The SI copies its success
Magazines: *Die Schweizer Illustrierte* has revamped its layout and is focusing on line extension.
According to a study by Advico Young & Rubicam, the 20 most popular brands in Switzerland include traditional Swiss names such as Sugus, Rivella, Thomy and Zweifel. What stands out is that not a single one of these brands has the word "Swiss" in its name. The conclusion: "Swissness" is in demand, but should not be overemphasized. This seems to have been noticed at Schweizer Illustrierte (SI) as well. Since Monday, the weekly magazine has been appearing in a revised look. Even the logo has been touched up. The word "Schweizer" in particular is now less weighty and thus more restrained. The letters, previously one-sixth larger than the word "Illustrierte," are now the same height. The logo was previously "very masculine," says Urs Heller, SI publishing director and interim editor-in-chief. In general, the new layout, which was revised by Uli Beling and Nina Thoenen in Zurich, appears "more generous, more orderly, more elegant and more feminine," says Heller. The latter because 60 percent of SI's readership is now female. A year ago, female readers made up 57 percent. Since then, SI has lost a significant 6.3 percent of its reach - especially among men. However, this loss was not the reason for the redesign, says Heller, which is necessary every three to five years anyway. He takes the loss of readership "in stride," because SI is not registering a loss in subscriptions, but in retail sales - "and that's where all titles are having problems at the moment," says Heller. No changes have been made to the magazine concept, and SI still wants to be "closer to the stars.
Nevertheless, there is a lot going on conceptually. The SI family has grown in the last twelve months, with two line extensions added to the long-established gourmet magazine Al dente. In April 2006, SI Style was launched, a magazine published ten times a year for fashion-conscious young women. And in April of this year, Goal, a magazine for Euro 08, was published for the first time. The SI website was also redesigned so that vodcasts on current SI topics can now be downloaded from it.
But back to the line extensions: SI Style, which was supplied free of charge to SI subscribers for a year, has 355,000 readers according to a special Wemf evaluation (for comparison: Tamedia's Annabelle has 333,000 readers). "SI Style became the biggest Swiss women's magazine within a year," concludes Heller with pride. Not only that. SI Style was also enormously successful in the advertising market, nota bene without cannibalizing SI. "SI Style was a precision landing in every respect, putting us well over budget," says Heller. Now the magazine is to be slowly detached from its parent publication. SI readers who want to continue to receive SI Style will now have to pay 35 francs for an annual subscription; for that of SI, they will pay 208 francs. Heller is "incredibly pleased" with the first trend: four out of ten SI subscribers want to continue to receive SI Style.
The magazine Goal, on the other hand, will only be published four times this year, then monthly from 2008 - until the European Championship. For the time being, the final whistle for the European Championship will also signal the end of Goal - but depending on its success, that could still change. "At the public viewings during the World Cup in Germany, the proportion of women was around 40 percent," says Heller. That's why he's confident that enthusiasm for the Euro will also increase here in Germany from month to month. Goal should make a contribution to this - and profit from it.
Even at Al dente, the oldest SI supplement, changes are on the agenda: "We are considering whether to increase the current quarterly publication frequency," says Heller. He knows that there is demand from the advertising market and the readership. Because Al dente is only published every three months, it is not included in Mach Basic. That would also be a reason for a cadence change. Another is that the TV show "Al dente" on SF1 (in cooperation with Betty Bossi) is broadcast fortnightly, so it would also make sense for the magazine to appear more frequently. Especially since Al dente Print prints the recipes from the cooking show.
Markus Knöpfli
Nevertheless, there is a lot going on conceptually. The SI family has grown in the last twelve months, with two line extensions added to the long-established gourmet magazine Al dente. In April 2006, SI Style was launched, a magazine published ten times a year for fashion-conscious young women. And in April of this year, Goal, a magazine for Euro 08, was published for the first time. The SI website was also redesigned so that vodcasts on current SI topics can now be downloaded from it.
But back to the line extensions: SI Style, which was supplied free of charge to SI subscribers for a year, has 355,000 readers according to a special Wemf evaluation (for comparison: Tamedia's Annabelle has 333,000 readers). "SI Style became the biggest Swiss women's magazine within a year," concludes Heller with pride. Not only that. SI Style was also enormously successful in the advertising market, nota bene without cannibalizing SI. "SI Style was a precision landing in every respect, putting us well over budget," says Heller. Now the magazine is to be slowly detached from its parent publication. SI readers who want to continue to receive SI Style will now have to pay 35 francs for an annual subscription; for that of SI, they will pay 208 francs. Heller is "incredibly pleased" with the first trend: four out of ten SI subscribers want to continue to receive SI Style.
The magazine Goal, on the other hand, will only be published four times this year, then monthly from 2008 - until the European Championship. For the time being, the final whistle for the European Championship will also signal the end of Goal - but depending on its success, that could still change. "At the public viewings during the World Cup in Germany, the proportion of women was around 40 percent," says Heller. That's why he's confident that enthusiasm for the Euro will also increase here in Germany from month to month. Goal should make a contribution to this - and profit from it.
Even at Al dente, the oldest SI supplement, changes are on the agenda: "We are considering whether to increase the current quarterly publication frequency," says Heller. He knows that there is demand from the advertising market and the readership. Because Al dente is only published every three months, it is not included in Mach Basic. That would also be a reason for a cadence change. Another is that the TV show "Al dente" on SF1 (in cooperation with Betty Bossi) is broadcast fortnightly, so it would also make sense for the magazine to appear more frequently. Especially since Al dente Print prints the recipes from the cooking show.
Markus Knöpfli
