One for all, all for luxury
Special Interest Combining is cult: Mediabox unites three lifestyle magazines in one luxury combination.
Combining special interests is cult: Mediabox unites three lifestyle magazines in a luxury combination. "The pool concept is on the rise," believes Sandro Proietto. As co-owner of the Mediabox marketing agency, he has his finger on the pulse of the media industry and is looking for answers to its current needs. His latest offering is called Luxury Pool. The youth pool with the scene magazines Kult, 7th Sky and Forecast, which Mediabox has been marketing since the beginning of 2002, was the birthplace of this service. When 7th Sky publisher Bernard Tâche presented the first issue of his new magazine Open last December, the idea for an advertising combination with Kult was born, explains Sandro Proietto. The third issue in the series was then entitled
Lounge, whose creators Nicole Steffen and Christian Monnard had already worked with Bernard Tâche in other areas.
For Sandro Proietto, the three pool titles complement each other perfectly. Open brings news and lifestyle and is primarily sent to VIPs from the 7th Sky customer list. Kult, a free photo and literary magazine, offers something for the brain and the eye. Lounge covers the areas of design, architecture and furnishings, where it is well established thanks to distribution agreements with Ligne Roset and Ikea as well as partnerships with relevant trade fairs.
"The three magazines have different target groups, but each is of interest to customers from the luxury segment," says Proietto, explaining the benefits of the combination, with which he hopes to fill a gap in the market. In Switzerland, there are only a few titles that really cover this segment.
Recently, however, various consumer and business publications have also been vying for advertisements from luxury goods manufacturers. Bilanz, Schweizer Illustrierte, Cash and NZZ am Sonntag have launched specials and supplements. For Proietto, these initiatives are easy to explain: "These titles are reacting to the slump in sales and advertising expenditure for mid-range products. The luxury segment is feeling the recession far less."
Thoroughly tested newcomer
With Open, the luxury pool itself has a new launch in the Port-
folio. Mediabox is thus taking a certain risk. It is not yet clear whether the magazine will find its place in the reader and advertising market. But Proietto is confident: "To make a difference in the market, you have to take risks from time to time." Before the pool was founded, Open was looked at closely and the addressees of the target mailing list were asked for their opinion. The first issue was already in the black.
A combination of luxury pool and youth pool is not planned for the time being. "These are separate worlds in terms of the age of the target group," says Proietto, "although we are building a bridge with Kult."
Pool concept prevails
Is Kult still in the right place in the youth pool after its transformation from scene magazine to culture magazine? He is often asked this question, says Proietto. "What is youth anyway? If it's just homies and party people, then perhaps the new Kult doesn't fit." But if you also want to cover the well-read part of the youth with your advertising messages, the magazine will serve you well. Ultimately, the customer decides whether they want this heterogeneity. The fact that the youth pool has developed into a success story in recent years is confirmed for Pro-
ietto: The pool concept is catching on.
Luxury pool: The bilingual Lounge and Open also reach French-speaking Switzerland.
Lifestyle trioThe luxury pool consists of three magazines covering the whole of Switzerland. The pool discount is 15 percent. Kult is published ten times a year with a circulation of 35,000 copies. It was launched in 1997 and is distributed free of charge in "hotspots of urban consumerism" throughout German-speaking Switzerland. Lounge has been published five times a year since fall 2002. The magazine is bilingual throughout (German/French) and is also distributed in Ticino. It is available at newsstands and is also available in furniture stores and at design and art fairs. It has a print run of 35,000 copies. Open was launched at the end of 2003. Five issues are planned per year. 15,000 copies are printed in German and 10,000 in French. 21,000 copies are sent to VIPs from the address lists of sister magazine 7th Sky and Tribuevents, the company behind Lounge.
Stefano Monachesi
Lounge, whose creators Nicole Steffen and Christian Monnard had already worked with Bernard Tâche in other areas.
For Sandro Proietto, the three pool titles complement each other perfectly. Open brings news and lifestyle and is primarily sent to VIPs from the 7th Sky customer list. Kult, a free photo and literary magazine, offers something for the brain and the eye. Lounge covers the areas of design, architecture and furnishings, where it is well established thanks to distribution agreements with Ligne Roset and Ikea as well as partnerships with relevant trade fairs.
"The three magazines have different target groups, but each is of interest to customers from the luxury segment," says Proietto, explaining the benefits of the combination, with which he hopes to fill a gap in the market. In Switzerland, there are only a few titles that really cover this segment.
Recently, however, various consumer and business publications have also been vying for advertisements from luxury goods manufacturers. Bilanz, Schweizer Illustrierte, Cash and NZZ am Sonntag have launched specials and supplements. For Proietto, these initiatives are easy to explain: "These titles are reacting to the slump in sales and advertising expenditure for mid-range products. The luxury segment is feeling the recession far less."
Thoroughly tested newcomer
With Open, the luxury pool itself has a new launch in the Port-
folio. Mediabox is thus taking a certain risk. It is not yet clear whether the magazine will find its place in the reader and advertising market. But Proietto is confident: "To make a difference in the market, you have to take risks from time to time." Before the pool was founded, Open was looked at closely and the addressees of the target mailing list were asked for their opinion. The first issue was already in the black.
A combination of luxury pool and youth pool is not planned for the time being. "These are separate worlds in terms of the age of the target group," says Proietto, "although we are building a bridge with Kult."
Pool concept prevails
Is Kult still in the right place in the youth pool after its transformation from scene magazine to culture magazine? He is often asked this question, says Proietto. "What is youth anyway? If it's just homies and party people, then perhaps the new Kult doesn't fit." But if you also want to cover the well-read part of the youth with your advertising messages, the magazine will serve you well. Ultimately, the customer decides whether they want this heterogeneity. The fact that the youth pool has developed into a success story in recent years is confirmed for Pro-
ietto: The pool concept is catching on.
Luxury pool: The bilingual Lounge and Open also reach French-speaking Switzerland.
Lifestyle trioThe luxury pool consists of three magazines covering the whole of Switzerland. The pool discount is 15 percent. Kult is published ten times a year with a circulation of 35,000 copies. It was launched in 1997 and is distributed free of charge in "hotspots of urban consumerism" throughout German-speaking Switzerland. Lounge has been published five times a year since fall 2002. The magazine is bilingual throughout (German/French) and is also distributed in Ticino. It is available at newsstands and is also available in furniture stores and at design and art fairs. It has a print run of 35,000 copies. Open was launched at the end of 2003. Five issues are planned per year. 15,000 copies are printed in German and 10,000 in French. 21,000 copies are sent to VIPs from the address lists of sister magazine 7th Sky and Tribuevents, the company behind Lounge.
Stefano Monachesi
