"We want to become trendier"
Eveil-Culturel editor Nicole Steffen believes in a successful blend of music and lifestyle
Eveil Culturel editor Nicole Steffen believes in a successful blend of music and lifestyleTwo years ago, Nicole Steffen quietly and secretly took over the management of the cultural magazine Eveil Culturel from her husband. This spring, she has definitely left her mark on the bilingual magazine. A revised layout and the new subtitle "The Swiss music and lifestyle magazine" indicate the direction in which you are heading.you no longer refer to your magazine as a culture magazine, but as a lifestyle magazine. Are you not afraid of blurring the magazine's profile by opening it up thematically and turning it into a bazaar?
Nicole Steffen: I will make sure that I continue to offer a high-quality product. By lifestyle, I don't necessarily mean topics about gastronomy, oenology, wellness and more. But Eveil Culturel is also not intended to be purely a music magazine for a specialist audience. I simply want to open a few doors. There is so much going on around music. It's important to me to bring people closer to the world of music in an unconventional way.
Could you give an example?
Steffen: To portray the young Swiss soprano Rachel Harnisch, we didn't just visit her in her box at the Bern City Theater and do an interview. We dressed her in designer pieces at the Ciolina fashion house. The result was a series of pictures of the artist, the likes of which you don't see on stage.
Aren't you afraid of annoying or even losing regular readers by mixing up the topics?
Steffen: The topics on classical music will continue to be the pièce de résistance. But even a magazine like Eveil Culturel must continue to develop. That's why we'll be focusing more on the connection between classical music and other styles. In this way, we hope to attract new readers and interest our regular readers in new things.
Have you been asked by advertising clients to open up?
Steffen: If you look at advertising for luxury goods, it's easy to see that it has changed a lot. Luxury goods advertising is aimed at a young audience. We are therefore forced to adapt the editorial section, i.e. to rejuvenate it.
If the magazine is now also aimed at a young audience, we will probably no longer only see advertisements for luxury products. How does H&M advertising fit in with an ad for Hermès?
Steffen: We will be very selective with regard to advertisements for consumer goods that do not belong to the luxury goods sector.
What were the reasons why your husband handed over the management of the magazine to you?
Steffen: As my husband doesn't speak German, but Eveil Culturel now has the majority of its subscribers and readers in German-speaking Switzerland, taking over the project was a logical development.
So you are editor-in-chief and publisher at the same time?
Steffen: Yes, and I'm looking forward to implementing the many ideas I have for the magazine and its future.
What are your priorities?
Steffen: The magazine should become trendier. We also want to appeal to younger people with the new layout and the expansion of topics. Another important step: from next year, six issues will be published instead of the previous four.
But your husband had already planned this in 1997.
Steffen: At that time, it was obviously still too early. However, the new formula should make it possible to increase the periodicity from next year.
What would you describe as the most important strength of Eveil Culturel?
Steffen: First of all, the variety of topics, then the national distribution and the bilingualism. The latter is very well received in a cultural magazine, as a survey of readers has shown. In terms of layout, however, bilingualism remains a major challenge.
The relaunch would have been an opportunity to give the magazine a new name. Doesn't Eveil Culturel seem a bit outdated?
Steffen: The name Eveil Culturel dates back to the early days, when the magazine was only distributed in French-speaking Switzerland. We have actually already thought out loud about a new name. But it's not so easy to find, and Eveil Culturel has also become a household name in German-speaking Switzerland. Interview: Anita Vaucher
L'eveil culturel
Nicole Steffen: I will make sure that I continue to offer a high-quality product. By lifestyle, I don't necessarily mean topics about gastronomy, oenology, wellness and more. But Eveil Culturel is also not intended to be purely a music magazine for a specialist audience. I simply want to open a few doors. There is so much going on around music. It's important to me to bring people closer to the world of music in an unconventional way.
Could you give an example?
Steffen: To portray the young Swiss soprano Rachel Harnisch, we didn't just visit her in her box at the Bern City Theater and do an interview. We dressed her in designer pieces at the Ciolina fashion house. The result was a series of pictures of the artist, the likes of which you don't see on stage.
Aren't you afraid of annoying or even losing regular readers by mixing up the topics?
Steffen: The topics on classical music will continue to be the pièce de résistance. But even a magazine like Eveil Culturel must continue to develop. That's why we'll be focusing more on the connection between classical music and other styles. In this way, we hope to attract new readers and interest our regular readers in new things.
Have you been asked by advertising clients to open up?
Steffen: If you look at advertising for luxury goods, it's easy to see that it has changed a lot. Luxury goods advertising is aimed at a young audience. We are therefore forced to adapt the editorial section, i.e. to rejuvenate it.
If the magazine is now also aimed at a young audience, we will probably no longer only see advertisements for luxury products. How does H&M advertising fit in with an ad for Hermès?
Steffen: We will be very selective with regard to advertisements for consumer goods that do not belong to the luxury goods sector.
What were the reasons why your husband handed over the management of the magazine to you?
Steffen: As my husband doesn't speak German, but Eveil Culturel now has the majority of its subscribers and readers in German-speaking Switzerland, taking over the project was a logical development.
So you are editor-in-chief and publisher at the same time?
Steffen: Yes, and I'm looking forward to implementing the many ideas I have for the magazine and its future.
What are your priorities?
Steffen: The magazine should become trendier. We also want to appeal to younger people with the new layout and the expansion of topics. Another important step: from next year, six issues will be published instead of the previous four.
But your husband had already planned this in 1997.
Steffen: At that time, it was obviously still too early. However, the new formula should make it possible to increase the periodicity from next year.
What would you describe as the most important strength of Eveil Culturel?
Steffen: First of all, the variety of topics, then the national distribution and the bilingualism. The latter is very well received in a cultural magazine, as a survey of readers has shown. In terms of layout, however, bilingualism remains a major challenge.
The relaunch would have been an opportunity to give the magazine a new name. Doesn't Eveil Culturel seem a bit outdated?
Steffen: The name Eveil Culturel dates back to the early days, when the magazine was only distributed in French-speaking Switzerland. We have actually already thought out loud about a new name. But it's not so easy to find, and Eveil Culturel has also become a household name in German-speaking Switzerland. Interview: Anita Vaucher
L'eveil culturel
Franck Steffen founded the magazine Eveil Culturel nine years ago with a chance inheritance of 30,000 francs. The initial circulation at the time was a modest 6,000 copies. In 1996, the cultural magazine, which had previously only been produced for the French-speaking Swiss market, ventured across the language border. Today, the bilingual magazine (F/D) has an (uncertified) circulation of 28800 copies.
