keeping with the magazines essential reason for beingto celebrate the lives of women over 40 today. As she said, The redesign better reflects our readers sense of style and the confidence with which they approach their lives.
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