7 times uniquely staged

Corporate publishing The retail trade is upgrading in the consumer goods sector. A pleasurable foray through the overflowing international market The doctrine: Corporate publishing makes sense where complex relationships are involved, where there is a need for explanation. That is true. Ergo: It makes no sense when it comes to things that are easy to understand, such as food, fashion, furniture and watches. Not true. Because conveying and sharing joie de vivre is not so easy in the flood, and sometimes it is not enough to simply display the product (catalog and/or online). In the world of consumer goods and brands, the usual blatant advertising has had its day. Corporate or custom publishing is the key to appearing authentic and stylish. But how can this balancing act between journalism and advertising be achieved?
Corporate publishing only makes sense in the merciless publishing and sensory overload if the culture and brand of the publishing company, the industry culture, but also the geographical culture and the life culture of the addressees are met. In other words, a corporate magazine must strike a chord with the audience, from the program announcement to the final act. A publication of a fashion house that features a prominent head in pictures and text without a basic conceptual idea will not do the trick. Editorial splinters between the products do not turn a catalog into a magazine. On the contrary, the "editorial addition" disrupts the catalog's focus, the listing of products. The overflow does not tolerate half measures.
If you want to find something worthwhile as a consumer and reader, there is one option: stop at the stall with the face you can and want to trust. It's not the one who advertises his wares the loudest, it's the one who offers you an armchair and a glass of tea in a sheltered niche in the middle of the hustle and bustle, who has internalized the luxury of leisure and the profound seduction of authenticity and hospitality. The same applies in the two-dimensional world of publishing: the magazine must show spirit, it must have style. It must be an intelligent and unique staging of the brand - the corporate or product brand.
It must invite at the right time and in the right situation (distribution solution). Only then will it be the host whose invitation is accepted. It must, it must, it must ... above all, it may. The magazines below illustrate a fun-filled current foray through the overflowing international market, from stand to stand, from and to all points of the compass. Admittedly, an unsystematic walk, simply with your nose in the spring air (and with some knowledge, let's call it flair, at the back of your mind).
Viviane Egli, Managing Director of the CP agency Primafila AG, is involved in the European exchange of know-how as an exponent of the Forum Corporate Publishing association.

 
Madrid, Gourmet Magazine of the Spanish department store chain El Corte Inglés: Hail to you, Primavera 06, numero 07, delicately small format (19.5 cm x 19.5 cm), in the sign of the Club del Gourmet of the food department. An eye-catcher on the Spanish custom publishing market, a handy, very deliberate one-hundred-page tour through fine foods from the country and from the international mundo gastronomico (realization: Progresa/Grupo Prisa).

 
 
 

 
Switzerland, Globus up to date: cosmopolitan Mumbai/Bombay captivates the senses and the intellect, and can be contemplated and enjoyed on one of the colorful cushions, exclusive textile design. The current Mumbai/Bombay campaign in the Globus stores is celebrated in the regular customer magazine (concept, editing and design by Primafila AG, Zurich and Munich) with authentic encounters in the Indian metropolis.
 

 
 
 

 
Vienna, Nespresso: Nespresso Magazine, or rather the cover heroine of the latest issue, Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko, invites you not to tea, but to coffee - clichés elevated to an outstanding editorial achievement. Incidentally, Anna Netrebko was photographed by the Swiss Michel Compte, and the Nespresso magazine (Ahead Mediaberatungs GmbH), which was conceived in Vienna, is finding its way into the wider world.

 
 
 

 
Stockholm and Gothenburg, Nordiska Kompaniet (NK): The twice-yearly "Stil" magazine published by the NK department store in Stockholm and Gothenburg proves that style is resistant to being swamped: with all the rules of the art of magazine creation, starting with the mysterious cover, fine goods and an equally fine lifestyle are visualized - after all, members of the royal family are also customers here.

 
 
 

 
 
Tokyo, Papas Company: The editorial miracle from Japan, handed over in Nagasaki or rather handed over to strangers in host culture. In 2004 it was in Papas Café, lingering over green tea (or was it coffee?). The annual magazine of the boutique chain offers a cultural transfer of the finest kind - the product of the European filler combined with writing celebrities from all over the world. The 2006 issue is dedicated to the main theme of travel.

 
 
 

 
Shanghai (also Sweden), V&S Absolut Spirits: "Absolut Reflexions" is the name of the magazine published by the southern Swedish spirits producer (in cooperation with Filipacchi Custom Publishing and Gaal Kommunikation), which takes readers on a journey to the Chinese metropolis in the current issue. The editorial seduction is inspiring, with portraits from Shanghai.

 
 
 

 
London, a long-established stronghold of custom publishing: six pages of May Flavors in lively Spring Green, according to one of the articles in the May issue of the asparagus-fresh Sainsbury's Magazine (Seven Publishing Group, London). The British supermarket chain's highly professionally designed customer publication was named "Customer Magazine of the Year" by the PPA (Periodical Publishers Association) in 2005.